Changing Hydraulic floor jack oil?

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How often that should be done? Never or maybe once after every 5 years?

Also, can ATF or PS fluid be used for it? I don't have any hydraulic jack oil laying around.

Any other kind of motor oil, like any 10W or anything similar be used?

Thanks for your help and advice.
 
If you have a cheapie I would just wait until it fails then get a new jack. Otherwise wait until the seals start leaking then change the oil and seals at the same time.

My old cheapie $25 "big Mac 2 ton" jack is 17 years old and still has the original oil. I never added or needed a drop. I used it 4-5 times a year for oil changes and infrequent other maintenance. I relieved it with a $65 quick pump aluminum floor jack from Harbor Freight. I ALWAYS use jackstands so a failing jack is not a safety concern. if it fails after you are on the jackstands you could use the factory spare tire jack to get it down. PITA but works in a pinch.
 
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Originally Posted By: maverickfhs
How often that should be done? Never or maybe once after every 5 years?

Also, can ATF or PS fluid be used for it? I don't have any hydraulic jack oil laying around.

Any other kind of motor oil, like any 10W or anything similar be used?

Thanks for your help and advice.


I'm curious about this as well because I recently resurrected an old bottle jack with a bad oil ring that let its oil spew out while pumping. I also did not have any hydraulic jack oil so I used 10-30 motor oil. The jack works like it should no leaks, solid pumps with no leak down. What little of the remaining old oil was coal black water thin, so now it has a full belly of AAP house brand super sale special oil motor oil I had on hand. Can I leave it or should I change it out for real hydraulic jack oil?
 
Maybe if a seal fails, change oil along with seals. Otherwise, never.
 
Do check the oil, especially in those bottle jacks that had the "stopper" near the top because if it ever tips over, they can and do leak.

My observation is that FJ seals leak because of low usage.

In fact, I put a drop of ATF on all the externally exposed seals to keep them wet and pliable.

Low Viscosity ATF such as Dexron VI is great as a FJ oil especially when have to work in the cold.
 
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Never changed mine and never will. Unless the jack won't lift or slowly sinks, there's no real reason to check the oil.
 
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I drained and refilled a 2.5 ton jack with maxlife LV ATF as an experiment and it's still working fine about 7 years later now. The only difference I notice with an identical jack with factory fluid in it still doesn't have as firm of a pumping feel as the jack with ATF, so it must be lower viscosity than the LV ATF I would guess.
 
Changed the oil in my thirty five year old Craftsman 2 ton this morning. Have been replacing oil every two years since new. Suction out 2 1/8 ounces with Mityvac I've had for years and replace like amount using old Three In One applicator and small piece of clear tubing. Anymore than 2 1/8 ounces and oil will weep from plug until proper level is reached.FACT: No matter how many sections of newspaper one puts down to catch spill, oil will still find way to bare floor. Murphy is alive and well.
 
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