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Hi Guys,

Ok, I'm going to do something different..........I'm going to ask how you disassemble this thing BEFORE I try to do it and end up destroying it. With old age comes wisdom.......someone once said. I picked up this jack last week because it was cheap and painted OD green. I did a little digging, hoping to find out if it was correct for the early M37s.......meaning it was the one that came with the trucks before they switched to the hydraulic bottle jack, but I haven't been able to confirm or deny that one yet. I can confirm it was used in WWII Dodges......so it's a cool piece to have regardless. It's a bit hard turning the knob that raises the jack, so I want to take it apart and clean/lube it......but I don't see any obvious way to do it. So can someone tell me how to go about it.....before I get the big hammer out of the drawer?

Thanks,
bob

have you tried raising it all the way up? it might be simple enough that you can just raise it all the way to the top until the plunger comes out. but i don't know for sure at all

Bob, Any dates mixed into all of that stamping?

also found this article, might be of help as far as dates are concerned

G503 SJ2050 Jack thread

Hi Guys,

Isaac.........I was looking at the same article over on G503! Thanks. As for turning it all the way up.........it started getting hard to turn so I stopped and posted my question. I can put a little force on it tomorrow and see if it continues to go all the way up. If not I can soak it for a few days in the parts washer and see if that frees it up a bit.

M-37Bruce........I don't see any dates. But it is a bit dirty, so I can give it a good cleaning and see if anything else shows up. What is on the jack is "Auto Specialties, St. Joseph Mich, Capacity 4000 lbs, SJ2050". There's also another stamping on the bottom of the base which looks to read SJ 2053 or 2058. I'll confirm that once I get it clean.

I'm also wondering if he top part is supposed to screw up like other jacks do. It moves just a bit when you try to turn it, but I haven't seen any pics online that show it screwing upward.

thanks,
bob

All good answers, the 2058 could be a clue?
Bruce

hah! I kept wondering when looking at your picture, how the gearing on the shaft, visible on the right side of the jack, worked. I just realized the "gearing" is the coiled phone cord on the phone on the wall in the back ground. As for how these things might work, I have no idea.

i don't believe the top of this one screws in or out, i thin it's a fixed casting, different from the other "screw out" style.

when i first looked, i thought the phone cord was gearing as well!

Ah, my bad. My photography skills leave a little to be desired! I started searching patents online for jacks and I think I found the one that applies to this one. I'll check it out after I get all the animals fed and have a look at it.

Be back soon,
bob

if you can't get it apart maybe submerge in a bucket of auto tranny fluid for a week, then run it up and down a bunch of times to get the bad suff out and submerge again? tranny fluid has tons of detergent in it.

Hi Guys,

I still haven't figured how to get it disassembled, but don't really need to. After a bath in the parts washer everything turns freely and it works as intended. It gets pretty wobbly when fully extended, but I guess it will do the job. As to Isaac's suggestion about it coming apart once fully extended......that's not the case. It just stops when it's as far extended as it can be. Pretty ingenious design, all things considered. I'll post a pic when I get some more time.

thanks,
bob

that's good to hear. I like the design no unscrewing the top half like a hydraulic jack. and can be used on it side as a porta power.

is the bottom of that jack open? I would expect there was a pin on that upper part holding it in. Could get to it from the bottom?

No, the bottom of the jack is a flat plate and the vertical housing is welded to the plate with a continuous bead. I'm guessing it wasn't meant to come apart once assembled. It actually gets pretty high (long) when fully extended, but the two pieces that extend don't have much support, so they wobble a bit. Wouldn't inspire much confidence if you were laying under a 6000 lb hunk of steel with only this jack supporting it. I'll try to post a pic later.

thanks,
bob

they don't really wobble much under load. Even so I carry a hunk of 6x6 so I don't have to extend so far.