Fix sinking office chair | Testing the WD-40 idea
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 29 ก.ค. 2024
- I'm trying to fix my office chair that is sinking/failing me with an idea I found on a video of a fellow youtuber.
Though I'm not sure about this fix, that guy might on to something and adding WD-40 or even better, vaseline , might actually do the trick and stop the chair from sinking. - แนวปฏิบัติและการใช้ชีวิต
I had just gotten a PVC pipe an hour before seeing this video. I youtubed that PVC pipe video again for the instructions and while looking for it I chanced upon this and saw the WD40 in the thumbnail. I read the positive feedback in the comments and was convinced to try this out first since I had a can and the tools needed atm. I do not understand the science of using something greasy to fix something that is slipping but lo and behold, it mvtherfcvking works!
🤣yed, it's crazy
" I do not understand the science of using something greasy to fix something that is slipping but lo and behold, it mvtherfcvking works!" I'm totally with you!! LOL! I just lubricated the chair, turned it upside down and tomorrow I'll put it back together and see if it works. Fingers crossed!
Something about the grease stopping the air from escaping from what I understand.
The slow motion sinking part, was all the money!! Hilarious!!
That was great! You have to keep the deadpan face, though. I was teaching a group of students one day, and my chair started to very slowly sink. I knew I was sinking, but just kept my eyes on my students acting very serious about what they were saying. The students' reactions were priceless. They didn't know if they should tell me, ignore it, or whatever. But, I could clearly tell that they noticed. When I hit the bottom, I slowly smiled, and they out burst laughing. That was a great day. 😀
It worked like a charm. I would recommend putting down a drop cloth or some newspaper before you get started. The washers are greasy and will stain your carpet, not to mention the dripping WD-40. I wiped off the excess grease and grim from the parts. Everything seemed well-lubricated. I wouldn't hesitate to use some new grease if I had some. Don't poo-poo Vaseline. That put a rocket on the moon. Had a little trouble getting the spring clip off. Ended up using a small screwdriver and needle-nose pliers to work it off.
This is really a very quick help video! Thank you so much! Stay being blessed and a blessing to others as well☺️
Maybe turning the chair up-side-down would lubricate the shaft all the way to the top and have an even better effect ? Thanks for the post 👍
Makes sense that lubricating the O-Rings that connect the shaft to the pressure chamber is the easiest problem to fix. Nice to see that the likely cause is the seals drying out and just some lube will fix it. Reminds me of power steering pumps on my 85 Olds, the seals would dry out over time and to fix it you would put a greasier oil into the power steering pump to "moisturize" the O-ring on the shaft that connects the pump to the motor.
Was just going to ask what is it about the wd40 that works, so thanks for explaining.
Thanks for explaining this. This worked on mine but was trying to figure out why. Assumed it was something with the ring but your explanation made sense.
I'm not convinced, but it's worth a try. If the seals are dried out, it stands to reason some of the gas has already escaped, making lubing effective only if you still have enough cylinder air pressure to hold up your weight. Given that WD-40 is also a solvent, however, it could also damage the seals and rings .
I was thinking of getting a new chair for a while because of the sinking problem but I gave it one last chance and looked up the problem. Found a lot of videos that fix the chair in one height before I saw this one and gave it a shot. Worked like a charm and took maybe 2 minutes, TNX!
How is it so far?
Yup, that's all there is to it. You'll want to invert the chair fully, and get any oil in there that you have to hand. Hydraulic, ATF, gear oil, even baby oil, pretty much anything except brake fluid. I wouldn't recommend vaseline for use on rubber seals: silicone, lithium, or red rubber grease would be better. If you remove the chair from the base, there's another seal at the top end (under the release button) which you can also lubricate with liquid.
Thanks, this TOTALLY fixed my chair, which is less than two years old. I was very disappointed to have bought this chair, for it to begin to fail
like this so soon. I tossed my last chair for this very reason, and now know that i could have possibly fixed the problem as simple as this.
* * * * * *
I am adding this post script three weeks later.
My chair began to drop last night in little bumps at a time until it was all the way down in about one minute.
I am going to repeat the oiling process once again, but this time I’m not going to use WD40, but a light machine oil.
I’ll post my results later.
How did it work? After the update. Thanks!
Your office chair fix worked perfectly!! I used lithium grease and I am excited that it is finally fixed!! Thank you!!!!
Glad it helps :) I was quite skeptical myself about this "fix". But my chair also works pretty well now
Thanks for the tip/suggestion! I used 'Blaster' white lithium grease, in an aerosol can, with a straw, like WD40... so far... so good! 🤞
I have a AkRacing chair since years and the last couple months it was sinking randomly, it was so random that i didnt ever bother to fix it, but last couple days was terrible annoying. I was looking prices to buy a new one, because i dont want to change the air compressor. I reach to your video and did this because i have wd40, and... DONT UNDERSTAND WHY, my chair problem got completly fixed, i really really really appreciate for this tutorial man, u save me lot of money.
I was in exactly same situation :) I also don't really understand how this works :)) But I'm guessing the WD40 might seal the possible gaps, which would explain somehow why it works. Cheers!
@@DrunkBrainAllTheWay it actually has to do with the seals in the hydraulic strut being too dry. the air that comes out when you go down with the chair dries the seals on both ends (mostly at the top tho) so adding a bit of grease and working it back and forth a little makes it soft and more flexible which prevents the air from escaping the shaft as it's intended from the beginning. i work with maintenance of offices and see a lot of perfect chairs being thrown away because of this issue. i just do this solution but with a different liquid (jack oil just for this purpose) and they're like new again
@@DrunkBrainAllTheWay the WD lubricates the seal. Dry shaft might rub against the rubber seal and eventually air leaks out. when its lubricated the seal can efficiently up and down without leaking any air pressure .
It worked perfect for me the first time I raised it back up!! AWESOME!! Thanks Dude :)
I used sewing machine oil on my chair's sinking piston. It dropped the first couple times after the lubing. I repeated oiling once a day for two more days, ran the piston through its full stroke a few times, each time. Now weeks later it seems to stay working with no more maintenance required. Excellent!
I was bored that day...so I can't believe that it worked and the video got so many views 😂
Cheers!
@@DrunkBrainAllTheWay FYI, my chair used to have some "give" when I first sit on it, now, it's got a really smooth "bounce" to it. This should probably be an occasional maintenance thing to do, even if the piston hasn't "failed". It was a helpful hack. Thanks for posting. 👍
@@brianmacdonald3292 you're probably right. Everything needs some maintenance from time to time.
I used 3-in-one oil because it's a little heavier than WD40 and it fixed this problem immediately. I only had to do it once and I had the chair upside down so the oil ran down into the cylinder. Thanks for the information, it fixed an annoying problem.
How is it so far?
It works! I made sure to use plenty of WD-40 until no more went in, and all seems well now. Thanks very much.
How is it so far?
Fantastic! My chair would randomly drop in small but startling increments. I was ready to go get another gas piston when I found this video. I used 3-in-1 oil, and it took about 10 minutes to complete the job. So far it looks like the issue is fixed - my chair hasn't dropped at all since. Thanks a bunch!
Is it still good?
@@wab_ Yes, it's holding up really well. Instead of having to pop the seat back up to the top 5 or 6 times a day, now it's (maybe) every other day.
The fix worked like a charm, thanks for the video.
I tried your fix after being driven mad for 2 days of my chair sinking and happy to report it as worked so far :) So thank you so much.
I'm not the best camera guy, but I was also very surprised it worked :))) And now I'm happy it works for so many people :D frustrating thing with that sinking indeed.
How is it so far?
I have watched several other TH-cam videos on this subject and considered several options. I finally settled on the cheapest; a radiator clamp around the piston with duct tape protecting the piston, which made the chair non-adjustable, but worked. Then I came across your video and tried your method (I have some WD-40 silicone spray that I use for lubricating window channels in my car), and behold it worked just great. Thank you.
Is it still working? Let me know after a long session please
@@wab_ I just did this today, but after a few days I will let you know.
@@greyghost46 so? :)
So, after a month it still works.
@@greyghost46 noice
I give it a like and subscribe because I believe WD-40 no matter how simple of a compound it is will fix almost anything. May even be the Cure for Cancer one day. Stranger things have happened. LOL. Thanks for the video.
😂😂 awesome!
did you know that W D stands for 'water displacement' ? fun fact
And the 40 stands for it took 40 tries to get the recipe right
It worked! Thank you so much!! Who would've thought lube would help it stay up!
How is it so far?
Bro - it worked!
- thanks a lot man
Awesome! I'll give it a try, thanks.
Used this video about 10 minutes ago to fix my sinking chair. Great idea! Thank you.
How is it so far?
@@wab_ it kept sinking. I'd get it to work for a few hours or a day at most and it would sink again. I'm a large man, so it was expected. But for a lighter built person I'm sure it would hold much, much longer.
@@brettkepler7375 I thought the same when I was heavy myself. But even after I lost a lot of weight, it keeps sinking.. so it is probably not a weight issue.
IT WORKED!! THANK YOU!
This works great most of the time only problem when I lend back it drop every time. Thanks for the info.
Ok... I followed other guides using ductape and hose clamps and I'm pretty angry that the wd 40 solution wasnt one of the top like 10 videos. Thanks alot for making this. I used Vaseline on mine which is probably not better than WD 40 but this actually worked. I do not understand the science behind it though. Thanks a lot man.
Me neither....I was surprised that it worked.
Based on talking with people here in comments, we concluded that the grease/wd-40 probably seals the piston.
My chair also got fixed with this method. To my surprise, the chair sank exactly as shown in the video 2 times post fixing, but after that its stable now :) Thank you..
How is it so far?
@@wab_ Probably should have edited my comment after a day as it sank down again!
Update: It did fixed mine. But I have 2 chairs and it worked properly only on one of them. Will try again on the second one with grease when I'll have time
Only been 30 mins but so far white grease has done the job. Let's hope it lasts!
@@TheChiraagG has it lasted?
@@lqyt_ it has not! It was fine for 24 hours or so. I've since reapplied but no luck. Time to find a piece of pipe and go at it the tried and tested route. It may be because mine has more between washers (ball bearings etc on a plastic mount) so it's just not getting enough grease to seal it properly.
@@TheChiraagG Roger that! Thanks for letting me know
thank you very much
Awesome! Shitty video, but good fix 😁 I was also pretty happy I didn't had to buy a new chair or cylinder
Worked as a charm. Thanks!
So does the shaft seal dry out and the lubrication allows the seal to expand and work like it should?
It worked man! Thanks!
"Vaseline on the shaft" I'm dying from laughter watching these videos. It's too funny. I'll try the WD-40 idea and see if it works for my chair. Thanks!
Damn! I'm only realizing now how that sounds :))))
@@DrunkBrainAllTheWay Well, good news! 3 weeks later and the WD-40 is still working for my chair. I think it's well lubed! lol
@@Rotsuoy So you have a lubed shaft. 👍🏼
and he says V D 40...lol
@@oakenshanks W is pronounced as V in some European languages. For example, if you ever hear a German say BMW they will pronounce it BMV.
Worked for me!! Thank you!!!
It helped a little bit with my chair. My chair drops when I sit on it but doesn't really sink much after I'm sitting on it. Adding some cheap grease I got from china a while back seemed to help it keep it's height better and is much more springy.
I will try thanks for the video bro
Worked for me. I used 3 in 1 oil on mine and it worked also for me.
This works! Thank you so much!
Clean shaft then lubricant. Works perfectly!
Not W/D 40 use actual lubricant oil or grease
@@gregw6076WD40 is better. You’re welcome
Maan I was so skeptical about this, but I had to try it because I spent $400 on a computer massage chair, and after 3 months mines started to sink, and I'm a very slim person so its not even about weight. I followed your instructions, but i used the 3 in 1 oil, and I can't believe it worked...OMG thank u so much. I would have thought that grease would have made it go done even faster instead of staying up lol
Very happy it worked. I had same level of skepticism when I filmed it. I couldn't really believe it worked :))
@@DrunkBrainAllTheWay lol
i tried the same from a different video, at first it was working, and it was fixed for like 2 and a half weeks. then it started happening again, and now even if i wd it it sometimes works sometimes does the same thing immediately
Great comedy moment starting at 3:10 😂
Used vasoline, it worked. Thanks for the free fix.
This worked. First treatment. Surprising!
Some guy said to just turn the chair upside down ver night in the DOWN position. In the A.M. before Turing the chair over extend the the chair a few times.This should make the oil in there work again. In another hr. turn the chair back over after leaving it in the upside down position with it back DOWN again. in an hr. move the seat to the most up position & then turn it over & see if it stops falling down
Might try this on the other chair. The first one still works quite well. Thanks!
is working for Me! THANK-YOU
Now I'll have to send my Amazon replacement shot back. I should have watched your video first. The one I watched before yours said to replace the old shaft. And I could get the old shaft out of the chair base. I oiled and hammered twice. Your method worked instantly! Merci!
Hajaha...glad it worked. I was looking to get a new chair or cylinder just before I found this fix. When I test it (and film it) I was almost convinced this can't work...but a year later, I still have the same chair. Cheers!
I think it helps restore the seal in the cylinder! I will try this!
Just tried it so far so good.
It works by filling in air gaps that are made from the original oil wearing out and it will only work if the inner seals are broken, if the outer seals broken you need a new cylinder as the gas escapes.. works best if you remove the whole cylinder and fill both ends moving the cylinder in and out
Worked for me thanks.
Mine is also doing very good after the "fix". Sometimes it does go down a bit, but very, very rare.
That worked for me! Definitely wasn't expecting!
It worked, thanks!
God bless you, sir.
WORKS!! But I used "tri-flow" instead
Ngl, thought it was going to be bogus, but then I saw it work in the video. Still skeptical, I tried it myself, and it works! WD-40 fixes everything!
Would you laugh if I told you I thought the same when tried it? That was while filming :))
I used bicycle chain lubricant and it worked great. I think it is better than WD 40 cause it is more greasy. Thank you by the way.
That's what I want to do on my other chair, use some grease
I'll chime in, I used CRC True Tap cutting oil (for drilling steel) worked like a charm.
Happen randomly to me too but only when I sit in it after no usage of a while, this could fix it ?.
It did fixed mine. But I have 2 chairs and it worked properly only on one of them. Will try again on the second one with grease
Too simple vaseline worked a treat, great tip.
chair sinks even more now :') thanks
Thanks for the video, just tried it with some white lithium grease, we'll see how long it last but it seems to work.
Hey this comment is great for me. I have white grease I bought for my bike pedals and such and have used it to great success so far. Let's see how long it lasts, but it's a lot cheaper than a new cylinder or new chair overall, so worth it if it lasts 6 months at a time.
White Lithium Grease will destroy the rubber/plastic bearing rings....I made this mistake with mine. You need non petroleum based synthetic lube. "Super Lube" for example
This actually worked. Let’s see for how long! :D
I used tire black as it is thicker. It works as well.
Just tried it. Hopefully it stays up. :)
After watching the other video using WD-40, I tried. The first time, it did not. My chair sank; then, I knew I did not do something right. I remembered seeing WD-40 fluid disappeared near the bottom of the cylinder. So disassembled, sprayed more and pushed the stem a few times; i repeated a few time just to put more fluid inside the cylinder. It worked.
It seemed kinda counterintuitive to me, to "lube the shaft" 🤪, to KEEP it from slipping, but it was, by far, the easiest & cheapest thing to try first.
I liked Randy Moberg's suggestion & used the lithium grease I'd bought to solve the chair's squeaking. I didn't even removed the base of the chair.
I just laid it on its side & sprayed it directly on the steel cylinder, around where the 2 parts meet, flipped it back upright & raised & lowered it a few times.
It worked beautifully! I'll just wait to see how long it lasts.
I did this on 2 chairs. On one it still works fine, but on the second one it only worked for a while. When I'll have the time I'll try again, maybe with some grease.
@@DrunkBrainAllTheWay I used 'Blaster' white lithium grease, in an aerosol can, with a straw, like WD40.
Thanks!!! I'll keep you posted!
Well... the lithium grease worked for 2+ days, 'til I got "that sinking feeling" again.
So... I flipped it over & sprayed the $#!+ out of it with WD-40 this time. Maybe the WD-40 will penetrate better?
So far, so good. I'll keep you posted!
@@johnchester5318 Hmmm, I would say that maybe is because you need to have good access to the whole shaft, but I also have one chair for which it worked just for a while.
White Lithium Grease will destroy the rubber/plastic bearing rings....I made this mistake with mine. You need non petroleum based synthetic lube. "Super Lube" for example
can you adjust it to move up and down after spraying wd40?
I was able to adjust my chair no problem after spraying the WD40. No issues here!
Great. Thank you. RR
I packed automotive grease on it and it works like new thanks buddy
Works
thank you bro
Damn i just bought a new cylinder. Guess im sending it back
It work 100%
Yeah you have to lube the shaft good and move it up and down a few times, then it will stay stiff for you.
Wow it worked....but why did it work? Thanks for the video!
can someone explain why we need to lubricate that area? It worked btw, thanks.
We don't have too, but it makes it stop sliding 😂
The explanation we all came to is that it probably seals the shaft better and holds pressure better.
@@DrunkBrainAllTheWay Ahhh, I get it now. I covered the metal rod with thick grease like you suggested and it worked perfectly, thank you for ending this frustration. 🤣
For some reason this seem to have fixed my issue as well. Already bought a new gas cylinder but can’t remove the old one so I tried looking up for some other fix. Could’ve saved a few money if I only saw this video before buying the replacement cylinder.
You MUST of learned this from USAF basic training! This is some pro level life hacking. TYVM worked like a charm with some 3-1 in the hole and packing with Petroleum Jelly. THANKS!
!! PROBLEM FIX !!
Ig you remove the clip from the bottom of the cylinder and pull it out you can check if the rubber gasket (O-Ring) is broken :) The ballbearing and rubber gasket was broken on my chair and the crack in the gasket was letting the air out the bottom of the cylinder.
Thanks for the tip! That would explain why it works ok for a while and then just start going down suddenly.
@@DrunkBrainAllTheWay You're welcome :) Had zip ties on my chair for over a year and have tried to find a real fix many times. If you take the cylinder out you should make sure to check that there are no parts left at the bottom. And please tell me if this fix works for you :)
that face you made when you were sinking lol
You should see it when the sinking comes unexpectedly 😂
@@DrunkBrainAllTheWay i have the same ;) but the trick worked ! thank you so much !!
I've got PB Blaster I will try and post results later. Did see on another video after spraying wait about 30mins. Setting time I guess.
thanks
use white lithium grease in a spray can right next to the WD
Just applied the fix, so far slide down about two times now is holding up, fingers crossed we will see…
This worked great. Can any engineer (or someone smarter than me) explain how this fixes the chair? I dont even understand how it really works, but their was some black grease in their after my gf built this chair. Anyways wd40 did it
How is it so far?
Held my can firm and gave my oil a good shake, lubed my shaft all over and sinking cylinder dysfunction sydrome is a thing of the past for me. Just a shame i was all done in a couple of mins 😂
😂😂 Great story
I fixed mine. Vice grips. problem solved
I would probably want to put a towel down before spraying that straight down lol
WD stands for Water Displacement, not lubrication.
I just tried this fix with a mixture of WD-40 and Vaseline, because some say that WD-40 by itself is a bit too thin and oily. So, hopefully it works.
Don't know about mixtures,but someone did said, here in comments, that he used something with bigger viscosity and it worked better.
Here to report an update: Been sitting in my chair all night and it hasn’t gone down once. I highly recommend this method (or even my tweak above). Thanks!
@@naijainnit Awesome! Do they mix ok? The WD-40 and Vaseline
A hose clip or 2 works permanently
Didn't work for me
Well I’ll be damned….thanks!!
Hmmm not sure how that would even work, however I could speculate that the WD40 is maybe blocking an air gap that has appeared between two worn washers. Anyhow I haven't even removed the base of the chair I've just sprayed it directly on the cylinder itself to see if it runs down onto the washers, be one hell of a miracle fix if it really does work though :-)
How did it work out?
@@Noobtube83 It works for a couple of days until the WD40 dries out and then the chair goes back to sinking down again so unfortunately it's only a very temporary fix.
worked perfect with vaseline
All of the chairs in my old office did this and one guy flipped his chair and drizzled some olive oil from his salad onto the piston ram and it worked. ..... Olive oil.
😂😂 👍
Thanks worked for me.
No it didn’t, but thanks.
15 min after doing it with the Vaseline seems to be working, I'll keep updating
~ 3 weeks, it started to go down after 2 or 3 hours of sitting, not straight to the bottom at least, still good in my opinion