The smaller Echo saws pump oil at idle, though the larger ones are clutch driven and stop pumping at idle. Perfectly natural for them to do this. To minimize the mess when stored, just set the saws on a piece of cardboard and you'll be A-OK.

Hydralic cylinders have teflon seals and o-rings that seal in the housing. Usually have a spanner nut ato the top of the cylinder you unscrew to dissemble the cylinder push rod. There no reason you can't reseal it other than if you can't find the right size telfon seals and o-rings. Again the age of the jack most likely the seals become harden and alow fluid to seep pass. any type of additive the will cause the seals to soften and swell up may revive the old jack. If and when you do get it resealed now you have to bleed all the air out. which is pretty hard and takes awhile. If the pump rod is pitted form years of contamited fluid it still may leak. If you want something to last for even then you have to have a routine maintenance schedule. On the jack this would be a good cleaning every couple of months, greasing the pivot points and changing the hydraulic fluid every other year. I agree don't ever trust a hydraulic jack when going under a car ALWAYS have a backup incase the jack suddenly falls, Yes this can happen when there is air in the system or an o-ring failure. Ususlly the hydraulic system will give you warning signs. like lost of fluid, jacking but, the push rod don't work right, or jacking something heavy and it bleeds down on you are all signs of potenial failure.

I got back to the splitter and added guard-rails to protect the filter, added a flat plate on the push guide's front vs wood wedging the rod,s end (restricting some play) and etc maintenance. I contacted the donor to Confirmed Over Kill On Fluid! The Log Splitter was Initially Manual and had grown to Hydro before I continued it. It had to be a Monster Manual Bottle Jack splitter and I'll respect it as a 10 ton with the Hydro Cyl 3.5" ID X 24" X 2" rod. Plus, due to the 4X4X.25 rail X 1" pin and adjustable wedge. I H/N found one that compares. "This Explains All I Thought About The Splitter". I felt it was originally manual with the small wheels and front handle. Except, the plate for the tank and pump were throwing me off. The Donor who is a machinist and perfectionist explains the plate that I thought was Factory added (due to how it was formed and welded). He explained the 5 Gal Hydro Fluid tank could have been 2-3 Gals. The 5 Gal tank was the easiest to find vs welding up one or using the 4X4 rail as the tank as many. I'll still test it good with 4 Gals (which has never shown any signs of heat (Why?), "at the pump's 3 GPM rate as below", plus specs below in the same range or above this splitter suggest 3.5 Gals which sounds correct. Too Much To Spell/Grammar Check! LOL. loger PS. I'll be looking for some wood for next season soon!! http://science.howstuffworks.com/transport/engines-equipment/hydraulic2.htm Let's look at some of the specifics of these components to see how a real hydraulic system works. If you take a trip down to your local building supply center or a place like Northern Tool and Equipment and look at the log splitters, you will find that a typical backyard log splitter has: 1. A 5-horsepower gasoline engine 2. A two-stage hydraulic oil pump rated at a maximum of 11 gallons per minute (3 gpm at 2,500 psi) 3. A 4-inch-diameter, 24-inch-long hydraulic cylinder 4. A rated splitting force of 20 tons 5. A 3.5-gallon hydraulic oil tank

i had the same issue on my kawasaki engine in a 2003 JD 235 a couple of months ago. the engine had to be removed to replace the sump gasket, certainly something i am not capable of doing. the fix is not inexpensive but given the quality and condition of the machine, it was worth it (they don't put k7x transmissions in entry level GT's anymore). about $500 in the balto/wash area plus the ridiculous pick up and delivery fee dealerships are now charging.