question on engine hoist hydrolic ram

[60ratrod]

ok so the last couple times i used my hoist it has acted like it either needs more oil or needs to be bled. so everytime i pull the ram off the hoist itself and pump it with the relief valve open to bleed the air out and then it works, but once i let the load down i need to bleed the ram again before i can use it again. and the first time it happened it appeared to be low so i serviced to the bottom of the cylinder fill plug. so i know i'm good on oil. and there aren't any leaks. so what should i be looking to do?

[cdowns]

i'd look for new ram rather than playing with somethng that might fail at the worst time possible
or you can continue to use it then when you've got a couple of thousand dollars up in the air and it crashes to earth you can figure i out what went wrong

[pat 70/71]

Originally Posted by cdowns

i'd look for new ram rather than playing with somethng that might fail at the worst time possible
or you can continue to use it then when you've got a couple of thousand dollars up in the air and it crashes to earth you can figure i out what went wrong

Cdowns, spot on ! I was working on the truck on my avatar(removing jack stands) and my brand new racing jack failed and the truck dropped from 18" the good thing is I was just under the truck not six seconds before it failed! (I was removing the jack stands) so never think it just happens to the other guy! hope everyone learns from this. cheers, Pat

[60ratrod]

well i was hoping i wouldn't have to replace it. well i'm watching one or two on ebay. is there any rams anyone recommends??

[mikie 1954]

I went to harber frieght and got one for the one I use. Been useing it for about 3 years now with no problems.

[fixit-p]

Your problem is not air, but most likely contamination in the oil preventing the ball valves (check valve) from seating properly, could also be pitted or flattened balls. If it were air you could simply keep pumping it to compress the air (just like if you have air in your brake system it will eventually pump up). I repair hydraulic cylinders and get about 5 or 6 of these long rams a year and we tell our customers that its not worth it for us to repair them @ $115/hr labor for a $50-$100 cylinder. IMO if yours is American made its worth it for you to repair it yourself, a properly repaired american made ram is as good or better than a new Chinese import.

[60ratrod]

Yeah its a chinese unit. Its a central hydrolics 19" stroke ram. The one thing that i really love about it is i have a spring loaded knob for the pressure release instead of the slotted/t style screw that most have. So would i be able to swap the knob over to the new ram or is that something that wouldn't be worth the hassle? But replacing the ram wouldn't be too big of a deal since it only cost me $60 for the whole hoist. I just figured i'd see if there was something that i was doing wrong or could try without replacing the ram. You guys see where my thought train is right? But i think i'll crack this one open once i get a new ram to see how it works and maybe fix it. What could be the harm since it would just be lyin around anyway. Thanks!
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