3.5 Ton floor jack won't go back down

[Merle]

So I was changing my oil and rotating my tires. Jacked up one side with one of those 3.5T floor jacks, the kind where you turn the handle to tighten to lift and rotate the other way to have the jack lower.

Well, after jacking up my driver side of the car, changing the tires and then going to turn the handle... it wouldn't turn. A few ham-handed attempts to turn it merely raised my 4Runner even higher.

Eventually a pair of vise grip pliers on the handle resolved it and dropped my 4Runner.

Afterwards I took a look and noticed that the handle itself pulled away from the universal joint which controls the hydraulic release. Years of dragging it around the garage by the handle pulled it ever so far away from the u-joint that it wouldn't engage freely.

Loosen the bolt, slide the handle back down 1/4" and tighten up the bolt. Everything went back to normal.

 

[<<<<]

If it stays up for more than 4 hours, seek medical attention :lmao:

 

[blcktpgsr]

If it stays up for more than 4 hours, seek medical attention :lmao:

:lmao::lmao: man I couldn't stop laughing....

Glad you had the situation resolved Merle..

 

[DSpease15]

So I was changing my oil and rotating my tires. Jacked up one side with one of those 3.5T floor jacks, the kind where you turn the handle to tighten to lift and rotate the other way to have the jack lower.

Well, after jacking up my driver side of the car, changing the tires and then going to turn the handle... it wouldn't turn. A few ham-handed attempts to turn it merely raised my 4Runner even higher.

Eventually a pair of vise grip pliers on the handle resolved it and dropped my 4Runner.

Afterwards I took a look and noticed that the handle itself pulled away from the universal joint which controls the hydraulic release. Years of dragging it around the garage by the handle pulled it ever so far away from the u-joint that it wouldn't engage freely.

Loosen the bolt, slide the handle back down 1/4" and tighten up the bolt. Everything went back to normal.

Thank god you got it solved! Almost same thing happened to me when I had my 1998 Explorer. I had it jacked on my rear end, and was about to loosen the nuts on wheel, when the jack suddenly broke in half! I was very lucky when my tire is still on the Explorer. I took a closer look at it and peeled off the paint more, the jack was corroded very badly. I wouldn't imagine what would happen if i got the tire off or if it landed on my leg or feet. Someone was watching out for me ^

 

[03_4x4Runner]

Thank god you got it solved! Almost same thing happened to me when I had my 1998 Explorer. I had it jacked on my rear end, and was about to loosen the nuts on wheel, when the jack suddenly broke in half! I was very lucky when my tire is still on the Explorer. I took a closer look at it and peeled off the paint more, the jack was corroded very badly. I wouldn't imagine what would happen if i got the tire off or if it landed on my leg or feet. Someone was watching out for me ^

This is why you never work on a vehicle supported only by a jack. Always use jack stands.

 

[cali_axela]

^ I would never work UNDER a car only supported by a jack, but everyone I know swaps wheels and does basic suspension adjustments (things that take less than 5 minutes per corner, like adjusting endlinks or coilover settings) with the car only on the jack. I don't think he would have been in the wrong if the jack failed with the wheel off and no stands under it, just really bad luck. But yeah, if you're even thinking about putting any part of your body under the truck, always lower it securely onto jack stands first!