HiLift Jacks are like over-talkative friends. Always there and helpful when you need them, but never quiet when you don't.
There are a variety of means and aftermarket devices for attaching your HiLift to your 'Cruiser. However, as secure as your HiLift will be attached to your truck, the HiLifts are still one of the most annoying and rattle-infested pieces of gear you can carry.
There are four distinct areas of the HiLift that stir up this clankity-clunk orchestra, and a fifth area that will howl with an incessant whistle . . . . second only to a San Francisco Bay fog horn.
The metal-to-metal areas need to be silenced first. And, it's easily done with a roll of electrical tape, an old credit card and a handy device called a HiLift Jack Handle Isolator (made by Daystar).
Area 1 - the jack handle.
Remove the cotter pin, slide out the handle, and then wrap about two layers of electrical tape approximately 2 inches from the end.
Slide the handle back into the HiLift and re-insert the cotter pin.
Area 2 - the HiLift jack base.
Remove the cotter pin, slide the base off of the jacking shaft, and wrap two layers of electrical tape about an inch and a half from the bottom.
Pinch the tape down to conform to the H-shaped contour of the base, slide the base back onto the HiLift and replace the cotter pin.
Area 3 - the ratchet assembly.
From the bottom end of the ratchet assembly, slide an old credit card between it and the jacking shaft. (The credit card will slide in about 1 1/4".)
Cut off any remaining exposed section of the credit card.
Upon needing the HiLift jack, this credit card "shim" will fall out instantly the first time the HiLift is ratcheted upward.
Area 4 - the bouncing jack handle.
The Daystar "Isolator" can be purchased for about $11 from most off-road supply companies. Daystar Products - Expedition Exchange Incorporated
Slide the Isolator onto the HiLift jack handle to prevent metal-to-metal contact between the handle and the jack. Of course, the Isolator will have to be removed or slid out of the way prior to using the HiLift.
Area 5 - the jack handle "wind tunnel."
If your HiLift is mounted on the outside of your FJ facing forward, and you can't seem to track down the source of that shrieking whistling sound, look no further than the open handle of your HiLift jack.
A black 1 1/4" rubber chair leg tip (available form Lowe's, Home Depot, etc.) can be slipped onto the open end of the HiLift handle to completely silence that obnoxious whistling.
Prior to sliding the rubber tip onto the jack handle, smear a little bit of liquid hand soap into the tip. This will allow the tip to be easily slid off when you need to remove your Isolator for use. And, it's not a bad idea to put the rubber tip back on the handle during HiLift usage . . . . for a little more cushioning in the event that the handle decides to introduce itself to one of your more precious body parts.
Your HiLift Jack will now be free of virtually every relentless rattle, clunking sound, creak, squeak and whistle that has been plaguing you all these years. You can now "go in peace."
There are a variety of means and aftermarket devices for attaching your HiLift to your 'Cruiser. However, as secure as your HiLift will be attached to your truck, the HiLifts are still one of the most annoying and rattle-infested pieces of gear you can carry.
There are four distinct areas of the HiLift that stir up this clankity-clunk orchestra, and a fifth area that will howl with an incessant whistle . . . . second only to a San Francisco Bay fog horn.
The metal-to-metal areas need to be silenced first. And, it's easily done with a roll of electrical tape, an old credit card and a handy device called a HiLift Jack Handle Isolator (made by Daystar).
Area 1 - the jack handle.
Remove the cotter pin, slide out the handle, and then wrap about two layers of electrical tape approximately 2 inches from the end.
Slide the handle back into the HiLift and re-insert the cotter pin.
Area 2 - the HiLift jack base.
Remove the cotter pin, slide the base off of the jacking shaft, and wrap two layers of electrical tape about an inch and a half from the bottom.
Pinch the tape down to conform to the H-shaped contour of the base, slide the base back onto the HiLift and replace the cotter pin.
Area 3 - the ratchet assembly.
From the bottom end of the ratchet assembly, slide an old credit card between it and the jacking shaft. (The credit card will slide in about 1 1/4".)
Cut off any remaining exposed section of the credit card.
Upon needing the HiLift jack, this credit card "shim" will fall out instantly the first time the HiLift is ratcheted upward.
Area 4 - the bouncing jack handle.
The Daystar "Isolator" can be purchased for about $11 from most off-road supply companies. Daystar Products - Expedition Exchange Incorporated
Slide the Isolator onto the HiLift jack handle to prevent metal-to-metal contact between the handle and the jack. Of course, the Isolator will have to be removed or slid out of the way prior to using the HiLift.
Area 5 - the jack handle "wind tunnel."
If your HiLift is mounted on the outside of your FJ facing forward, and you can't seem to track down the source of that shrieking whistling sound, look no further than the open handle of your HiLift jack.
A black 1 1/4" rubber chair leg tip (available form Lowe's, Home Depot, etc.) can be slipped onto the open end of the HiLift handle to completely silence that obnoxious whistling.
Prior to sliding the rubber tip onto the jack handle, smear a little bit of liquid hand soap into the tip. This will allow the tip to be easily slid off when you need to remove your Isolator for use. And, it's not a bad idea to put the rubber tip back on the handle during HiLift usage . . . . for a little more cushioning in the event that the handle decides to introduce itself to one of your more precious body parts.
Your HiLift Jack will now be free of virtually every relentless rattle, clunking sound, creak, squeak and whistle that has been plaguing you all these years. You can now "go in peace."
