In Ground - Air Over Hydraulic Lift *Tech*

[dozer_xj]

I just bought a house that has an awesome garage. It has a two post, in ground, air over hydraulic lift.




About half the people I talk to say they are very dangerous.

I would like this thread to disuse:

• Safe use practices
  
• Maintenance
  
• Where to get parts
  
• How to determine which lift you have
  
• Cures for common problems
  
• And so on

I do not want this thread to be a "Get a newer style lift" argument.
Oh kay, From what I can tell my lift is a Global but the numbers on the seals don’t match anything I can find.

Problems I am having:

• No one seems to know anything about these
  
• Where to get new seals
  
• How to use it safely
  
• Is there a way to lock it in the up position when working on it?
  
• It is very hard to control. It will do nothing then shoot up suddenly. Going down is almost equally as sketchy. Any help here would be great as well.

I know these lifts are old technology but I cannot justify buying a new one based on how little I use it. It is also nice because when it is not in use, it isn’t in the way. I can get more pictures as well. I at work right now

[Johann]

First of all, until you get it "safe" Stay out from under it when moving and block it up with something that will support the combined weight of the lift and truck to work. That will at least keep you from being crushed.

There was a really good thread over at garage journal that dealt with a guy rebuilding an old garage that had a similar lift. He excavated the thing and rebuilt it before putting it back in service. It had a huge thread and might even be a sticky. I'll try to find it.

Edit: Found it! 1930s garage

[billy bones]

I've used these in the past, it was an in ground two post. When it would shoot up unexpectedly, that meant it was low on oil. I cant think of the manufacturer right now. Yours may be set up differently.

To lock it in the "up" position I used a block of wood to hold the air valve open. There should be some type of foot or lever near the base of the ram that flips down when its all the way up. Some have a safety that looks almost like a ladder, along side of the ram, so you can set the lift at multiple heights.

[ransil]

try this place

www.sviinternational.com

[Panthers65]

Originally Posted by Johann

Edit: Found it! 1930s garage

had to quote that. That's one of the most amazing things I have ever seen...

[prox621]

My buddy has the same style in his muffler shop. It gets used quite often. I have had my 2500HD Crew cab diesel on it several times. I'll ask him wha tinfo he has on it.

[RamSport59]

We see our fair share of those junk in ground lifts...90% of the ones in the Wash DC/Baltimore area get put out of service. The hydraulic tanks are in ground and often time develop cracks allowing water in or hyd oil out. Get some better pics of it without a rig on it.
Your rapid up or down sounds like air in the cylinders and or low hyd oil. Depending on the type of lift, there will be a bleed screw, usually flat blade. It will either be directly on top of the cylinder if there is a access hole or on that big ring where the seal is in the floor. With the lift up half way empty, crack that line and let the air bleed out...and work it a few times and re do if need to.
Those two little rods next to the cylinders are your lock rods. Usually you need to go up 3-4feet before they will even engage. should be a simple peice of steel that flips out.

[RamSport59]

For seal replacements, Simple job, for seal parts, we use colliflower, but couldnt tell you if have one out there.

For topping off oil, either top of the cylinders or in the ground there will be a 1.5-2" plug for filling. sometimes with a dipstick, most of the time not.

Rick

[dozer_xj]

Originally Posted by Johann

Edit: Found it! 1930s garage

That is cool!

Originally Posted by ransil

try this place

www.sviinternational.com

Thanks!

Originally Posted by RamSport59

We see our fair share of those junk in ground lifts...90% of the ones in the Wash DC/Baltimore area get put out of service. The hydraulic tanks are in ground and often time develop cracks allowing water in or hyd oil out. Get some better pics of it without a rig on it.
Your rapid up or down sounds like air in the cylinders and or low hyd oil. Depending on the type of lift, there will be a bleed screw, usually flat blade. It will either be directly on top of the cylinder if there is a access hole or on that big ring where the seal is in the floor. With the lift up half way empty, crack that line and let the air bleed out...and work it a few times and re do if need to.
Those two little rods next to the cylinders are your lock rods. Usually you need to go up 3-4feet before they will even engage. should be a simple peice of steel that flips out.

My tank is above ground. I heard from a few people that the erratic opperation may be due to low fluid. I will get more pictures of it

Originally Posted by RamSport59

For seal replacements, Simple job, for seal parts, we use colliflower, but couldnt tell you if have one out there.

For topping off oil, either top of the cylinders or in the ground there will be a 1.5-2" plug for filling. sometimes with a dipstick, most of the time not.

Rick

Thank you for the help! I will get more pictures.

I don't like my in ground lift this much!!!!! lol (from the 1930 garage thread)

[[486]]

We used these in my HS auto class. They were probably from the '60s, and that was last year.

The surging is likely not enough fluid as others have said. If it shimmies up the leveling cable is loose, they've usually got a couple inches of adjustment on either side. WHEN THE CABLE WEARS OUT DO NOT PULL IT OUT FOR REPLACEMENT. It is a bitch to get it back in there. Get a new cable ordered and attach them end to end, then pull the new one through. Figure out a way to use a fishtape if you need to get a measurement. The ones we had didn't have latches, but there were slots in the anti rotation tubes [that also housed the leveling cable] at the top of the travel. I guess you could toss a piece of bar stock through, but that never got done. If it doesn't hold a car up for days on its own you need new seals. We'd park cars crossways under cars in the air on those lifts over the weekend, nothing but hydraulics holding them up.

Your fluid will look milky, it collects water from the huge amount of air in contact with it. The seals in ours only failed once in the 4 years I hung out there, and a reseal on the ram wasn't too bad, 3-4 hundred IIRC.

[dozer_xj]

Check valve. Push to lower

Here is the valve to add air and dump air to the tank


The tank

The lift has arms that go on it.

This part of the safety? I think these metal bars with the teeth are connected via a shaft underground to keep the two rams even.

[dozer_xj]

Plug in the floor. Bleed plug or add fluid plug? It needs oil, do that with the lift all the way down?




These rods were laying by the lift. I assume they are the safety? Problem is there is only two holes and they are only useable when the lift is all the way up.


We used it to pull the t-case on my jeep. We lifted it up, ratchet strapped it to the lift and let it sit over night. It held up all night.

[TorqueRanger]

Originally Posted by dozer_xj

Plug in the floor. Bleed plug or add fluid plug? It needs oil, do that with the lift all the way down?
Attachment 696471

Attachment 696472

These rods were laying by the lift. I assume they are the safety? Problem is there is only two holes and they are only useable when the lift is all the way up.
Attachment 696475

We used it to pull the t-case on my jeep. We lifted it up, ratchet strapped it to the lift and let it sit over night. It held up all night.

I would have some who knows what they are doing come and look at and make sure it's safe to use .... I would rather be safe then Sorry later and I would hate to see you get crushed because of something stupid....

[[486]]

Originally Posted by dozer_xj

Plug in the floor. Bleed plug or add fluid plug? It needs oil, do that with the lift all the way down?

We used it to pull the t-case on my jeep. We lifted it up, ratchet strapped it to the lift and let it sit over night. It held up all night.

If it held all night then you're likely good. Yeah, safety wasn't near the concern those days. I'm surprised it even has the rods still with it.

The tank probably has a fill plug in the top. Fill with lift down and all air pressure released. Maximum fill level would be pretty much full. Just keep adding juice until the thing acts full, then an extra 2 gallons for good measure.

[dozer_xj]

Originally Posted by TorqueRanger

I would have some who knows what they are doing come and look at and make sure it's safe to use .... I would rather be safe then Sorry later and I would hate to see you get crushed because of something stupid....

Finding someone who knows what they are doing is the problem im having. Everyone in town just shrugs their sholders when I ask about old lifts

They are like this ----->

[riotwarrior]

First COOL yer a Luck sob

Have used the LARGE single ram with anti rotation pole. The anti rotation pole had holes drilled in it and if you wanted to you would slide a rod through like you did in your pictures.

As for the dogged bar, there is IIRC a mechanism that locks into those. Take a look under that plate that the bar goes through.

Take and fill it with it down.

I have pulled a couple out of the ground..it sucks...LOTS Of oil in the cyl I tell ya!

[cmarjeep]

My friend's dad has one of these but it is a one post lift and it doesn't have any safety or anti-rotation like was said above. I had no idea these were dangerous and I've had my Jeep up there a bunch of times to work on it. That said, I never had any problems with his and he has had his quad cab Cummins up there a bunch of times so I'm sure my Jeep is no big deal.

[dozer_xj]

I put 2 gallon of 46 hydrolic fluid in it and it is acting better. Still goes up and down uneven when ou first start to move it. one it is moving it stays even

[billybob_81067]

Try putting more in, or is there a dipstick or level indicator you were going by???

[k5chevyblazer]

what about talking to an elevator mechanic? has to be the same principal as a hydraulic elevater?

[dozer_xj]

Originally Posted by billybob_81067

Try putting more in, or is there a dipstick or level indicator you were going by???

It was full to the fill cap

Originally Posted by k5chevyblazer

what about talking to an elevator mechanic? has to be the same principal as a hydraulic elevater?

Im not sure where I would find one in the middle of BFE Illinois

[[486]]

Originally Posted by dozer_xj

I put 2 gallon of 46 hydrolic fluid in it and it is acting better. Still goes up and down uneven when ou first start to move it. one it is moving it stays even

That is the balance mechanism. On a lot of lifts it is some kind of cable setup to keep both going down at the same rate. On yours it looks to be some kind of gear setup.

When it gets loose it'll shimmy a bit, you can tighten the cable ones, try looking for a removable cover to look at yours and try to adjust it tighter.