Hi-Lift jack rusting after days

[Wes]

Pretty unimpressed with this I have to say.

Bought a new, genuine Hi-Lift jack 6 days ago, it's been used once for about half an hour just messing around and getting a feel for it, and it's been subjected to half an hour of rain two days ago.

This is the result.

Hi-Lift jack rust

hi-lift-jack-rust.jpg (174.26 KiB) Viewed 6142 times

It's like a fine powder, the water settled on the rail looked like brown water there was that much of it.

Looks like I'll have a pile of brown dust on the driveway instead of a jack on the the car in 6 months at this rate.

[wrenchman]

most the ones i see are real rusty and seem to work fine

[<<Genesis93>>]

Its only a protective coating thats what you get living near the sea...

Iron rusts

[AusTac]

Bit of a sand, a fresh lick of paint, and a bag ought to do it.. they won't look pretty if left for even just a few weeks depending on the environment.

Plus you want everything to slide/move as it should so a bit of maintanance is a must

( not having a go at you or anything )

[Gwion]

Maybe just clean it up and oil/grease it lightly for a bit of rust proofing???

[Lorgar]

Hi-Lift jacks are pretty notorious for rust. Whatever is in the alloy mix of that cast steel is a bastard for it.

Saying that, they're a relatively simple and tough bit of kit and as long at you take care of the mechanism a bit of rust on the rail shouldn't be an issue at all.

You could keep it in the shed and just mount in the vehicle on the day of a trip obviously.

If you want to mount it permanently on your truck give it a coat of WD40 or whatever your chosen rust preventative is.

Some guys will give the rail a coat of rustoleum spray paint at the end of the day, there is that if you don't mind doing it each time.

The thing you really don't want is to neglect for so long that when you need to use it you find it seizing. If you end up storing it on the truck (exposed to the elements) without much use, I would take it down periodically, put it through its paces doing a quick up and down on the truck and give the mechanism a spray to keep it working smoothly.

[happyhunter]

You supposed to maintain them. Mines 25 years and still looks reasonable because I maintain it.

[on_one_wheel]

All good as long as the pins still move freely in the mechanism. That's where you don't want rust, it's worth hitting those with wd40 once in a while.

The genuine Hi-Lift' jacks have all the important moving parts plated but they still recommend cleaning and lubrication.

I keep mine in the shed and pull it out when I head bush.

[Noisydad]

Dont sweat it. The front and rear edges cop all the wear of the mechanism moving up and down and you'll never keep paint on it. Just let it "rust brown"

[Oldbloke]

Paint isnt intended to take that sort of wear and tear. I would just spray a little inox on it.

[Die Judicii]

Mine is a "Jackall Jack Mk 2"

Made in Canada, Is very hefty, and is around 20 year old.

I carry it across the chassis rails behind the bull bar, and it's been in all sorts of weather.
Paint missing (approx. 50%) and the bare steel showing has no sign of rust.

The only maintenance I give it is a quick squirt of WD40 on the reciprocating lugs about twice a year.
It still works flawlessly.

I don't know what its maximum rated lift capacity is, and can't find any markings on it that tell me.

But I do know that I used it one day to get a contractor out of a sticky situation.
His John Deere back hoe was bottomed out on a stump, and my jack lifted it enough to get a plank of redgum under the tires.

I guess they just don't make em like they used to.

[on_one_wheel]

I guess they just don't make em like they used to.

They still make good ones, but most people go for the $100 / $150 cheapie.
Personally I don't trust cheep.

I bought the Hi-Lift Extreme in 60" because I figured the extra length might come in handy for winching. In hindsight the 48" would be just as good for winching because length of chain is your limitation not length of jack.
I like the fact that Hi-Lift have designed their jacks with a sheer pin that will break the leverage before you overload the jack and sheer the climbing pins.
http://www.hi-lift.com/index.html

[Wes]

You supposed to maintain them. Mines 25 years and still looks reasonable because I maintain it.

Mate, read what I wrote again before having a go at me about not maintaining it.

I've had it 6 days and it got splashed once and its dripping brown already.

I've never seen anything rust that fast before.

[Die Judicii]

Another GOOD use for Hi Lift jacks is for lifting or supporting roof trusses or a verandah (while you replace a verandah pole)

Get a suitable length of 4 or 5 mm wall thickness RHS ( rectangular hollow section for those not conversant with steel ) that will just slide easily over the
main column of the jack, but sits nicely on the shoulders of the carrier that moves up the column.
Does a great job and only needs the appropriate length for the job at hand.

For really high jobs, you can tie guy ropes to the RHS to keep everything upandicular.

[Gwion]

"upandicular"

[Die Judicii]

"upandicular"

Or "horondicular" which is of course 45 degrees.

[brett1868]

For really high jobs, you can tie guy ropes to the RHS to keep everything upandicular.

I like this word, I'll attempt to use it in a meeting tomorrow and see how many "WTF" looks I get

[Wes]

Server upandicular time, right Brett?

[Brute]

Same on mine. I give the bar a spray with an anti-rust epoxy spray after each trip to replace the stripped paint.

Going strong for years.