Would it be better if I went and bought a new one for piece of mind in case the old one crapped itself when I be changing a wheel out in the boondocks or in some mudpit.
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10w engine oil is fine for the jack.
what you're describing is normal for a jack thats got old swelled or encrusted seals.
hydraulics like me are lazy and do the easy work first till that becomes hard then moves onto the next easiest bit of work untill its only option is to do the actual hard work of lifing the vehicle.
in a perfect world the whole ram will lift at once then when the first stage runs out of travel the second part will begin to extend. IF the first part has a sticking seal its easier for the hydraulics to push up the second stage. When the second stage encounters resistance it become easier for the hydraulics to lift the primary stage once the primary stage bottoms out the second stage it will then start lifting the vehicle. When the primary stage runs out of travel the secondary will then begin to lift.
IF you Cant lift the vehicle because youve exceeded the capacity of the second stage (IE the oil is bypassing through the pressure relief valve) chock the vehicle up, lower the jack, chock up the jack and go again on the primary stage of the jack, it gives something like 300kg more lift than the secondary stage.
heres a thread on how to rebuild the red rover jack
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