Overseas Jack Rebuild Help Tutorial.

[Hiball]

Well After a Good Night Sleep, I decided that pulling this How-to didnt have any affect on what i was trying to steer away from. I created this thread for the Junkies who wanted to work on there own jacks, Pick up there parts Locally and try and save a buck. I do ask that the "Search" function be utilized for future problems prior to contacting me. There is Tons of Good information inside and outside this thread in regards to these jacks.


Well after numerous requests ive decided to put together a tutorial that will assist you do it yourselfers resurect/maintain your Taiwan Jack. This tutorial will cover the Main version of these jacks and i will try to include any variances that you might encounter. Again your jack might be different in color or possible fastener type but it will share the same hydraulic system along with location of key componenets for your typical Overseas 2-3 ton floor jack, This doesnt include Quick Lift Jacks as they will be a tad bit different and include another valve system. If you have any questions feel free to contact me with a Picture and I will assist you. Enjoy GJ and Have a Happy Holidays.



This is your typical Overseas design that i had sitting in the back of the shop, I had cabbaged the rear casters off this jack and it was a perfect candidate for this write up.


Well to start off you will need to remove the handle assembly, This particular jack requires a 15/16" socket to accomplish. I used a impact to speed up the process.


Once both upper bolts are removed you can remove the Handle assembly and the handle return spring, On some jacks you will have 2 of these, 1 on each side. This particular model only has 1.


Handle assembly Gone.


Next you will remove the lower bolts, these are fastened by a 3/8 allen head so you can get to them without removing the wheels. While you are here you will notice the silver bar at the rear of the jack this is just a stiffening brace held on by nuts that protrude thru the frame, this needs to come out.


Once you remove all bolts you can pick up on the rear of the frame and slide it forward, This will expose the next step.



Using a Prybar or Screwdriver slip the return spring off, On some jacks there will be 2 of these, This one has only 1.



Using a Cotter Key remover tool or side cutters Pull the key out.

We are now ready to head over to the vise.


Once secured in the Vise you can pull the Pump straight out, There will be no seals on it as they are inside Jack.






This particular style uses a flat recessed seat that uses a ball to seal the unit, There are different models and yours might have a Needle valve instead of this one. If thats the case there wont be a small ball as indicated by the next Pic. Remove the ball and keep it seperate.



Next step is to take the working valve apart, This particular model uses a allen head, Most use standard screwdriver Head.


After removing the socket head you will need a small pen magnet to remove the inner workings. This particular model uses 2 balls, the biggest ball on top and the smaller ball in the bottom seat. (keep these ball seperate from other parts) There will also be other styles in different models etc, Some will use spacers in between the balls and even springs can be found etc. Regardless keep track of how things come apart and in which order and you will be good.


The next valve to the right of the release is your overload valve, i cant tell you how many jacks ive had brought in that the only thing that was wrong was this valve had backed itself off and wouldnt let the jack lift the apropriate tonnage. Anyways First you must take the Dust cover off, Sometimes it will have a warning "DO NOT ADJUST" sticker on it. As you can see there is another Standard Screwdriver Socket inside the Valve, Using a small enough screwdriver so that you dont muck in the internal threads up. IMPORTANT****** First count the revolutions it takes to tighten the inside set screw completely down, On this particular jack it took 6. That is too many and as i stated earlier these do back off over time. If your jack was working fine except for leaking write down how many revolutions it took and upon reinstallation set it back to factory settings. If you dont remember or fail to head this warning 2 full turns back from full set is a good starting point. The overload is very important and is designed to keep you from overloading the jack and possibly rupturing a seal. This is why it is important you follow the tonnage guidlines and DO NOT crank this down all the way. There is NO way to set this Properly without having a Test station.


This is the workings of a typical overload, You will have a small ball that sits in the seat, A Upper seat with a tit to sit inside the heavy spring, Then top piece and as you can guess the tit goes down inside the spring and set screw tightens down on top of the flat. Sometimes theses are tricky to reinstall so here is a hint: Insert the small ball verifying that its is in the seat, Grab some wheel bearing grease or a heavy grease, Dab a little on the tip, insert into the spring and do the same for the top piece then drop as 1 piece down int the valve. Ive seen people get that first piece in there sideways and then when you crank the set screw down it damages things. Take your time and visually check what your doing.


Next you will need a Pipe Wrench or the apropriate Socket to remove the Tank nut. Keeping a pan handy to catch the oil.


Once you unthread the Tank nut the pressure will be released from the resevoir and you dissasemble.


And here we are at Paydirt, We finally got to the Ram Cup to verify what version we have. This particular version is the Oring sitting inside the Hollow Cup shell. It by far is the Most common found in 95% of your newer jacks and is Not the Best designed sealing surface, but it is Cheap.


Verify that there is no internal Damage, The jack was full of oil so there wasnt any Rust or Pitting. Looks Good


Ok now that we have the jack apart lets get working on removing the seals, 1st off lets remove the Orings on the Pump. Using a small Pic (I prefer the Snap on angle) Dig the Orings out being carefull not to damage the Backups, As they can probably be re-used. This particular jack has 2 Oring grooves machined inside, Some only have 1. If you have 2 the order of the Oring/backup is ORING on bottom in each groove and beveled side down Backup on top of the Oring. Lost? Keep Following?



Its hard to determine by these pics but this is a backup, Its not broken its split to allow easier installation. A back up has a flat side and a beveled side to allow the oring to sit inside and keep it properly shaped under pressure.

This Picture shows everything that came out of the Pump side.

Next seal is the Tank Nut seal, Using a Pic Remove this and set aside.

[Hiball]

Next seal is the Main Ram seal, IMPORTANT***** Make sure you pry from the inside Out as illustrated, Do Not get into that outer shell on the sealing surface. These are Harder to find and generally dont go bad unless someone gets rough with them. You will need to inspect the sealing lip to make sure there isnt any splits, rough areas etc.

NOTE: I replace all these Cheap seals with Quality Ucups and Keep all the Common sizes in stock.


Once you remove the Oring the outer shell will slip right off. You now have your jack completely tore down and your ready to find replacement seals. I recomend finding a local Hydraulic shop and they should have everything you require. If your jack is Older 15+ years you might have a Ucup on the end instead of the one shown. If it has good suction and seal by sliding it in and out of the cylinder i wouldnt mess with replacing it unless it is extremely hard and showing stress cracks etc. Also dont try and remove it unless your intentions are to replace because they snap on and with any age they break off. Im sure ive left something out so if you have any questions feel free to ask and will get it figured out. Enjoy the Write up and i hope you guys can benefit from this.

Hiball.

[caper]

Awesome thread idea Hiball,I'm sure there will be a large number of us who really appreciate the work you put into this.I know I do.I have a couple old jacks hanging around waiting for attention.

[Rigmaster]

Excellent write up, thanks!!!!

Question - do you have the seals/o-rings needed for most of these jacks or should we just use whatever works that we can find or have on hand??

I've got a couple of these jacks around that have various issues- would be nice to get them working again without alot of $$$$.



Thanks again!!!

[Hiball]

Originally Posted by caper

Awesome thread idea Hiball,I'm sure there will be a large number of us who really appreciate the work you put into this.I know I do.I have a couple old jacks hanging around waiting for attention.

Thanks, It took me over a hour to type all this up and only 5 min to dismantle that jack. Im just glad i can give back for all the info and deals i find here.

[Hiball]

Originally Posted by Rigmaster

Excellent write up, thanks!!!!

Question - do you have the seals/o-rings needed for most of these jacks or should we just use whatever works that we can find or have on hand??

I've got a couple of these jacks around that have various issues- would be nice to get them working again without alot of $$$$.



Thanks again!!!

I carry most of the Orings in stock and truthfully you can find these sizes in your typical Metric Oring set with the exception being the Main Ram. As i stated Most China jacks use the same basic design but vary on different things such as how many orings and there size etc. For instance this particular jack had 2 orings on the pump, There are many jacks that only have 1. If you can read a mic, Get your measurement and try and find a Hydraulic repair shop or a Farm Implement dealer ane they should be able to fix you up.

[Elroy]

Excellent information. Thank you for taking the time to document the internals on one of these jacks. Your time and effort is much appreciated.

Where do you add the stop leak?

[Hiball]

Originally Posted by Elroy

Where do you add the stop leak?

No comment.. I dont want to get in to that again.

[Elroy]

Originally Posted by Hiball

No comment.. I dont want to get in to that again.

An excellent response from a cool operator. Good for you.

[eborcim]

way cool

[BrokeEF]

I already learned some stuff without even tearing into one. Thank you for taking the time to do this. I vote to make it a sticky!

Sean

[Bull]

This is one of the best threads I've read in a while...I love stuff like this. I am subscribing to it for easy access. I have at least two jacks of this type, and one needs attention.

Thanks very much for taking the time to do all this work with the detailed pics and write-up. I am sure many of us are super-stoked about it

[supertooljunkie]

Thanks for the info. I have three jacks to tear down when I get back to Georgia from the blustry wilds of Eastern Pennsylvania.

[crashbumper]

Hiball, great writeup!

One question, is there any way to fix/repair/adjust a jack so it doesn't drop to quickly?

Or is this something inherent to the design and unfixable?

I have an HF jack (I know, it sucks) and even while slowly turning the handle to lower the car, it seems to not open or stick, and then open far to quick. I have used other HF jacks, and the counterclockwise turning is a bit easier to judge the rate of descent.

[Hiball]

Originally Posted by crashbumper

Hiball, great writeup!

One question, is there any way to fix/repair/adjust a jack so it doesn't drop to quickly?

Or is this something inherent to the design and unfixable?

I have an HF jack (I know, it sucks) and even while slowly turning the handle to lower the car, it seems to not open or stick, and then open far to quick. I have used other HF jacks, and the counterclockwise turning is a bit easier to judge the rate of descent.

Hmm... Well if it was sticking then breaking loose i would have some suggestions. You can try removing the release valve and looking to see if something is out of whack. Alot of times due to overtightening the gears they will bind there. You might check the ball and possibly add a bigger ball that will slow down the oil passage back into the resevoir.

[rakesdl]

hiball, great post, I have been trying to find this information for sometime now. Thank you

[SirPoopsALot]

Thanks for the writeup!

This is probably a dumb question, but how do you refill the jack? And what do you like to use? Is ATF OK?

Thanks!

[Hiball]

Originally Posted by SirPoopsALot

Thanks for the writeup!

This is probably a dumb question, but how do you refill the jack? And what do you like to use? Is ATF OK?

Thanks!

On the resevoir there is a Plug, this particular model had a rubber plug while some use a threaded screw. It is always on top and neer the middle, You should only put enough oil in to cover the inside cylinder. My grandfather used ATF for years and years it is nearly the same weight but i recomend using Hydraulic jack oil especially if your jack is in a unheated garage etc.

[srosa707]

Great thread! I have 2 floor jacks that need rebuilding so I will be referencing this thread. Thanks!

[1stwarrior95]

Excellent write up!
I've never seen the inner workings of a hydro jack before. They're just one of those things that seem to get discarded if they don't work just right. LOL

I just "inherited" another floor jack that I was told "works fine but won't stay up". When I get a little spare time I might just rip it apart to see what I can do with it!

Thanks for the write up Hiball!