I’ve done both. Adding Cat Oil to the tank and brushing it on the packing head or heads. Not sure how effective brushing is, but some things are worth a try. Ages ago we used to lube the sticky pistons with Slick 50 and had good results.

I almost never use it... had one job that kind of shook when leveling up. Adjusted everything we could think of and it wouldn't go away... in that case we used oil additive and it fixed the issue all together. That's the only case I can recall in which it was necessary though

We used Green Slime from Texacone to salve the piston, and either Cat oil or Transmission Fluid to add to the tank oil. FYI, Telescoping jacks are the bane of a good ride.

Yes. They are the worst. Elevator guy 128 Which oil additive did you use. Is Adams soft stop good additive ? It says 1q/50 gal. Seems like very little

I use Maxglide, it was a while back but I think it was a 1 or 2 gallon jug...car had a maxton valve and was only a two stop

I have a 3 stage telescopic cantilever that had very hard starts , rough ride , and was leaking. I’m changing seals and oil. And was going to add an additive just to really go all out. I ordered a gallon of Maxglide from Maxton. 100$. Thanks elevator guy 128... I don’t think it can hurt

Send an update when all is done...curious to see if it resolved the issue

What kind of cat oil is preferred

We just finished repacking two 4-stop twin post AMEE's. We used the Texacone packings on car 1 and the Gorman packings on car 2. We always replace the check valves and o-rings since the pistons are pulled out to change the internal seals on the lower two pistons. I prefer the Gorman packings. They loaded through the seal tool easier and they seem to provide a smoother ride. We lube all the seals and o-rings with Texacone Jacks Green Slime. We put 1 quart of the Maxton Maxglide oil additive into the lower two pistons before screwing the heads back on. Does anyone know of a place that will test those TKE proprietary check valves? $380 bucks a pop is getting pretty ridiculous. I have a feeling most of them are still good. I have a whole bucket full of them.

We have never had to replace the check valves. It has always been the internal seals that go out on us. There is not an oring in the check valve, unless you needed to check spring pressure, I would imagine that other than a visual inspection, there is nothing else to check.

Linden Valve may be able to test them out officially.

https://parts.cat.com/en/catcorp/624-3379

Thanks Solidstate. There is an o-ring that comes with the seal kit that goes up into the bottom of the piston and seals the outside of the check valve body to the piston body where you shove the check valve in. When I'm that deep into it I just like to replace it all just in case.

Just saw, that Texacone has came out with the check valves for TKE

Nice. Thank you for that info. Do you know the cost?