Bend Pak cylinders leaking

[judgethis]

I have a Bend Pak XPR10AC lift and noticed at the base of the column it being damp looking. So I wiped it up and waited t see. Well after a month its wet agian. I wiped around the cylinder at the seal and had ATF on my finger. Ive only used the lift for less than two years and seals leaking? These cylinders were replaced when I first put the lift in because they were leaking. I read on Bend Paks home page how the XRP comes with a virtual leak free seal. Two of my friend have lifts with no problems. One of them has a Forward lift for about 15 years and the other has some cheap China made lift about 6 years old.

Is this something I could fix myself? I believe the ends of the cylinder are screwed on with a spanner wrench. Has anybody here had a problem with there lift? I belive there is only a 1 years warranty which has run out. I'd send the cylinder out but the turn around time around here is terrible.

 

[nehog]

Suggestion: if Bend Pak has a hydraulic oil they recommend, change from ATF to that oil (Rotary recommends ATF or a specified hydraulic oil). ATF is prone (in my experience) to leaking from any place it possibly can.

 

[brownbagg]

bend pak recommend transmission fluid

 

[Vicegrip]

Do you leave the lift up off the floor loaded or not and not on the locks? If so this might be the problem or making the problem worse. Best practice, method recommended by the lift makers and industry SOP is to lift one stop beyond the hight you want then lower the arms until they catch on the safety stops. This depressurizes the rams and lines and makes the lift more stable as it is now resting on the posts and not being balanced by the equalizing system. Full down is depressurized any other position you should let the lift land on the stops.
I found most all the lift rams weep if left under 24/7 pressure. Every night at close of business the mechanics at one of the shops were running the lifts to full up as requested for shop cleaning. The problem was most were running to full up hitting the top carriage stops with the pump motor spiking the system pressure. This meant the pump was hitting full pressure and the lift lines and rams were holding it regardless of a car being on the lift or not. The rams and lines were all weeping. Once we instituted the protocol to all lift and lower onto the locks, car or not, all the lifts stopped leaking.

 

[nissan_crawler]

What vicegrip said. Also, if you use it much, I wouldn't consider wiping the end of the rod with a finger and getting your finger wet to be "leaking" at all, after a month of use.

Heck, the max spec on our business jets for most actuators, is 3 drops in 25 cycles.

If there was absolutely no oil left on the cylinder, you would be eating your seal up every time you ran the piston inside it.

 

[ebfabman]

One of the features on my lift is whats called a weight gauge. Not sure how accurate it is for weight, but one glance from across the shop will tell you if the lift is on the locks. Does bendpak offer something similar? Also, can you tighten up the cylinder with large adjustable wrenches?

 

[danski0224]

Porous Chinese steel?

 

[Shadowdog500]

One of the features on my lift is whats called a weight gauge. Not sure how accurate it is for weight, but one glance from across the shop will tell you if the lift is on the locks. Does bendpak offer something similar? Also, can you tighten up the cylinder with large adjustable wrenches?

I also have a weight gauge, but you usually don't have to use it to tell if the lift is on the locks. You can usually tell when the "down valve" gets easy to push in. On every 2 post press I've used this seems to work. Push the valve a little so the car goes down slowly, You can feel hydraulic pressure or resistance on the lever. once the car goes on the locks the hydraulic pressure drops and you can push the handle in a lot easier.

Seeping oil is not a big thing on a lift. If there was a puddle that would be different. Bentpack has a 5-2-1 Warranty. The rams are covered for two years. Here is a link. http://www.bendpak.com/car-lifts/warranty/

Also +1 on not holding a vehicle up with hydraulic pressure. Use hydraulics to take the car up and down from the locks.

Chris

 

[darkk]

If you think you have a problem with the lift, I would call BendPak. Those guys are great to work with. They know their equipment best and the call cost you nothing...

 

[x2twister]

Judge,

We’ll go ahead and give you the benefit of the doubt on this one. Sounds like you’re too close to the warranty line-in-the-sand to make you go through any trouble. Plus our latest 5-2-1 warranty extends the cylinder and power unit coverage, so we’ll do some paper-work juggling to fit yours in. And bottom line, we look at issues like this as opportunities to shine. Service above and beyond the sale is our specialty.

As suggested, we always recommend un-pressurizing the cylinders when possible to minimize weeping. When under pressure, micro-drops of oil will eventually make their way past the u-cup and back-up seals. Oil will collect on the underside of the piston and will eventually exit the bottom wiper. So once the car is up in the air, be sure to settle the lift down on the safety locks. I trust it is not a total seal failure because if so, you would be unable to raise a heavy load.

Also, we highly recommend that you raise and lower the lift once a month to lubricate the atmosphere side of the cylinder to minimize corrosion of the internal cylinder wall.

Shoot us an email via [email protected] and be sure to mention Judge from Garage Journal - also, your full contact information. We’ll get you all fixed up in no time.

Gary McVay

 

[darkk]

If you think you have a problem with the lift, I would call BendPak. Those guys are great to work with. They know their equipment best and the call cost you nothing...

Judge,

We’ll go ahead and give you the benefit of the doubt on this one. we look at issues like this as opportunities to shine. Service above and beyond the sale is our specialty.

Shoot us an email via [email protected] and be sure to mention Judge from Garage Journal - also, your full contact information. We’ll get you all fixed up in no time.

Gary McVay

See! what did i tell ya....these guys are great to deal with. And you didn't even have to make the first call!

 

[ryno]

If you think you have a problem with the lift, I would call BendPak. Those guys are great to work with. They know their equipment best and the call cost you nothing...

ive got nothing but great things to say about them also.

 

[judgethis]

Wow wasnt expecting that, thats awesome. Thanks Gary-

 

[c39er]

They helped me out too! Awesome company!!!

 

[mrobins297aaa]

great company, thats why when I sold my last house and my bend pak stayed there the next day I ordered another bend pak without even looking at anything else

 

[judgethis]

Got my cylinders yesterday. Very happy with the service, as stated before wasnt expecting it but totally appreciate it. Thank you!