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HF Engine Hoist Hydraulic Ram Leaking - Reseal?

TipsyMcStagger

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Sep 5, 2006
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323
Location
FL Gulf Coast & NYC
The 8 ton ram on my HF engine hoist is leaking. I'm sure these can be resealed but I have no idea how I'd go about finding the correct o-rings, etc. or where I could take it to be serviced.

HF sells replacement rams for about $50ish, with a 20% coupon. Should I just get a new ram and be done with it?

Tipsy
 
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TipsyMcStagger

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Sep 5, 2006
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FL Gulf Coast & NYC
use this opportunity to upgrade to the air over hydraulic ram
I don't use it nearly enough to need that. I bought it for a LSx swap project and I'm hoping I just installed the engine for the final time.

I actually just found a .pdf manual on the HF site with a parts list. I'm assuming I might be able to get the parts from HF but I'm not sure it's worth the time and effort vs. replacing the ram.

Tipsy
 

redmondjp

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Redmond, WA
I'd get another ram and be done with it. Sadly, we have become a disposable society and I've given up on trying to fight it.
 

ssdave

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I've bought two of them when I needed to load something away from home. Both have leaked essentially since new.
 
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marinusdees

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This is not rocket science. O-rings are on sale at your local hardware store for a lot less than $50. You must own a garage, act grownup and tear the thing apart. You know it isn't worn out.
OTOH, if your time is worth $200/hour, go buy a whole new set up.
 
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TipsyMcStagger

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Sep 5, 2006
Messages
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FL Gulf Coast & NYC
I called two local hydraulic repair shops. They both said the same thing; buy another.

They both said the HF seals are uncommon and not easily sourced and the cost and effort to rebuild would exceed the cost of a replacement ram.
 

zendriver

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Dec 10, 2014
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Indiana
This is not rocket science. O-rings are on sale at your local hardware store for a lot less than $50. You must own a garage, act grownup and tear the thing apart. You know it isn't worn out.
OTOH, if your time is worth $200/hour, go buy a whole new set up.



Agreed, usually when somebody tells me something can't be done then I have to do it!

Looking at the manual looks like it might take ten minutes to take apart.

Maybe the seals are fine and there's just some crud in there, making it leak.


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cubfarm 1

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Jan 16, 2011
Messages
190
If you really want to rebuild it get the kit for it. H-F gear tends to use odd size seals and a lot of time can be spent finding the odd stuff.
 

vssjim

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Aug 5, 2007
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McLean Va.
HF usually if you call they will say the parts are discontinued even if it is a new item they started to sell yesterday, they are not in the parts biz they just pump out stuff and problems are dealt with handing new stuff as you know. The best odd ball seal guy for jack rams is the jack guy in Californian that is on here sometimes. He stocks all the strange stuff besides normal stuff. If its just the ram seal it will probably be 15.00 to25.00 with shipping for those sizes.
 

Hiball

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Missery
The most overused term in the Hydraulic world is “oddball sized”, basically that means “I don’t want t mess with your stuff, because there isn’t enough money in it” Unless.... your willing to pay $15-25 for a seal that costs a buck or two depending to how many your buying. I get it, I know the cost associated with maintaining a large selection of seals, deciding which ones will sell and which ones will exceed there shelf life. When your talking about a $50 dollar item, how many people are going to invest >50% of item in parts, plus your time to repair it... it’s tough to balance as a business.

@OP, if your jack is leaking, tear it down and find out why and what you need. It’s unlikely that you will find a replacement in one of the generic Oring kits, as they too are generic in general. It’s also not cost effective to buy from the major seal suppliers, as they cater to professionals, but there are much cheaper options including “The Oring store” who will cater to smaller markets. If you have a implement dealer in your area, they sometimes carry a wide selection of seals/Orings, just take your parts with you to match up. Unfortunately, when dealing with some of the cheaper lift equipment, the QC and or tolerances make it difficult re-seal without thinking outside the box.
 
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