I just purchased a Sears SUV hydrolic jack (cause they were on sale ).
It's not the bottle type but the "other" kind, not sure what they're callled.
Thought I was really getting a deal $49 21" lift.

Now when I use it it works fine but leaves a small puddle of hydrolic oil
on the ground when I lower it. I'm assuming this is not normal and
I need to take it back. But since I've never owned one before perhaps
the jack pee'ing a little on the ground is normal?

Other than the little mess it makes it seems to work fine. It holds
fine when it is up. It's only when I lower it that it leaks oil.

 

That is not normal. Just think of it this way, there is only a finite amount of oil in the jack. If you are loosing some each time you use it, how long before it stops working? I would take it back right away.

 

jw,

i have a black and yellow sear's "SUV" hydraulic jack and no, it does not bleed hydraulic fluid. something is not right and you need to return it asap for an exchange.

bob

 

That the same one I have. Looks like I'll be taking it back tomorrow.
I hope they don't hassle me about no receipt. I'm sure they keep
a record of the transaction.

 

I have one too, it doesn't leak either.

I really like the one-pump take up the slack feature. After blocking the front tires, I used it to lift the whole rear and put two jackstands under the axle.

I also paid $50.

 

On the subject of jacks. I tried lifting one wheel of my truck from the recommended
jack points (the frame just behind the front wheel) using the factory bottle jack and
it wouldn't lift high enough to get the tire off the ground. Needless to say I'm a
bit concerned if I ever need to change a tire on the side of the road since I don't plan
on carrying my Sears SUV jack with me all the time. I've got the factory 265/70 16's
for tires so I didn't expect to have this problem.

I'm guessing I could get the front tire off the ground if I place the jack just behind
the front tire but I don't want to damage the suspension by lifting from the wrong
place. I guess I could carry around a block of wood to boost the jack height.
Is there a safe place to jack the front end other than the frame cross members?

 

Sears let me exchange it with no problems. They didn't even ask me
for a receipt. Just my phone number.

Hopefully, my new jack is better potty trained.

 

If you got it from Sears then it should be a Craftsman. Craftsman has a lifetime warranty. Go to any Sears, any time with any broke Craftsman and get a new one. No questions asked.

 

city kid,

i dont believe thats true anymore. i read a thread a while back from another member who said it only applies to hand (non-powered) tools.

bob

 

One thing that kind of concerned me... As I returned the leaking jack the
sales guy printed out a CLEARANCE tag and stuck it on the box I returned.

So I guess CLEARANCE at Sears means "broken" or "needs repair".
Why would they re-sell a known malfunctioning tool? It is just going
to come back again.

 

I carry a short piece of 4X6 wood post in my offroad box for that.

Mick

 

Like Mick suggested, a 4x6 piece of solid wood will help this out. Or... It's time for a HiLift!

Another folk with a similar problem got some other suggestions here:
https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f16/jacks-24776/

 

As far as I know, every craftsman is lifetime warranty. I knowone guy who found a lawnmower in a field. It was rusted to s**t. But it was a craftsman. He brought it straight to Sears and got a brans spanking new mower! Yeah, I hate him too.

 

I was talking to them about the warranty this weekend infact..and they stress that it is for the hand tools and hand tools only.. This might be a new thing because I was under the same impression.

 

As far as I know its always been a lifetime warranty on hand tools only. Maybe that guy with the lawn mower just got a lucky break with a nice service rep. Either way, good deal for him!

 

The warranty on the craftsman jack is one year. (or 30 days if used for
comerical purposes or rental)

Even though I had no receipt, they had the record of when I purchased it.

 

The lifetime warranty is for hand tools, but I know for a fact that it doesn't apply to torque wrenches (which I would consider a hand tool). I had an old Craftsman torque wrench that broke and Sears wouldn't exchange it for a new one or repair it for free. You have to read the manual or the box for warranty info as it varies from product to product.

Matt

 

Sears has asked me questions before, but they are usually to the tune of gee, how'd you do THAT?

 

Another question about floor jacks:

I also picked up a Craftsman jack a couple weeks ago. I guess I couldn't tell on the box (or didn't think to look), but I am extremely disappointed in the valve location and the ease in which the handle can come off. What the heck?! I'm probably going to return it and keep searching.

Does anyone know of any brand of jacks where the valve is controlled by turning the whole handle, or by a mechanism such as a dial (for lack of better words) at the top of the handle?

 

But you would think the factory supplied jack would be able to lift the
factory supplied tires off the ground.

I know with the TRD off-road package and 265/70's the truck is a bit
higher than normal, but I'm thinking they should include a jack that
can do the job. I would have been pretty pissed off if I had discovered
this the hard way.