Blackhawk Aluminum S-4 cleaned up

[BULLITT65]

Ok, did a quick clean up on the S-4 I picked up a month ago, turned out pretty good for an aerosol overhaul. Now if I could just find a good deal on a rebuild kit to solve the small drip I have....(help)
I took the liberty of painting the detail on the sides and top even though it may not have come this way factory, I just thought it was a cool way to finish it out.
Your thoughts?
Does anyone have a original picture of what the aluminum looked like new?

 

[BULLITT65]

sorry I don't know how to post pics direct to the site

 

[Pumpman1968]

All I can say is SCHWEET! Love that old stuff!

 

[Pumpman1968]

Check this out....another restore.

http://www.boxwrenchgarage.com/blackhawk/

 

[jxxxoxxxe]

I like the polished sides...

About the drip, have you tried tightening the packing nut to apply a little more pressure to the seals?

Also, did you get the light working? I would like to get my light working too. I was thinking about taking the cover to a plastics shop to see if they could mold a new lens for it. I dont know if I've seen more than one person on here with the lens in tact...

 

[BULLITT65]

It is going to take a while to wet sand when that day comes....
if the packing nut is the large castle nut for the pumping cylinder then I have tried tightening that up a little. I gave about an extra quarter turn. THAT is where the drip is though, how hard is to find just that rubber seal?

I think I have all the pieces to the light including the lens, although the lens is a bit yellowed after 50+ years. I am pieceing together some wiring and connectors to make the light functional again. Even if I get the light working off of the 2 "C" batteries, it is not going to be all that bright. It would be cool if somebody could put together a little LED kit for these, That would make the light actually useful.

Here is another pic with the handle: (I went with spraying the barrel red and leaving the handle in natural aluminum) In the advertising it shows the barrel in silver and the handle in red, again I'm not sure what the aluminum model looked like when new.

 

[nine4gmc]

I like the way you did it, nice job!

 

[BULLITT65]

thanks. I would like to find a SJ-18 to go along with it....anyone sitting on one still?

 

[cbogg]

Nice job. Like the truck better though. As far as the packing goes find a hydraulic place and take the packing with you. They probably have something that'll work, you'd be surprised how much if this stuff is cross compatible. If you have something like kaiman industrial nearby, I'd start there.

 

[BULLITT65]

Thanks for the kind words, and I appreciate the info. Only problem is since it is so old once I take it out, the jack is on non-op until I find a gasket. The shop that worked on these pulled up stakes about a year ago.
The truck and jack are 2 different animals, but they do both look cool. The truck should be running here in a couple of weeks, I am just finishing the interior. Once it runs then the real work starts. Next up is 4 wheel disc/lowering/new wheels, which wouldn't be hard. After looking at tons of wheels the ones I really like more than any other have a 5 x 4.5 bolt pattern. So with a bit of ingenuity and some luck I hope to pull it off.

 

[Hiball]

More than Likely its Not the Packing, Its the Inner Vee's or the Rod Surface that is causing you problems. If you remove the Outer Compression Nut, Pull the Packing you will see a Inner Compression Nut, This Compression Nut controls the Tension (squeeze) that the Vee's put on the Rod. ***** Sometimes**** you can get by with tightening this up a bit (Dont Overtighten it..) and it will clear up your Leak. If the Vee's are in Bad shape, Or the Rod Surface has imperfections all this will be Moot..

The Inner Compression nut takes a special tool that allows you adjust the Tension while the Ram is still in tact. You Cant tighten .. The Inner compression nut with the Ram removed, if you do... it will squeeze the Vee's and then when you reinsert the Ram it will damage the Lips. I dont Recommend it, but you can turn the inner compression nut with a long drift punch. Remember though.. This will mess up the Holes and you take a chance on damaging the Rod Face or the Threads.

 

[BULLITT65]

thanks for the inside baseball with this jack. I did try taking a 1/4 inch drive extension and giving a couple taps to the outer (castle nut) which looks like it applies pressure to a round rubber ring that when the nut is tightened the rubber ring possibly grips the ram a bit more? this helped a little. The ram actually looked OK, had a little bit of surface rust, I used some 400 and just cleaned up a little before re-installing it. ( I didn't over sand it though)
Now when you say, "pull the packing", I am unsure if you are referring to that rubber ring or what the "packing" is?

 

[Hiball]

thanks for the inside baseball with this jack. I did try taking a 1/4 inch drive extension and giving a couple taps to the outer (castle nut) which looks like it applies pressure to a round rubber ring that when the nut is tightened the rubber ring possibly grips the ram a bit more? this helped a little. The ram actually looked OK, had a little bit of surface rust, I used some 400 and just cleaned up a little before re-installing it. ( I didn't over sand it though)
Now when you say, "pull the packing", I am unsure if you are referring to that rubber ring or what the "packing" is?

The Rubber "Rings" below that Outer Castle Nut are the Packing, There sole job is to keep any Startup leakage at bay. The Actual Seals are below that packing "Under" Another a Inner compression Nut that threads internally.

 

[jabberwoki]

Damn that looks too good to use!!

 

[BULLITT65]

thanks for the help Hiball. Is the packing easy to come across? I looked closely at it when I removed the ram, I didn't want to get to aggressive with trying to remove the packing, which I thought was a large type of o ring gasket, or I would have a 100 lb paper weight if it ripped or didn't come out right. Is the a special way to remove the packing? is there a lip that it sits on?

 

[BULLITT65]

Damn that looks too good to use!!

No trailer queens here, my cars/trucks/motorcycles were bought to be driven= Same thing for the floor jack, I bought one to clean up and use. The red paint is already coming off the wheels from moving it around my garage.
I would have tiled my garage floor if we going to be here long term, but maybe at the next house. I figure commercial vinyl floor tile will look good in the garage and the will be less abrasive on the wheels.
But it is only a matter of some rattle can red being sprayed on them once a year maybe. I can deal with it.
I am probably one of the younger guys on here, but I just like to see things being used as intended, instead of just collecting dust in the corner of a shop.
That being said , I still do what I can to maintain and preserve the nice original machines and equipment I own.

Now about that Blackhawk SJ-18 ...... Help a brother out here someone shoot me a message on who has one available please!

 

[Hiball]

thanks for the help Hiball. Is the packing easy to come across? I looked closely at it when I removed the ram, I didn't want to get to aggressive with trying to remove the packing, which I thought was a large type of o ring gasket, or I would have a 100 lb paper weight if it ripped or didn't come out right. Is the a special way to remove the packing? is there a lip that it sits on?

The Material isnt hard to come across.. getting it in the Correct Size is the where the Cost comes into play. I cant remember if the S4 uses Solid Rings or Split ring packing. The Split Ring Style is easier to get out, versus the solid Ring because if you can find the seam you can simply unwind it. The Solid style will require a little bit of pulling, But its too terribly difficult, The Unknown is what is gonna happen when you start removing it.. Is it gonna come out in one piece or Pieces? There is No real Lip on the "Packing portion", Depending on the Series.. Some of the S4's used a Ring in between the packing and Inner Compression nut and others just used the Radius on the bottom of the Outer Castle nut to help Spread the packing.

Again.. The Packing has NO lips, In "NEW" Form it has 90 Degree angles on the Interior and Exterior.

Below is a Typical piece of Packing.. Albeit Smaller that what your jack uses.

 

[BULLITT65]

I found a guy on ebay that has a rebuild kit for an S-4, but he is asking $89. That seems a bit steep, is there a better source for a rebuild kit?

 

[pop pop]

Bullitt, I see you are new with 28 posts, so I'll give you a heads up. Hiball is THE guy to go to here. Not only has he been willing to post with you, he sells everything you need, including the after sell/ install help, or he'll do it for you if you can afford the shipping. Hope that helps.

 

[Hiball]

I found a guy on ebay that has a rebuild kit for an S-4, but he is asking $89. That seems a bit steep, is there a better source for a rebuild kit?

S-4 Kits Are Pricey, I believe we have conversed over PM's (Maybe it was another member) that blackhawkparts.com was gonna be your cheapest. I would definitely ask some questions on the Ebay kit to makes sure it was New Stock and not something lingering around from the Blackhawk days.

Bullitt, I see you are new with 28 posts, so I'll give you a heads up. Hiball is THE guy to go to here. Not only has he been willing to post with you, he sells everything you need, including the after sell/ install help, or he'll do it for you if you can afford the shipping. Hope that helps.

I dont Sell enough of the Blackhawk S-4 kits to warrant investing in the parts to build those kits, I generally keep a Ear to the Ground and try and find the best prices and push members in that Direction.