MaxJax Cylinder Bleeding

[BlackLead]

I am having the devil's own time getting my MaxJax to raise evenly. At full height, one side is 2 1/2" higher than the other. I'm guessing this is due to air trapped in the column on the higher side, causing it to reach full stroke first? Also, the one that raises higher has a different size bleed screw on that cylinder; it's smaller in diameter, and seems to have a finer thread. Has anyone else noticed this in the bleed screws on theirs? Or is mine special? Is my reasoning valid that the smaller thread pitch and diameter on that one side is making it more difficult to bleed? I've been at this for two weekends now, and it's wearing my patience.

On another note, whats a good cleaner to get hydraulic fluid out of, say, everything? I managed to geyser the high side once (which didn't help my nerves).

Thanks

 

[tomsmith]

Hey,

On mine, the screws are exactly the same. This is what I did (from the manual)

1. Raise columns to 1/3 of the way. Notice one side is noticeably higher. Very slow undo the screws until a steady trickle of oil comes out, then re-tighten. I barely had to undo mine a full turn before fluid came out.

2. Raise columns to 1/2 way. Undo the screws again until oil comes out and it stops bubbling.

3. Raise columns all the way and repeat bleeding process.

4. Drop columns all the the way to the bottom and repeat entire process if need be.

 

[BlackLead]

Well, after reading thru a bunch of older posts (again), I tried swapping the hoses at the flow divider. Now the opposite side goes higher, which may mean the divider is bad. I'll contact Dannmar to see what they think. Thanks for your input.

 

[artrem]

Yeah, if you swap hoses and the problem follows the hose, then it is most likely a flow divider issue. However, there is a slim chance that one of your couplers may not be opening completely. Dannmar might suggest that you swap the end couplers on the two hoses as a last test before they ship you a new divider.

Outside of getting the columns anchored, uneven lift rates seem to be the #1 issue people have with the MaxJax. In my case, I had about a 6" difference where one side lifted and lowered slower. After trying lots of things, including a new flow divider, they eventually sent me a replacement hydraulic column which finally solved the problem. Dannmar's support was excellent throughout the whole ordeal.