I have been topping off my jacks with ATF and recently two of them have started leaking. Could ATF have caused the seals to fail?
ATF As Fluid For Jacks.
- Thread starter George7941
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They might not have failed, but the ATF might be too thin.
I have Nuto H32 oil which we use in our forklift hydraulics.
https://www.mobil.ca/en/industrial/lubricants/products/nuto-h-32
Would this be a good choice?
https://www.mobil.ca/en/industrial/lubricants/products/nuto-h-32
Would this be a good choice?
Originally Posted by George7941
I have been topping off my jacks with ATF and recently two of them have started leaking. Could ATF have caused the seals to fail?
Absolutely.
I have been topping off my jacks with ATF and recently two of them have started leaking. Could ATF have caused the seals to fail?
Absolutely.
The proper fluid for jacks is ISO AW32.
Originally Posted by ddtmoto
I use High mileage ATF with a splash of AT-205 stop leak. Stopped my leaking Craftsman floor jack years ago. Still no leaking....
I took some hydraulic equipment in for repair , years ago . The guy made a comment that someone had used ATF in it . He said the seals were not made for ATF & that could be one of the reasons it was leaking . He flushed it out & replaced the rubber parts . I have tried to make sure that equipment gets hydraulic fluid .
I have an old hydraulic floor jack that leaks . After we finished draining the oil on Wife's car , yesterday PM , we took it on a test drive to Walmart . I picked up some more hydraulic jack oil . It was after dark by then , so I did not top off the oil in the jack .
Have considered taking the jack apart & replacing the O-Rings . Is that what they use for seals ? Seem to remember my late father in law saying something about that ?
I use High mileage ATF with a splash of AT-205 stop leak. Stopped my leaking Craftsman floor jack years ago. Still no leaking....
I took some hydraulic equipment in for repair , years ago . The guy made a comment that someone had used ATF in it . He said the seals were not made for ATF & that could be one of the reasons it was leaking . He flushed it out & replaced the rubber parts . I have tried to make sure that equipment gets hydraulic fluid .
I have an old hydraulic floor jack that leaks . After we finished draining the oil on Wife's car , yesterday PM , we took it on a test drive to Walmart . I picked up some more hydraulic jack oil . It was after dark by then , so I did not top off the oil in the jack .
Have considered taking the jack apart & replacing the O-Rings . Is that what they use for seals ? Seem to remember my late father in law saying something about that ?
The ATF I used was Shell Donax, which I don't think has PAO.
Based on the replies, I have formulated a plan - I am going to drain all the existing fluid and fill with the Nuto hydraulic oil, which is ISO 32. If the leaks still persist, I will add some engine oil stop-leak product. If that does not do it I will take the jacks apart and change the seals.
Based on the replies, I have formulated a plan - I am going to drain all the existing fluid and fill with the Nuto hydraulic oil, which is ISO 32. If the leaks still persist, I will add some engine oil stop-leak product. If that does not do it I will take the jacks apart and change the seals.
If you tear into the jack to replace seals , please take photos & document the repair . And come back and post it .
Thanks ,
Thanks ,
Will do. The reason replacing the seals is my last resort is that I am not expecting sourcing the seals to be easy. The jacks are old inexpensive Chinese made ones. Luckily I still have the original manuals with the exploded parts diagrams. Perhaps my local hydraulic shop might be able to supply the seals. The shop I deal with is a very capable shop.
http://www.actionhydraulics.ca/
http://www.actionhydraulics.ca/
If all it requires is O-Rings , I have an O-Ring kit from Harbor Freight ...........
O-rings are easy to source. Hopefully the seals are not some non-standard custom made ones.
Originally Posted by George7941
Will do. The reason replacing the seals is my last resort is that I am not expecting sourcing the seals to be easy. The jacks are old inexpensive Chinese made ones.
Seals (lip), o-rings, bearings (I know, not applicable here) are very standardized and a company that designs/produces jacks, pumps, engines, etc will rarely be in the business of making those other parts. Because of this, they source them from other companies. In a previous life, I designed pumps and when we created a shaft, we didn't randomly pick diameters where a bearing would be located or where a lip seal would be needed. We looked up SKF or Parker engineering data for the diameters and +/- tolerances to use existing, easily available bearings or lip seals.
Point is, take the seals or o-rings that you remove from the jack and match them up with off-the-shelf parts. Remember that the I.D. may be stretched on your 'old' o-ring so you'll probably go slightly smaller. Plus, o-rings do stretch anyway. The diameter or cross-section may be swollen too.
Will do. The reason replacing the seals is my last resort is that I am not expecting sourcing the seals to be easy. The jacks are old inexpensive Chinese made ones.
Seals (lip), o-rings, bearings (I know, not applicable here) are very standardized and a company that designs/produces jacks, pumps, engines, etc will rarely be in the business of making those other parts. Because of this, they source them from other companies. In a previous life, I designed pumps and when we created a shaft, we didn't randomly pick diameters where a bearing would be located or where a lip seal would be needed. We looked up SKF or Parker engineering data for the diameters and +/- tolerances to use existing, easily available bearings or lip seals.
Point is, take the seals or o-rings that you remove from the jack and match them up with off-the-shelf parts. Remember that the I.D. may be stretched on your 'old' o-ring so you'll probably go slightly smaller. Plus, o-rings do stretch anyway. The diameter or cross-section may be swollen too.
Originally Posted by George7941
O-rings are easy to source. Hopefully the seals are not some non-standard custom made ones.
Hydraulics guy here ... both statements true, but there are 2 popular "hardness" or durometer buna o-rings. I'd guess that perhaps 90% sold are 70 durometer for use in low pressure applications. Hydraulics (98% of the time) needs 90 durometer to last in pressures over about 100 bar (1500 psi). REAL seal houses have both. Prices are USUALLY the same or nearly so.
O-rings are easy to source. Hopefully the seals are not some non-standard custom made ones.
Hydraulics guy here ... both statements true, but there are 2 popular "hardness" or durometer buna o-rings. I'd guess that perhaps 90% sold are 70 durometer for use in low pressure applications. Hydraulics (98% of the time) needs 90 durometer to last in pressures over about 100 bar (1500 psi). REAL seal houses have both. Prices are USUALLY the same or nearly so.
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