Stopping a leak on a hydraulic cylinder on my car lift.
I noticed oil building up around the base of one of the posts of my two post lift. After inspection, I found the oil was leaking from the vent on the lift cylinder.
I tried to find a seal kit but I was unsure of the dimensions of the cylinder so I decided to turn it over to professionals.
First I had to remove the cylinder. I ran the lift all the way to the top and let it lock in place. I then lowered the cylinders letting them disengage from the chains. Once all the way down, I removed the chain drive wheel from the cylinder. It just slips on. I unscrewed the U bracket that secures the cylinder to the post.
I then used a pry bar to lift the cylinder off the base pin using an old jeep bearing as a fulcrum. I then used two pry bars to lift the cylinder off its locating pin.
I then turned it around so I could get to the hose and unscrewed the coupling. I used an old oil jug to catch the fluid. The oil in the cylinder drained very slowly so I left it in the bucket overnight.
The next day, I made the trip to Soddy Daisy to visit H&H Hydraulics. Tammy had reassured me that they do these repairs all the time. Two guys quickly retrieved my cylinder from the trunk of my car and set it in the queue while I filled out the intake paperwork.
A few days later, Tammy called to let me know it was ready. When I picked it up, the same two guys loaded it while I paid for the repair.
To reinstall, I carefully set the cylinder over the mounting pin. I was much easier to handle without oil all over it. I spun it around and reconnected the hose. I then positioned it properly and attached the U bracket. I then set the chain drive wheel in place. I ran the lift up and let it catch the chains.
The new cylinder was a little jumpy on its first pass up. However, after a few cycles to get the air out the lift worked smoothly again.
I then pushed my Jeep in place and made a test lift. It went up evenly and smoothly with no leaks.
While the cylinder was out I made o modification to the chain drive wheels. They had developed a squeak after ten years of operation. There is a bronze bushing on a steel axle but had no grease fitting.
I drilled a small hole in the axle shaft and then made an intersecting hole near the center of the shaft. I then tapped the end of the axle and installed grease fitting. Now I can add grease to the bearing from time to time.
