Floor jack - have to step on it to lower

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I have a floor jack that I need to step on for it to lower all the way down. I turn the handle, vehicle drops, pull it out and I have to push it down to get it down the last inch or so. Any ideas?
 
Mine definitely slows down at the very bottom of it's travel and I have used my foot to push it down on occasion. Didn't think much of it though....

Originally Posted by WyrTwister
Too much fluid ?
I have one of the very common Harbor Freight floor jacks (steel, 3-ton, rapid-pump) and heh, just checked the manual about filling it.... As many know, HF has multiple versions of many parts. For this floor jack, they have (4) versions. I may have downloaded the wrong manual for mine. Three of them say
Quote
Add high grade hydraulic fluid (sold separately) slowly until the fluid reaches 1/4″ below the top of the Fill Port.
while one says
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Add high grade hydraulic fluid into the fill hole slowly until the fluid reaches the top of the hole.
 
I've never added/changed fluid on it, it's just a couple years old. Just started this a month or two ago. Good idea on the return spring! I'll check that.
 
Possibly binding due to accumulated friction at all the pivot points from lack of lubrication. The spring should be adequate if the pivot points have lube.
 
I have a fairly new Harbor Freight 4 ton floor jack. Occasionally I have to put some weight on it to get it to fully come down. I was attributing it to the possibility that the Jack needed to break in a bit. I'm wondering if that is the case now. The Jack functions perfectly otherwise.
 
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