We were removing a 4x4 post that's stuck in dirt, I was able to lift it out a small bit by hand it just took awhile rocking it around.

I got creative and attached some 2x4's to the 4x4 post and grabbed my friends truck jack (2017 I believe) and noticed the hook tool to turn it was actually 2 pieces. The hook part detaches from the stem. Weird. My 2011 it's all one piece.

Jack was on a solid flat surface and I made it a few turns and that hook tool just buckled where it attached to the stem.

I wondered if it was an aftermarket jack kit (they bought the truck used) or if a 4x4 post in dirt is just too much resistance? Thought it odd.

 

I am unable to visualize what you are describing. I mean I don't know how the hook buckled if that is part of the twisting mechanism.

Anyway, as long as you can source a replacement for him all should be good. Maybe an odd instance or maybe jack wasn't used as intended and you added a load to where a load would not be present during the lifting of a vehicle. Again, I can't visualize what happened.

 

Pictures are always useful. This is what their hook tool looked like. It buckled roughly where I put the line. Everything was setup and stable and I used the bit with the hole to turn it and went slow. Just so odd.

 

My guess is that ford made that area of the handle the weak link so as not to over stress the jack.

 

Now I'm following along.

I was thinking 'buckle' in terms of too much force was being applied by the jack and it no longer supported the forces. That is true in this case but not how I visualized.

I think above is on point, too much torque was being applied. If the stuck piece of wood was not moving, it is possible that your twisting force was greater than the force required to raise the vehicle off the ground.
I wonder what the jack is rated for.

 

If the post was set in concrete, you're looking at about 3500lb of force required to break free from fairly dry dirt. That's more than the jack must lift to change a tire.

But the jack and handle are good for that much as long as you don't start with the jack way down. The lower the jack when you start, the more force required to lift a given weight.

 

That all makes sense. I did wet the dirt before I started which is why I was able to pull the post up 2-3 inches by hand. I could have started with the jack higher I suppose, I only raised it 7-10 turns to give myself clearance to turn with the handle without knocking the ground.

Barrowing my friends bottle jack and floor jack to see if either of those can get it the rest of the way out. It was a DIY post from previous owners, not in concrete so no telling how far down it is.

 

If you were able to pull it up some by hand, unless there is something set in the ground that the post is hanging up on, no reason for the handle to fold. Takes a hell of a lot more power to lift the truck than a human will exert.

 

That’s what “high lift” farm jacks are for. I pulled a bunch of “T” posts that had been in the ground for decades. The high lift eased them right out. Most of them bent a bit, but all came out.

 

Steel Hi-Lifts are rated 7000lb. My aluminum model is only rated 4600lb, but I used it to force heavily warped 2x6's into position while building a deck last year, and easily pulled concrete set posts with it the year before. Unstucks the SCrew without drama, too.