Harbor Freight Bench Issue

Yorkie · Jul 2, 2021

I recently moved and in the process oil spilled out of the ram on my harbor freight lift bench. I removed the rubber plug from the cylinder and filled it up with floor jack fluid but the bugger still will not rise. I’ve tried bleeding it by pumping it with the release pedal depressed but no joy. Does anyone have any recommendations?

lazyeye6 · Jul 2, 2021

Buy a new one. $329 + tx.
Compare with a good one at $800-900
Throwaway Chinese stuff. You get what you pay for..
I've had mine for 8 glorious years, so, can't complain.

swooshdave · Jul 2, 2021

You need to bleed the air out. Look up how to do it with any hydraulic jack.

jbruney · Jul 2, 2021

Be patient because some are a booger when it comes to bleeding...... worse than brakes on an old Goldwing. Read instructions also.

Yorkie · Jul 3, 2021

swooshdave said:
You need to bleed the air out. Look up how to do it with any hydraulic jack.

according to the manual you remove the refill bung, depress the release pedal and pump the raise pedal - 6-8 times then close the release pedal. That’s what I did. Most hydraulic rams I’ve rebuilt require you to bleed in an upright position which is tough considering the lay down nature of the HB ram.

baz · Jul 3, 2021

Keep at it
It'll bleed eventually

seattle##gs · Jul 3, 2021

I had to buy a new one from HF. It cost $50 and took about a month and a half. That's been 5 years and still working.

Yorkie · Jul 4, 2021

Final word - I removed the ram and bled it vertically. Reinstalled and now works fine. Hope that helps anyone in the future.

Harbor Freight Bench Issue

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