Steve King Posted May 8, 2007 Share Posted May 8, 2007 I used the farm jack that I bought at Sodbury for the first time on Sunday as I had a flat. It lifted the Defender fine, but it would not let it back down again! I tried raising a bit more and then attempted lowering it, but that only made things worse The problem is that the topmost pin doesn't move when lowering Eventually I took most of the weight on a bottle jack and removed the farm jack with a bit of brute force! (yeah not clever I know!) The jack responded by twisting around and crushing my little fingertip against the bumper. Despite my injuries I managed to put the flat on the spare mounting and stow my tools away! No broken bones just a nasty cut and crush injury to my pinkie! I didn't get a receipt when I bought the jack. Does anyone know who imports or sells Samson Farm Jacks or (bit of a needle in a haystack question!!) know the stall that was selling them at Sodbury - the stall didn't have a tent or marquee, just some tables with a pickup truck behind it. They were mainly selling jacks plus some other accessories that I can't remember! Sorry to be so vague! Alternatively does anyone have any tips on fixing the jack? Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted May 8, 2007 Share Posted May 8, 2007 Does this help? Lifting & Crane AKA Samson Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve King Posted May 8, 2007 Author Share Posted May 8, 2007 It certainly does help! Many thanks I'll get the serial number of the jack and send them an e-mail Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jameslwt Posted May 8, 2007 Share Posted May 8, 2007 It certainly does help! Many thanks I'll get the serial number of the jack and send them an e-mail Steve Don't know how similar they are to Hi lifts, but.... Make sure the jack is well greased - it's amazing what a difference it makes when trying to 'engage' the down selector thingy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Top90 Posted May 8, 2007 Share Posted May 8, 2007 As stated, make sure it's greased properly. My HiLift pins always stick if it's not given regular maintenance. Rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BogMonster Posted May 8, 2007 Share Posted May 8, 2007 I use WD40 rather than grease on mine, works well. The other thing to check is that the pins are not painted on a new jack - it jams them up completely. I had to take the pins out of my Jackall when it was new, grind all the paint off with a wire wheel on the bench grinder, and then lubricate and refit them. It was completely hopeless before I did this and perfect afterwards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LandyManLuke Posted May 8, 2007 Share Posted May 8, 2007 I'm not trying to say 'I told you so', but i've never used a hi-lift to change a tyre, in fact i don't even own one. With all these tales of marginal operation and injury, i'm in no hurry to go out and buy one. I've got a bottle jack, and a base i made to increase it's footprint on the ground. It's fallen over once, on really soft ground, at which point my fingers, jaw, groin etc were no where near the moving parts, unlike the stories i've heard about hi-lifts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
will_warne Posted May 8, 2007 Share Posted May 8, 2007 I'm not trying to say 'I told you so', but i've never used a hi-lift to change a tyre, in fact i don't even own one. With all these tales of marginal operation and injury, i'm in no hurry to go out and buy one.I've got a bottle jack, and a base i made to increase it's footprint on the ground. It's fallen over once, on really soft ground, at which point my fingers, jaw, groin etc were no where near the moving parts, unlike the stories i've heard about hi-lifts. High lifts can be really nasty - only last year the truck fell off mine, into the workbench and onto the floor. I only use them when I have to and, in those cases, keep my hands clear of the workings (the polyuethane blocks that hold the hangle in place are good for knocking in pins / changing the up/down lever. You also want to keep your body clear of the handle as Exmoor Beast will tell you! Edited to add, WD40 is better than grease as the latter just mixes with muck making the problem worse! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BogMonster Posted May 8, 2007 Share Posted May 8, 2007 They are safe if treated with respect i.e. keep anything valuable out of the way Treat it a bit like a gun, i.e. if you peer down the barrel when it is loaded fill it up with mud and then bang it on the table a few times you may well come off second best. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThreeSheds Posted May 8, 2007 Share Posted May 8, 2007 "the gun is always loaded and the hi-lift always kicks" I use mine every few days while I am re-building my RRC and although I treat it with utmost respect, I don't see that it is particularly dangerous among all the other workshop hazards.. TS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hybrid_From_Hell Posted May 8, 2007 Share Posted May 8, 2007 Oh Piccie gooooooooooo on Nice to meet a fellow "Self Injurer" on the forum - normally its just me that does this sort of thing to myself Are we related ? Nige Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Abel Posted May 8, 2007 Share Posted May 8, 2007 Hi lift jacks are great and i use it all the time, BUT on several occasions ive forgot to leave the jack in the up position, if you leave it in the down position and accidentally knock the leaver it drops down and then flicks up really quickly and then again and again at hyper speed. just dont try and stop it if it does that cos it blo4dy Hurts!! And then the are the times when it falls off the jack etc. Treat with respect!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve King Posted May 8, 2007 Author Share Posted May 8, 2007 Oh Piccie gooooooooooo on Nice to meet a fellow "Self Injurer" on the forum - normally its just me that does this sort of thing to myself Are we related ? Nige Ok I'll take my camera with me when I go to the doc's to get my wound dressed tomorrow! We are not related as far as I know, but I was dragged brought up in Surrey! BogMonster was right there was paint on the top pin. I've cleaned both pins up and given it a good squirt of WD40. When I'm feeling brave I'll try a trial lift! Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rob90 Posted May 8, 2007 Share Posted May 8, 2007 Bloody farm jacks I "borrowed" one from work a few years ago since then ive used it twice, the first time i couldnt lower it then when it did lower the leaver sliped hitting me in the jaw leaving me swollen and bleeding, and the second time i very stupidly jacked the back end up by the tow bar to put it on axel stands just got it high enough for the stands and it moved to one side and came crashing down on to swmbo pride and joy 07 citroen c2 vtr making a nice big dint in the rear wing it wouldnt be so bad but she was cleaning it at the time and saw everything so i have fallen out with them there not idiot proof enough for me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les Henson Posted May 8, 2007 Share Posted May 8, 2007 They are dangerous things, being able to buy one without knowing how to use one safely is a recipe for disaster. I think a chap got killed by one of these things a few years ago, and I believe Exmoor Beast had a smack in the chin, which resulted in a split tongue? If you use one correctly, they are fine, but too many people use them for the wrong reasons to supposedly save time. A new jack nearly always has operating problems for the reasons already stated. The pins should be lightly oiled bare metal with no steps or other damage that might prevent it from locating/dislocating from the ladder. It seems stupid, but if you buy a new farm jack you need to take it apart to fix it. Les. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BogMonster Posted May 8, 2007 Share Posted May 8, 2007 They are dangerous things, being able to buy one without knowing how to use one safely is a recipe for disaster. I agree - at work, among other things I run a small hire fleet of mostly Defenders and when people get punctures they always moan because it takes ages to change the wheel with the LR issue screw jack, compared to 5 min with a bumper jack. The simple reason we don't is because I can do without liability claims from somebody who gets mangled fingers and a broken jaw! The LR screw jack is a pile of poo but it is fairly idiot proof as there isn't a lot that can go wrong. Using a proper jack adaptor removes a fair amount of the risk from a bumper jack then all you really need is to maintain it occasionally and hang on to the handle! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve King Posted May 8, 2007 Author Share Posted May 8, 2007 little_finger Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jwriyadh Posted May 8, 2007 Share Posted May 8, 2007 I will second LandymanLuke. Farm jacks are wonderful tools used in the right places, lifting a floppy suspension Defender to change wheel is not one of them. Unless, the reason for the lift is to use the inherent instability of the device, ie casting one end of the vehicle out of deep wheel tracks. jw Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LandyManLuke Posted May 8, 2007 Share Posted May 8, 2007 little_finger link brings up a board error message for me, does it work for anyone else? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hybrid_From_Hell Posted May 8, 2007 Share Posted May 8, 2007 little_finger Oooooooooooooooooooooo Yes Made "things tighten down below" with a intake of breath Evil things High lifts Ta for the piccie, feel like I have a "Soul Mate" on the forum. Nige Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nige90 Posted May 8, 2007 Share Posted May 8, 2007 link brings up a board error message for me, does it work for anyone else? Nope. Error message for me too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geoffbeaumont Posted May 8, 2007 Share Posted May 8, 2007 'Tis working for me - are you still having trouble seeing it? And if so, what's the error you're getting? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nige90 Posted May 8, 2007 Share Posted May 8, 2007 This one ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davedavies Posted May 8, 2007 Share Posted May 8, 2007 I bought the same jack off the same people and had the same problem with first use - ended up kicking the pin/latch bit a couple of time with my size 13 rigger boots and it's worked fine ever since Only jack I now carry, find its very stable when lifting on the sides under the rockslider sills... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LandyManLuke Posted May 9, 2007 Share Posted May 9, 2007 'Tis working for me - are you still having trouble seeing it? And if so, what's the error you're getting? Since Geoff and HFH can see it, but Nige and I can't, might i suggest that its something to do with access rights, admin/mod Vs users. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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