How to Fix a Car Jack that Won’t Lift- Expert Opinion – 2023 Guide



A Car Jack is usually used for lighting up heavy components or things. When you want to fix your car, you have to get a car jack for lifting it up. Otherwise, you can’t lift the whole heavy car by yourself. If you decide to purchase a good quality portable car jack, click here.


Any car mechanic will let you know the importance of a good floor jack. So, if your jack can’t lift up the car properly, it’s obviously not expected. In that case, you have to take some steps to fix it.

Today, we will talk elaborate about How to fix a car jack that won’t lift. We will also share the reason behind this problem and how you can avoid this from happening. So, without any further ado, let’s begin!


Check and Repair the Car Jack that Won’t Lift

You need to jack up your car with your Car Jack but suddenly it is not working. This problem is not unusual and can happen to anyone. So, let’s know how to fix a car floor jack with several processes:

Solution-1: check its weight lifting capacity

Source: carcaretotal.com

This is so basic. Indeed, you have to check the capacity that it was built for. Some weightlifting car jack won’t lift if the weight of your car is heavier than the capacity of the machine.

If you can’t find anything wrong with that and notice that your car’s weight is lower than its capacity, then you should try another solution.

Solution-2: check if it’s clogged or not

Sometimes dirt and dust can clog the floor jack. As a result, it will stop lifting. If you see any clogged portion or component inside it, you have to clean that up using cleaners.

Besides, as it lifts your car continuously, the clogging can happen because of air accumulation. In that case, you have to take steps to cancel out the air by pouring in new oil.

Solution-3: is the Release Valve okay?

Source: hqreview.com

Another reason the car jack won’t stay up is because of the tight release valve. In that case, even if everything else is alright, the floor jack not lifting problem won’t solve. If you face this, you have to adjust and replace this valve in the correct place.

Moreover, you can use some oil if you think that that’s going to work. But most of the time, replacing it in its correct place solves the hydraulic floor jack troubleshooting problem.

Solution-4: check the oil level

The portable car jack may fail to repair because of uneven oil levels too. So if you notice that your floor jack repair processes are not working, you can check the oil level again.

If you see more or less oil level, you have to make it empty or fill it again. It’s better if you clean out the oil chamber and pour new oil into it. If you don’t know how much oil you should use there, you can read out the manual.

Solution-5: repair the stock damage

Source: beyourcar.com

The stock damage can also create a lifting problem. If you can understand that your floor jack can’t lift it because of the stock problem, you have to take the stock out at first. Then notice if it has any corrosion in it or not.

If the stock has corrosion covered, then your floor jack can’t perform the lifting. You can replace the stock or clean it with alcohol to make it work better. But replacing it will be a wise solution because corrosion can reduce its density and effectiveness as well.

How to restore the effectiveness of your floor jack?

Source: drivrzone.com

Finding out the real problem and hydraulic jack repair can be problematic enough for everyone. In that case, if you are unusable to find out the exact problem, we are going to share a step-by-step process now to restore the efficiency of your problematic floor jack. Let’s begin!

  • If the valve is tightened, then you have to turn off the shut-off valve. Afterward, you have to reach the piston to level zero.
  • Clean out the old oil from the oil chamber.
  • Clean out each and every component. As we said before, the dirt and dust may make it fail to work. Use gasoline or kerosine to rinse the components. Avoid using alcohol for this purpose. You need to clean the components perfectly to do the next step.
  • Now lower the piston to the zero levels and then tighten the valve.
  • Now that you have cleaned the components pour synthetic or hydraulic, less dense oil inside the container. Do not overfill it. You have to read the manual to know the perfect measurement of oil.
  • Now pump the whole machine and expel any kind of accumulated air from it. Otherwise, you will show stiffness when you use it later.
  • You have to continue doing so until you know that the stiffness has gone, and your floor jack is working swiftly. After performing all these steps successfully, you can lift up any heavy vehicles using it.
  • If you face the same problem after you perform these actions, it’s better if you seek mechanic help at that time. Because there might be some underlying issues that you are skipping unknowingly otherwise, you can buy a new one to avoid this kind of problem.

Wrapping up

We have shared a few intelligent solutions on How to fix a car jack that won’t lift. We assume that we have been helpful to you. Try to perform all the steps perfectly and get your floor jacks troubleshooting problems solved.

If you still feel any problem, it will be the right decision to seek help from an expert. In that case, you can visit local mechanics for use. They are very expert about this kind of problem.

Lastly, after following our stated steps and solutions, we are sure that you will get rid of this problem. Either way, if you can’t solve that, you can always get a new one!