Manual Trailer Jack just stopped moving... Stays in place but wont crank up or down?

[Carl Wonderful]

Had front weight of c22 on it and was cranking it higher...and mid crank just seemed like the gears became disconnected or something? It didn't slip, it stayed right there, I can turn the handle but nothing catches...?

Is it broke? Sorta need it tomorrow. Any info would be great!!

Its the standard jack with the wheel at bottom, nothing fancy.

my jack looks basically like this one in the picture

 

[Timm R Oday25]

Chances are the low price required to replace explains whether are prone to failure
I would try lifting the tongue a small amount . If it can be done safely. Then I would lift the shaft,while turning the crank and see if you can get the rack to engage with the gears again.
Seeing as it has failed once ,I would not want to try my luck again . Especially when you aren't at home

 

[Rick Webb]

Pin on the gear probably snapped

Just replace the whole thing

 

[Rich Stidger]

I have a similar trailer jack, but it's on a utility trailer and does not carry the weight of a boat.

I have never had it apart and never had a failure, but my *guess* is that one of the pinion gears have broken (sheared) the pin that holds them to the shaft. It could be either the driving gear that is attached to the crank handle, or the driven gear that is attached to the top of the screw lift shaft.

Either way, you have a choice- Replace the entire jack or block the trailer and remove the jack for repair. The gears are *probably* attached to their respective shaft with a split or a solid pin. If that is the case, drive out the broken pin with a punch and fit a new pin. Make sure that the new pin is steel and not a softer metal like aluminum or brass.

The fastest repair is to simply buy a new jack, making sure that it's capacity is at least enough for your boat weight.

 

[Project_Mayhem]

Use an automotive jack in the meantime. The dual wheel trailer tongue jack at harbor freight worked alright for the five or so years that I had it.

 

[Carl Wonderful]

Thanks guys for your help. I was able to get inside the thing earlier tonight and the uppermost gear had snapped right in half. I'll probably just replace with a new one with a higher weight limit.

Its rated for 1500 and it was holding half of my boats weight (+ trailer weight).

C22 = ~2250 Trailer ~450
Total 2700 divided by 2 is just under the 1500 limit. Guess it was just too much for it.

 

[Benny17441]

Had front weight of c22 on it and was cranking it higher...and mid crank just seemed like the gears became disconnected or something? It didn't slip, it stayed right there, I can turn the handle but nothing catches...?

Is it broke? Sorta need it tomorrow. Any info would be great!!

Need it for tomorrow, just purchase and install a replacement. Hard to diagnose online, but more likely than not, is not worth fixing.

 

[JoeWhite]

It should be lifting 10% of the weight of the load. If you feel it was lifting 1500lb, this may be the reason that it broke. You may have to adjust the boat back to lighten up the load.