Sky track 7038 Boom Cylinder repack?

[Old Greenhorn]

Does anybody have any experience removing and repacking/rebuilding the main boom cylinder on a Sky Trak 7038? No real idea here how to get this thing out safely and easily but we have a good leak and it needs fixing. Actually, done the best way, I see no way this will be easy. Looks like we have to take the boom apart? 
 Just getting into it, a 'new to us' machine. She's a dandy though.

[Southside]

Got any pictures?  I had to do the one on my Lull so I rested the forks on a big mulch pile which gave me room to work under the boom, then used my excavator to carefully remove and reinstall the cylinder.  

[thecfarm]

Must be a youtube on it.
Just make sure they know what they are doing.  :(   ;)

[Old Greenhorn]

Ray, good point. I took a quick look and didn't find any, but I didn't scour videos to see if the details might be hidden in one.

 SS, not yet, I jsut have this one I shot yesterday before I knew the cylinder had a leak.

 

 The cylinder is inside the boom. I have not crawled around on this thing yet, maybe tomorrow or Monday for sure. Looks like we may have to disassemble the boom. Gonna go at this one carefully.

[Old Greenhorn]

I did find an illustrated parts manual online. It appears the cylinder can be slid out the back of the boom, but I think the boom has to be removed from the machine and partly extended to allow access to the anchor  pins. I will have to do some climbing and moving the boom around to see what we might get away with. It's a heavy boom so we have to be careful.

[newoodguy78]

I can't offer exact pointers on that machine. Been around a few different makes and I'd be surprised if the boom had to be disassembled. I hope for your sake it doesn't. Look it over good there's probably access to the pin on the fork end of the boom somehow. Might have to telescope it a bit to get things lined up.

Took one out of a JCB about that size, wasn't anywhere near as bad as I was dreading it would be ended up removing and reinstalling by myself. Wasn't fun but can be done. Put the mast on a dirt pile to level it up. Disconnected the lines,removed the pins then used a backhoe to slip it out the back.

Just be careful that sucker is heavy,and everything is slippery. I much prefer slings over a chain for lifting those big cylinders. They bite and hold better in my opinion.
Keep in mind as you're doing it any aggravation is well worth it on that job. Those types of machines are so handy to have,unlimited ways to make things easier,faster and safer with one around.

[Old Greenhorn]

Well yeah, I know how handy this is gonna be, between the lift height and the all wheel steering I am reservedly excited ;D. Which is why it jumped up to number 2 in my priority list. It only just occurred to me I may be able to lift wood from the mill up to the the shop ground level without doing the 3/8 mile drive around and up the hill. That would be pretty huge turning a 15 minute loop into 2 minutes.
In general from what I see so far, I think you are largely correct in your summary. The one thing in question so far is the boom pivot pin, which I think is in the way of cylinder removal. Possibly it could come out the from the front if we can get the hydraulic lines off and the pins out. I will need to do an inspection to dope this out. I was very glad to see it wasn't a compound cylinder, but I don't think they use these in heavy equipment anyway, just a fear I had.
We have a fielders choice of machines available to assist with the removal, so that's not an issue. We'll probably use a nimble little excavator having 4 sizes to choose from. The big question is how, and so far this has helped me get my head in the game. So thanks everyone... to be continued.

[Oliver05262]

One of the contractors I do work for has a Lull, 744 I think. It had a leak on the cylinder packing at the rod end. I thought we'd have to pull the cylinder out, but the retired guy who looked at it just had me remove the fork frame so he could get access to the rod end of the cyl. He removed the retaining nut and pulled the boom out enough to get the rod free of the boom. He then removed the head from the cylinder, which took a bit of effort. All the problem parts causing the leak were now easy to replace. His part of the job only took about a half day. My part was putting the fork frame and forks back on after he got done. I think he'd done it before😀

[Ljohnsaw]

OGH,
You're talking about the boom extension ram?  I noticed the boom lift ram on the right side was weeping.  I've done that one on my 9038. I need to do the left one (between the boom and cab) now that it is leaking a bunch.

On the lift rams, I set the forks up on a hill so the cylinder was leaning uphill.  Then I supported it with ratchet straps so I could pull the top pin.  I ejected it with the machines hydraulics, catching oil in a bucket while supporting the chrome rod with cloth ratchet straps.  That rod by it's self was VERY heavy.  I can't imagine how heavy the boom entire cylinder would be.  I just have a simple operator's manual for 7038/8038/9038 so it doesn't show that detail

When you do this, also look at the Teflon wear pads to see if they are still good.  Might need to replace those while you are at it.  There are 3 types and a lot of them.  You need 4 each of two types and 22 of a third.

[caveman]

Tom, you mentioned that you found an illustrated parts manual online.  After we bought the JCB 506C telehandler a few months ago, we found a digital repair manual online.  It cost us $25 but has been very helpful to have around.  We printed out the pages on the hydraulic system and the parts about repacking the cylinders so we would have it handy while working on it.

If your manual is only for parts, it may be beneficial to find a repair manual.

[Old Greenhorn]

So far the only repair manual I have found they want $300 for, so I will keep looking. ;D

[Don P]

Be careful, I guess they know I'm desperate and tired of looking, I see more sketchy hits and I locked up one computer trying to download a parts manual. Look at the web address.

That is good to know @Oliver05262 my partner's 644 needs doing, I've been dreading it but we've done so many recently might as well keep on the roll :D.

[chevytaHOE5674]

Never worked on that exact model but I would be shocked if the boom needs to be removed of disassembled to repair the extension cylinder. There is usually an access hole to get the pins and hoses removed.

[Old Greenhorn]

I did a little poking around it today, nothing about this cylinder looks easy. I tried to start it so I could run the boom out, but it cranked slow and I didn't want to kill the battery. I don't know the starting procedure on this, can't read any of the switch labels, the ones that are there, anyway, so I figured I'd wait until Bill was around. He was off doing family stuff today.
 More news when it happens.

[scsmith42]

I haven't done a telehandler but last year we rebuilt the extension cylinder on a 25 ton crane.  Although the bottom portion of the mast stayed attached to the crane, we had to remove the rest of the mast extension portions in order to remove the cylinder.  We used a large forklift and a crane mounted to the mechanic's truck to do the work.

Not something that I would look forward to...

[Old Greenhorn]

The only thing I am CERTAIN of is that I (we) are NOT looking forward to this in any shape, manner, or form. :D >:( ;D

[Remle]

 JLG Skytrak 7038 Telehandler Parts Catalog Manual PN 8990084-001

Ebay link deleted by Admin,  refer to posting rules of such links
but link was forwarded to OGH 

Shoot him an offer..

[Old Greenhorn]

Thanks Remle, I did get the link. The parts manual I did find free on the internet and have spent some time with it, the shop manul or operators manual woul be nice to find. The only shop manual I find is 300 bucks, we'll think on that a bit. Bill tells me he got one book with it, but he didn't even check to see which one it is. I got the mill back together today, so I'll be making some lumber first, maybe after the sawing project we'll start to get into it.

[Old Greenhorn]

Well, the rai finally stopped for a few hours today and we got into it a little. It's a pretty big (and long) cylinder. We found a way we can knock the rear pin out and the front pin out but not in the same positions, which means you knock one out, then need to extend the boom a ways if you want to knock the other out. The gland is on the lower end of the cylinder and buried inside the boom. There is not much working room in there and a bunch of hose management stuff will have to be removed to get a gland spanner socket in there. We would have to make the socket I think. I cant think of a conventional tool that would do it. There is a big Tee bushing top on the rod end that precludes a socket going on over the rod. Even if we could get in there and get the gland off, we would have to pull the rod out the back end and its a big rod, maybe 3" dia. by 12' long?
 We looked at every approach we could think of and each one has it's 'challenges' that may be show stoppers after we are well into it.
 Bottom line is, we really need that shop service manual to do it right. All we did today was pull inspection covers and move things around to explore ideas. It is leaking like a sieve for sure. (It is also a very cool machine.)
 I have found some manual sources, but I get a bad feeling with some of these sites, like they are selling snake oil. None of them give any info about the manuals they are selling. I'd be happy with 'number of pages' because a shop manual with 150 pages is not a real shop manual and surely not worth 300 bucks. I did find one site called 'DIY Repair Manuals' that lists it and they have an actual phone number, so I will call them tomorrow to confirm what we are buying. We don't mind the cost at all, just want to make sure we get what we pay for. We are pretty sure there is a 'trick' to doing this repair and it will still have a lot of heavy, ugly, tricky work but at least we won't have to try all the methods that don't work, before we find 'the trick'. While I work on this, bill is trying to get the right seal kits on order. We finally found the serial number today. ;D 

 Again, if anybody has done this, or knows a reliable suppliers of manuals, I would appreciate the input. At best, this is a nasty un-fun job but we think it will be worth it. After watching what Jake was doing with his last weekend, I can't wait to jump in the seat on this one.

[Don P]

On the 644 Lull they are calling it a 500 lb cylinder. Watch fingers and hands in there.
If you click on a big thing that says "I am not a robot"(not a normal recaptcha one) on one of those sites you will be the owner of a non-working computer.

[Southside]

I would not attempt to reassemble it with the cylinder still on the machine. The shop I go to has sets of support rollers that support the rod and cylinder at each correct height so when pushing the gland back in you aren't applying a ton of off set leverage to the seals and wipers before the cap is set back on. 

[Peter Drouin]

Sometimes it's best to get a good man with a service truck who has all the tools to do the job and know how. He will do the job in half the time. While you can make lumber and $$.
If you do it wrong, you might have to do it 2 times to get it right.
I have done that, made more $$ running the saw mill to pay him and me that day. And for an LLC it's all a right off.
I let the trades do their thing and I do mine. Unless it's a simple thing.
Only thing I want to know all about is the mill, to be one with it. ;D 

[barbender]

 I'm with Peter, let someone that does it daily and is set up for it fight those things. 

 I have a mechanic friend who is missing a finger thanks to a heavy cylinder bumping it during installation.

[Old Greenhorn]

Peter, if 'that guy' were available around here we would call him. In fact Bill may know one guy and is working on that this week. But those guys are mostly tied up with regulars and the guy Bill knows has a full time gig with a dealer, so does a little work on the side, provided it is not the same brand as his full time gig, which this is not.

 SS what you suggest would be best, but I think to do that we would have to take the whole boom apart, a huge undertaking. I don't want to do anything before we get that manual. Knowledge is not only power, it is money in your pocket. ;D

[Old Greenhorn]

Update: I found and ordered the full shop manual after calling and confirming it was no scam. 300 bucks, well worth it if it's aa full manual, of course.
 We'll hang tight until it comes and hopefully it will lift the curtain of confusion from our eyes. :D ;D Well, some of it anyway.

[barbender]

Here's my take. On the forwarder I ran, some simple cylinders I would pull of myself and bring in for repair (I don't think I ever resealed any myself). Now keep in mind, my boss was paying the bill. But 9 times out of 10, he would say to just have Ponsse come out and pull the cylinder. If it was a big one, they had a crane on the truck, and they do it every day so they are fast at it. The service call was expensive but he was money ahead getting the machine back in production versus having me monkey with it. 

 I'd advise you guys the same way. Some of the hydraulic shops have a mobile service truck, either have them or another mobile mechanic come out, get it off and repaired, and put the machine back in service. You guys saw boards or whatever else you do to make money. If you guys didn't have enough work ir a hole in your schedule it would be one thing (or if there are no mobile mechanics available) it would be different maybe.

[Don P]

I get both sides of that argument. Everyone owns a hammer so using that argument is nothing new to me. It depends on your economics and aspirations. DB called this morning. We're going in blind on a wing and a prayer on ours tomorrow. We'll measure and try to find seals. If we fail it'll take close to Jeff's bill in fuel to drop it off and go get it again so not a big deal to try. It's broke and bleeding out, we are walking around it rather than to it so I'm not too worried  :D. 

DanG, apparently I'm broke too, the doc musta ratted me out. PT just called, something about a course of leeches and whippings.

[customsawyer]

I'm really lucky in that I have 3 mobile mechanics within 5 miles of me. They are all really good at what they do and charge a reasonable price. With them being good sometimes I have to wait in line but that is the nice thing about having more than one machine. When my transmission went out on the telehandler last fall I called one of them. He located me the right transmission and sent me the number. Gave them the CC number over the phone to get it here. Let him know when it landed and he was here 3 days later. He had the old one out and the new one in in (Tom) a day. He did his thing making money and I made more than enough to cover his bill doing my thing on the mill. He is the only one I don't fuss at for dropping cigarette butts on the ground. I want him concentrating on what he is doing. I will just pick them up in a couple of min. after he leaves.

[Old Greenhorn]

Well engines, axles and drives Bill is equipped to handle and it can go right into his shop. If he is too busy and needs the machine, there is one guy he can bring it to. He likes knowing his gear and being able to fix it, as well as stocking the service parts in advance so they are on hand. Usually major jobs sit and wait for a weekend or two and get done sat/sun during down time. But this one would be very worth getting a guy, we both agree. He is working on that. But we are pretty rural/ Most of the job mechanics are tied into a full time contract gig with benefits. (Either dealer or large outfit.) Not many independents that I know of. Bill just put a whole new grapple, boom, A-frame, and outriggers on his forwarder. It took an afternoon.
 We have to work with what we've got.

[teakwood]

I will just pick them up in a couple of min. after he leaves.

:D:D yeah, sometimes just need to shut the pie hole. 

last week in the quarry i see a car parked in front of the little woodcabin/office we have there, we have very limited space in the quarry, it's were the loader makes turns and the trucks get loaded. of course the car was in the way, so i see a bunch of people standing back of a pile of aggregate talking so i walk to them to ask the idiot to move the car but i didn't say anything, after 10min they left and i ask who that was. government official in charge of the whole 50million $ project we are supplying, they are nothing, probably has some engineer title and is the nephew of some other more important government official,  but they act like they were the president.
when the 38 years old owner of the construction firm visited (they own 8 quarries and have over 1000 employees)he parked his Range Rover outside the quarry and walk the 200 feet to the cabin, what a difference in mentality      

[Don P]

Well, I knew better but had to be reminded. On lines that are connected to those safety poppet valves on the cylinders. They can have pressure on them even though you think you've released everything. Happily the main stream went by my head just giving me a bit of a slick backed look. The boom is bathed for the first 10'.

 I was hoping to leave the cylinder in and work it from the front. I studied it for awhile and cannot do what we need without removing the cylinder from the back. I've got the cable management stuff unhooked and think I can leave it in the boom and pull just the cylinder. We'll pull the gland and piston and let the nearby small shop find the parts. DB wanted to build some trade with them. 

My main point in writing is to be aware of potential pressure on those lines as you pull cylinders on that machine.

[Old Greenhorn]

Don that 644 uses a big single boom lift cylinder, correct? But the boom extend cylinder in inside the boom, is it not? If so, that pretty much what we have except we have two shorter boom lift cylinders (on each side).
 Any pictures you could post might be helpful here. The hose management stuff and coming out the back with it all sounds just like ours. The gland is at the back (lower) end and getting the fittings off the top end would be a bear for removal. Nothing about this seems fun. Glad you barely missed a major bath. ;D

[Don P]

Umm, I'll look for the camera again this morning. I put it somewhere safe  :D
It is a single extending boom section with the cylinder inside the boom. I've got the front boom section disconnected now that the rod end is un-nutted from it so I have one come along holding it from the outside. I was going to take a pair of heavier ones over today so I can lift and level the boom, chock it and then park the loader behind it and pull the cylinder out. I could not entirely remove the forks, the lower pin has a broken keeper bolt in its pin in a "you can't get to me" place. I had all that flipped and on the ground but will need to strap it for the boom levelling deal.

I boomed out, set it across the trailer on a big chunk of locust on the trailer to suspend the forks a hair and removed the front fork tilt cylinder to access the nut at the end of the extension cyl. (14). Confirmed it is a big nut but luckily John at the farm up the road had a 2-1/4" socket from when his Dad owned a dozer. I got that area cleaned up, DB got the socket and all the 3/4 extensions we could round up, and yup, it was finger tight  :D. We'll use the socket to tighten it back just to be fussy. It took a little playing to unload the boom weight and get everything as straight as possible retracting the rod from the end of the boom, just be thinking about not wanting to drag the threads off it and bang it around in there. GOAL.

The ~3/16 steel cable (5) wraps from rear to center trolley (17) to that front cable holder which is clamped to the front of the cylinder body, covering the gland head. Ours would not slide back.. ok, I went back about 1/2" and hit the fitting and was stuck. It is on a track, I disconnected the cable and pulled it forward and off. I had the body of the cyl on blocks inside the tube as well.

 Temporarily reattached the tilt cyl, refilled fluid (I had sent DB to town, pump cavitated, the cyl was not returning to tank so much as it was spooging a good bit of 16' of fluid at a time.) he returned $199 later with 3 pails, gulp). We set wood blocks along inside the boom to support the chromed rod and slowly retracted it. I had come along-ed the boom together before this. I set up a ladder and staging at the rear and began loosening the rear bolts and hoses (13). The boom is slightly nose down, I need to level it and support it. I'll probably drive the loader around front, slide it in a bit and throw a 4x4 through the boom windows to chock that for now.

We chained the trolley with cables and hoses to the window pillar it was parked beside (17). I hope to leave the trolley in place and slide the cyl out the rear, set it on the trailer and dissect it there, then run the gland and piston head to the shop for her to measure and source seals while I squint at the tube and confirm it is useable as is. (1&2) must be hanging on the side of a building somewhere. One of those long hoses has a lot of braid showing, I'm sure the pair is the same age, this would be the intelligent time but I'll look to see how to fish it in later...$$. The other pair for what must have been a side shift or tool function is not there beyond the hard lines on the main boom, that handle is removed in the cab. May have never been installed.





That's an 844, the main difference is is has 2 main boom lift cyl's, the 644 has one large one under the middle bottom rather than the pair alongside and to those wings off the boom.

[Don P]

It came out the back fine, all 14' of it. We laid it across the trailer and dissected it. The gland and piston are on their way to town for measuring and ordering seals the counterbalance valve fittings and hose need replacing, age and there was a bull in the china shop in there at some point. That loose nut at the outeside end of the rod is a future problem, the threads are pretty sloppy. He was going to try to get a ballpark on 2 24' x1/2" hoses with fittings. Getting lined up and back in will be the tough part. It'll probably be over the weekend or next week. Which gives some time to get the pressure washer in there. What it really needs is old people LED rope lighting inside the boom  :D.

And the wear pads are wore pads, probably shim behind them and tighten up the travel, gotta quit somewhere soon.

[Old Greenhorn]

Sounds like you guys had a banner day! How big is the rod on that thing? I think ours is about 3" diameter and we have a 3 section so the whole thing is kinda big and seems to be very little room inside for sticking blocks etc. We also have the double chains to move the end boom section out which consumes a lot of space in there. But I sure am happy for you guys because it's not a fun job by any means. If you can get to the wear pads, replace them. I think we have over 22 on ours, each has 5 screws holding it in. One we found laying inside the boom with no idea where it came from. Should we worry about that? :D ;D
 Good on ya man!

[Peter Drouin]

Don P don't go by the length of the old hose, they stretch out over time. In the boom. The book has the right measurement.

[Old Greenhorn]

Well, the bear ate me again today, 2nd day in a row now. I'm on a trend.
 I ordered the manual Monday after calling and making sure they had it and were a real company. It said 'in stock' on the web page, but I called anyway. 
 This afternoon the company called me and said they don't have it in stock and can't find it from ANY of the suppliers and have no idea when or IF they will get another one. I was 'a bit miffed' after calling and confirming. So they refunded the 300 bucks and put me on a notification list IF they ever get another one.

 SO I went back to the search and I can't find this thing anywhere. I mean NOWHERE! If anybody has any leads I would be in your debt! I did find one for a 9038 and they are fairly similar, but I'd really like to have the right one for that kind of cash because I can't tell how and where they are different.

 Why does this stuff have to be so hard? ;D

[Hilltop366]

When we got our first backhoe we got a service manual from a dealer, not sure if you asked them but some brands the price isn't too bad.

[Old Greenhorn]

That ship sailed a long time ago, this machine is about 1986 vintage or a bit later, The only option I can see is a used manual.

[GRANITEstateMP]

Tom, used manual s work.  The grease and finger prints in the books are like highlights to areas you need to keep an eye on!

[Old Greenhorn]

That's what I've been looking for, actually any source. If somebody knows ANYONE who has one, let me know please. I mean, they are no where to be found in any form. I've got 5 hours into searching now. I'm tired.

[chep]

Does Bill compensate you for that 5 hrs? I'm not sure yall arrangement, but anything over an hr or 2 of that kind of goosechase and I would ask him what's the deal? It's his machine after all

[newoodguy78]

I've found some oddball manuals on eBay. This is just a shot in the dark, was Skytrak a stand alone independent company or are those machines made by someone else and rebranded? For instance my friend has a Genie telehandler, it's actually made by Terex. Possibly would open doors by figuring that out? 
Good luck it's out there. 

[Old Greenhorn]

No, best I can describe it, not being very active in the industry is that SkyTrak is SkyTrak and they are owned/sold by JLG who has their own line, this model and the 9038 are no longer made and supported I guess. I found a 9038 manual on ebay which is very similar and I downloaded the parts manual for it to compare parts. I am hanging on the edge about buying that manual and hoping it gets us what we need. If I can't find the right book, I may do just that. JLG is such a big company that I can't seem to to find a useful phone number to call and see if I can buy this direct from them somehow. There super duper online parts thing is something conceived by a drunken college kid with no knowledge of the industry as far as I can tell.

[jaciausa]

I googled the skytrack and found a free parts manual at pj equipment. JDL must own the brand. Cedar grove, WISCONSIN
8990084-001 November 1986 PARTS MANUAL 125 PAGES                                                                                                                         

[Old Greenhorn]

Yeah, thanks, but as mentioned a few times, we already have that, 2 copies in fact. That doesn't help, What we need is the PROCEEDURE for removing and repacking the boom extend cylinder which is inside the boom with the hoses and chains and lots of other 'stuff'.

[chevytaHOE5674]

Have you called any of the JLG or SkyTrak dealers and asked them?

There is a real possibility that there never was a true service manual. Often some of those low production component build machines never had them. There was service books for things like axles, and transmissions from their manufacture.

Your choice is either hire an independent heavy equipment mechanic to come take it apart or start taking apart whats in the way and learn as you go. I fix all kinds of things like that without any service manuals, start taking things apart until you get at what you need.

[newoodguy78]

Wengers in Meyerstown,PA is worth a call too. Haven't dealt with the construction side much but the ag side is great to talk to and deal with.I've never called there and not had a real person to deal with.How they keep track of all their inventory so well is quite a feat.

[customsawyer]

I got the transmission for mine from Shelby Equipment. 877-398-4870 Give them a call and see if they can help. I normally ask to speak to Chuck.

[Old Greenhorn]

Thanks everybody, today is another day and I am going to move the search over to the phone lines and explore your suggestions. I have pretty much beat the internet to death.
 Chevy, the manual exists, no doubt on that and as for getting a mechanic, go back and read a bit, we would do that if we can, and we are still trying to coerce one fella into taking it on, but we haven't found the right incentive yet.
 If I don't find a manual today, this will likely dominate the dinner conversation tomorrow night when we get together for our monthly potluck with the wives.

[Hilltop366]

Removing cylinders in tight spaces you sometimes have to think beyond the tight spaces, as in it is often easier to take the other end of the hoses off and feed them through as the cylinder is pulled than removing them from the cylinder. 

[Don P]

The soft hoses in our boom go to the tilt cylinder up front. The extension cylinder has soft hoses at the rear and a hard line running to the front fitting.

[Old Greenhorn]

 8) 8) 8) 8)
Can you guess?!
 I started working the phones. I called Jakes guy (I gave him your regards Jake) and he tried but had no success.  Then I called NewWoodguys guy and he said they really don't do telehandlers mush, but was very quick to offer me the phone number of a company called Web Equipment in VA and I got hold of what I will call an 'old parts counter man' from ways back, he took the phone down to the manuals section and walked through it with me. No joy, but he did share with me that the 7038, 8038, and 9038 have almost identical booms and construction. Good to know, because at that point I was ready to buy the manual for a different model, but he didn't have those either. He could likely hear my desperation when I asked if he could suggest ANY other leads or places to look. He just said, "can I call you back in a few minutes, I have a contact I'd like to try?" SURE!
 15 minutes later he called back, "What's your email address?" I gave it, and he emailed the service manual before we were off the phone. I asked what I could pay him for it, he just said "don't worry about it, when you need parts maybe order some from us". Well yeah!  So it's printed and in a binder already and the procedure is not what I would have expected and I will have to study it more. But right now I am compiling a list of seal kits and part numbers to order from my new hero, Brain Foster at Web Equipment. :D I thought Bill had already ordered the seal kits, but he was waiting to order them all from the same place. I need to run down to the machine and confirm a part so I can get the right number. One of the steel lines is messed up and it was left dead inside the boom, we'd like to replace that also. Not sure if they will ship that. Don, we have 4 steel lines running through the boom on this machine, plus the chains, so it's pretty tight.
 Thanks again for all the help fellas! 8) 8)

[newoodguy78]

 8) 8) Further proof of the resources available here. Glad you found it. 

[GRANITEstateMP]

Old crusty parts guys are the best!!!

[Hilltop366]

The ship has returned to port. ;)

[thecfarm]

That is good news!!!

[Jeff]

Pretty durn awesome.

[Old Greenhorn]

Yeah, pretty awesome, but also pretty routine when you look at the track record of this forum helping folks get things figured out. 
 The second half of the day I put together a list of what we needed came up with a list of 7 seal kits and 1 steel line. I figured the right thing to do was order them from the folks who helped us out. Well I called in the list and what do you know? SkyTrak JLG has all that stuff discontinued and NLA from them, but they don't make the actual seal types and sizes available. SO the only way to fix stuff is to take it apart and then match up parts and order them. I think that's BS but what can I do?
 The main thing is we have the manual and I have now read the procedure 4 times, very slowly and it's still a bit complicated. It's over 20 steps some of which won't be fully clear until we get part way into it. One thing I know is, I never would have come up with this way of doing it. We do have to remove the top (end) section of the boom to get the cylinder out and you can't do the seals without the cylinder out. It's making a lot more sense now and I am very glad I insisted on getting that manual otherwise we would have done everything we could to avoid taking the boom apart and wasted a whole bunch of time.
 Getting this back together may be a lot worse than taking it apart, and the manual just says "to re-assemble, reverse the process."  :D ;D >:( but nothing about how to snake those cables and chains back around the rollers and pulleys. This will be fun.

[Firewoodjoe]

Never pull anything out without a rope on it. Makes it a lot better later. Just tie the rope on the end and pull its backwards to reassemble. I was quoted $1100 for a cylinder seal kit yesterday🤦‍♂️ They found a aftermarket one for $450. Stuff is getting out of hand on price. Yes it's a big cylinder but my lord it's just a bag of rubber and plastic. 

[Old Greenhorn]

Well, having retired from that business I understand the seals more than most folks generally. The common seal and wiper designs were produced in the millions and were fairly cheap, but we also did some very high pressure stuff and seal life was terrible so we worked with the seal company to develop special seals just for a single application so they would last a reasonable amount of time before rebuilds. Because they were specials, they were only available through us and they has a higher price. Instead of us buying them for 2 bucks a piece we were spending 30-50 bucks a pop, but the tools worked for a longer time. I have no idea what are markup was but I'm sure it was up there someplace.

 I just did some general digging on the Skytrak part numbers and have no problem finding the kits as A/M. Prices still range, for one kit I found it for as little as $36. and as much as $185. I can't imagine what a $1,100 kit would look like. Holy cow, it must be gold.

 Years ago I maintained a machine that required cylinder rebuilds after 40 hours of operating time. It was a high pressure water jet running at 125,000 psi. The cylinder body had a 4" OD and a 1" bore. After 500 hours, we cracked the cylinder. ;D There were 4 cylinders in the setup. The seals were 2 piece, very special, made from Turcite and a brass compression ring. You slid the seal in the pocket then had to 'set' the brass compression ring over it with a special tool. First time I did a cylinder rebuild it took me 9 hours. By the last time I did it I was down to 45 minutes. That included re-lapping all the check vales and doing the hydraulic side as well. Seals are funny things, they are.

[Peter Drouin]

I was going to tell you about web co. But I thought they only lulls like mine.
I get all my stuff from them.
Like the planatery I had to get. $7400.00


 

 

 

 

 

[thecfarm]

I use to work on those robots that require high water pressure to cut out automobile trunk parts. But we only ran 60,000 psi. Yes, they rebuilt quite often. I think you are right on the 4 inch and one inch part.
I only programmed the robots. Just told others what needed to be fixed.
There was a 4 inch wide round piece of brass about an inch thick too.

[Old Greenhorn]

Right you are Ray! There was a brass puck that set in a pocket in the face of the hydraulic piston to capture the head of the 1" water piston if I am recalling right. That was, frankly just about 20 years ago since I left that company and about 25 or so since I did my last rebuild before teaching a younger guy that is still there.
 I will tell you it freaked me out when I found that crack in the cylinder and I called the service guy at the manufacturer and expressed my concern in meaningful ways. The guy just said "yeah, they all do that, How many hours? about 500 right? and it cracked on the 13th thread from the end right? Yeah, those cylinders only go 500 hours. We'll send you another one and one for stock because they will all start going now. They're only $500. a piece."  Yeah, a 'throw away part' I used it for a pencil cup on my desk for a while, but it only held 4 pencils. :D

[Don P]

After a relaxing weekend working on the box truck rollup door... luckily she called dinner last night as i was looking hard at just chainsawing the back of the truck off .. we got back on the Lull today. The parts aren't in yet but the inside of the boom was a scary swamp. I took these pics then moved it to where we could hook up the pressure washer to cold water in the cold wind and have a lovely time. About a gallon of purple power later we had it cleaner than it was. We then removed the hoses and lo and behold they are about 9' long each and 3/8" so pretty cheap to replace. One hose is in good condition, the other is almost all braid. That far in we'll replace both. While DB was washing I piddled with the dozer and got the alternator charging.

I think this would be a late 70's-80's 644 Highlander II, JD powered. We also have a new master cylinder to put in this round.


 


The extension cylinder came out the back;

 

Back end of the cylinder on the left, rod on the right, piston nut end, it all looks remarkably good.


 

I did find 2 cracks in the boom while we were cleaning it up, places where it had been repaired before. I'm pretty sure this machine rolled with the boom extended at some point, there are some hefty repairs.

And I've found zerks I ain't never seen before  :

[Southside]

Don, how many levers in the cab? My 644 is a Highlander II and is a '92, pictured here. My 1044 is only a Highlander and is from the '80s with a different lever arrangement.  



Same JD engine in both, only difference being the 1044 has a turbo.

[Old Greenhorn]

Yeah, zerks in places I couldn't fit my pinky sometimes. :D
 I am jealous of that see through boom! Ours is one, big, long, narrow, dark box. ;D It only has two access holes to knock out the cylinder pins and of course they each don't line up at the same time. I also noted the holes do not completely line up from side to side, just to make it fun. According to the shop manual we have to (after doing about 10 other steps) remove the front section of the boom (just slide it out they say  :D) and then remove the cylinder through the front. We have yet to decide on a supplier for all the seal kits and Bill is still trying to see if he can get the local Skytrak dealer to just do the repair for us saving us a lot of fun no doubt, but also a lot of time that we could be doing other stuff. Lumber orders are coming in and if it ever stops raining I have a bunch of logs to mill up so I can make room for hemlock logs to fill orders. It's spring and things are busting out. 

[Don P]

It's spring, the time when we sing that Dylan song "Everything is broken" :D  

I'll get a pic of the dash. Similar but older controls on the left. Those black knobs, F/R and 1/2/3 by pulling on 2 sleeved cables that go back to shifters on the bellhousing. Those cable sheaths love to get wet and freeze. Same gauge location, our key is working there.

Floor mounted long handled joystick for boom lift and extension vs your short one, fine work is tough. slightly behind and below that by my right leg is a 4 gang block with fork tilt, that front cyl which is loose and chained right now, it is the hoses and lines in the boom. then a missing handle that would be 2nd boom function. I removed the last of those steel lines today just to clean it up. 3rd is carriage sled, 4th is frame tilt, this one has only one frame tilt cyl, on the front right corner. I'm not 100% I have 2&3 in the right order. Brakes are a single bowl master under the floor, lines to dual piston calipers on front and rear shafts, brakes are central not wheel mounted.. Park is another caliper around on the same discs with  sheath and cable to pull them on, brake handle is where yours is.

[Southside]

Sounds like the 1044. On the freezing cables, check where the cable is hooked to the transmission, on the F/N/R there is a shelf that sits below the swing arm and it packs with mud, which will freeze and prevent gear shifting. Thought it was the cable getting water into it until I discovered that spot. 

[Don P]

We used our precision jigs and fixtures to reassemble the cylinder. I held the oak 2x4 while DB "Hit it like I live". It slid together, and we returned it from whence it came.


 


Hooked, took apart and hooked up correctly a few times. New hoses in the boom.Everything works and blowing oil like a stuck pig, but just getting fittings snugged down, alas the only remaining leaker is at the rear where it's about 30 minutes in, but looks like we'll have it tomorrow.

 

Had enough time to slap a coat of paint on the back door of the gristmill truck. That's a new bottom panel and seal. I have now gradurated from Todco Online U, the spring winding episode 3 times I liked it so much. The Lull was a piece of cake, the door drove me nuts.


 

[Old Greenhorn]

Good for you guys Don! I don't care what you say, that's a big and not so fun job. Roll up doors is another one. I messed with the springs on one of my garage doors for a week and it drove me plum crazy, one side tight, one loose, then the other way round. Geez!
 Sometimes I think life is just a series of maintenance projects.

[Don P]

Well that last leak was a good bit of the day. There is a section of line about 8" long with several fittings to get the lines around the pivot end of the boom. In all the moving and wrenching, it pinholed and that was our leak.
While DB took that to town I removed and replaced the brake master cylinder. I saw a tag on the rear axle while under there, 1981. When the new line got back we installed it and buttoned the boom back up. Then we fought brake bleeders and began bleeding till the end of our patience.  Which was about school bus time because I ran into a neighbor down at the bridge on my way home. He had waited for the bus, he and his great granddaughter were playing and skipping rocks. Funny thing, when we first moved here his daughter put me in the ditch, and just about everyone else on the road. Several years ago his granddaughter totaled my truck with her fine driving skills. This one looks to be about a decade away from taking the wheel. I know a couple of people that have a good shot at being great great grandparents... early and often  :D.

Hopefully we'll load the Lull and a work basket up and take it to the next little job tomorrow.
Today was the first farmer's market of the season, 4:30 came early as she got ready to go. I need to make more walnut trays and boxes, the 2 I sent sold, none of the pine.