MaxJax not lifting evenly

[Jason280]

I've had a MaxJax 6k lb lift in the shop for at least 3-5 years, and has definitely come in handy. I picked it up used, and had to get one of the cylinders rebuilt a couple years back. Last year, I finally mounted the pump on one of the columns and ran the hydraulic lines overhead. Its worked great, but lately I have noticed issues with lifting evenly. Most of the time, its not an issue with the "lighter" vehicles (under 4k lbs), but has become more pronounced with the Expedition (5700lbs). The other day, I couldn't get it lifted all the way to the top lock point on one of the columns. The side that's lifting lower is the farther column, at least the one with the longest hydraulic line...I could reach the top lock point on the column/hydraulic cylinder closest to the pump.

I've bled both cylinders numerous times, and this wasn't an issue when I first ran the lines overhead. Any suggestions?

 

[finn]

Air in one of the lines is my guess.

 

[Jason280]

I've cracked the bleeder screws to bleed both cylinders, lifted a little, and repeated...is there some other way of doing it?

 

[Toys4Life C5]

If I do not have the cars centered almost perfect, I can run into this. When I do put a pin in just past the first hole and set it down on the pins to equal out the car and then continue to lift. Then I give the inside of the towers a good squirt of lithium lube. Usually helps out. Good luck.

 

[Jason280]

I don't believe its a balance issue, but I honestly have no idea.

 

[gregoryw]

I did the same modification on my MaxJax, and I've noticed that the "far" side lags a bit. Dannmar recommends against unequal length lines, probably for this exact reason. The extra distance seems to create enough resistance that it throws things out of kilter.

A friend who is in the hydraulics industry suggested that I use larger hard lines (as much as possible) for the longer run. I haven't tried it yet, as I've only been off by an inch or two, but I do plan to take his advice eventually.

 

[Jason280]

Odd thing is, its only recently started doing this....didn't do this for the first 6-8 months after running the lines overhead.

 

[NORTON'S SHOP]

Odd thing is, its only recently started doing this....didn't do this for the first 6-8 months after running the lines overhead.

You need to bleed the system at the highest point.