problem with hydraulics on bucket truck

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crossy

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Pennsville, N.J.
First off I was wondering if anyone could tell me why the outriggers don't work at all but all the other hydraulics are?
Also it acts as though all the hydraulics are overpressured. both lift cylinders leak bad.
I don't know much about these rigs. I bought it from a friend who is upgrading just so i can do my own trees around my house , then i am going to sell it but For the next year it's going to stay here and i need those outriggers- or at least I think I do.
I'm kind looking for anyone into doing mobile hydraulic repairs too.
I live on the Jersey side of the Delaware Memorial Bridge near Wilmington , De.

.thanx for any help.

the truck is an 83 Ford/Asplundh
 
Yes you need those outriggers working. Does it do anything when you pull the lever to activate them? Does it make any sounds? Have you checked that the hydraulic resevoir is full?

The leaking cylinders, are they the main lift cylinders for the boom? If so, please do not get in the bucket until you have these issues resolved! Where are the cylinders leaking from?
 
No noises at all , the reservoir is not full but it is huge(25 gallons??) and powers the boom with no problem. I didn't want to totally fill it yet cause of the leakage. the tank is about 5 Gallons low. I looked down in the tank and there are no 'higher' up outlets so the the 'feed' for the outriggers must be the same as the other hydraulics.

Yep, its one of the main cylinders the top one(fold/ unfold), i thought the lower one was leaking bad also because the oil runs down across it when it's folded.

I've only been up in it a few feet, trimmed my one Pine tree which is only 15' high :) , I'm too scared w/o the outriggers even though i know this monster prolly won't tip over. thanx for the help.

BTW- even the door handles on the boxes say ASPLUNDH on them so i assumed these are made for or by Asplundh's own subcontractor?? so is there an Asplundh parts warehouse???? I could use a few control(sticks) knobs/labels.
crossy
 
Crossy's bucket truck

Don't know if you've resolved this yet, but it's a perplexing problem. I've seen a couple instances where the inlet & outlet hoses were mixed up on the valve, and they had some wierd problems. Be sure the hose going to the "in" port of the valve is the one which comes from the pump!
Another possibility which might account for the system running at pressure all the time is plugging the outlet on a valve set up for power-beyond use. I don't think that would prevent the outriggers from working though.
You do need to find someone in the hydraulics business to help I think. If you're ever driving it past Rochester, stop in. Otherwise look in the yellow pages. There should be a shop somewhere near you.
You could also post some photos of the valve.

Good Luck,

Don the Hydraulics Guy
 
hey thanx for the reply w/o telling me to scrap the truck.
I actually got the outriggers working. they were locked out by the bypass(?) knob up on the top near the bucket. Also at the same time the right side was still locked out by a HYDRAULIC TOOLS lever that was up[on].

I used it for 3 hours, 8 trees topped out, then the main cylinder started leaking pretty bad so i brought her down and parked it. I need to find someone in the area that does it. shame i have to take them off and then somewhere just for a re-pack. I thought there were a lot of mobile hydraulics firms but Guess not. thanx , DAVID
 
David,
If you want to do it yourself, take the seals out and mail them to us. We'll size them up and send you new ones. Send me a private email & I'll give you our address.

Don
 
I thought I saw a lot of oil on Columbia Dr. The Cherry log yeided 300 bf as for the cylinder check with dink at the end of street. He can get the seal kit you need and show you how to install it. You can't get much closer than that!
 
crossy, NEVER operate without outriggers down and solid and leaks out of cylinders. You should identify your boom model and year of manufacture. There is suppose to be a tag on the pedestal by the dead man levers that says model, height, year, etc., if not its a little trickier but doable. Inspect all parts of this boom ie. cable, fiberglass, leveling chain, nuts, bolts, hoses. Please fix the leaks and any other issues you find as you are putting you personal welfare at risk by not doing so. If not for you, do it for your family and friends.
TreeCo said:
Your boom is a death trap. Asplundh has been sold to Altec and the older booms are not being supported any longer and the company strongly recommends that they be taken out of service.
The Asplundh booms have a 25 year life. Mandatory retirement after that. They can be serviced prior to age 25, with verification. I think it was a issue with the fiberglass on booms failing because of fatigue. They were nice, when new, as I spent a few hours flying one around power lines, back when.
 
This was certified as late as 1997 by Atlantic electric before they gave it up.
I found everything i needed to know on it, outriggers work fine, all I need is time to get things apart.

JerseyWild, small world eh, just so everyone knows this guy lives less than a 1/2 mile from me and we were in same High school at same time and didn't know each other were on the forum, yep small world on the internet. He also took down a HUGE wild cherry tree for me that there was no way i was going to tackle, even if i did have a boom truck back then, which I didn't. After i saw all the bees come out of the ground and sting him, i was even more happy I didn't do it myself. He Is very professional and cost effecient so If you live around Salem County, NJ and need work done send him an email. He's not blowing his own horn with his business name on here so I'm not going to do it for him. He may be incognito for a reason :). John, Dink has less time than me on his hands but I'm sure he'll help if i get it apart. thanx.
NOW, which one of the 500 nurseries in the area do i buy cheap arborvitaes from ? crossy
 
Where is the fluid leaking from?Is it from the ram end?Have you tried tightening the gland nut?
 
yeah its coming from ther am end and I remember trying that to start with and could not get it to move but i will go back and try to be more persuasive. I think once they blow out like that it is pretty much over though. thanx , DAVID
 
Dave
On Rt 49 just before Bridgeton is a wholesale nursey where i buy my arborvites. Last time I paid $11 cash per plant for 3 to 4 footers.
 
Asplundh LR42 Hydraulic leak out of Lower Boom

Hey Guys
I have a F800 with a Asplundh LR42 over center boom Bucket Truck.The truck worked fine when i parked it last year.When i went to use it yesterday the outriggers worked fine but i could not get the boom to operate.Now there is hydraulic oil pouring out of the lower boom.I added more hydraulic fluid but no go.Now the outriggers which worked fine before are operating very slow and "stuttering" when going up.I am not very familure with the operation of this unit and any input would be appreciated.
 
Hey Guys
I have a F800 with a Asplundh LR42 over center boom Bucket Truck.The truck worked fine when i parked it last year.When i went to use it yesterday the outriggers worked fine but i could not get the boom to operate.Now there is hydraulic oil pouring out of the lower boom.I added more hydraulic fluid but no go.Now the outriggers which worked fine before are operating very slow and "stuttering" when going up.I am not very familure with the operation of this unit and any input would be appreciated.

It sounds like you are low on hydraulic fluid. The leaking cylinders should go to a hydraulic shop unless you are very good at rebuilding cylinders.
 
It sounds like you are low on hydraulic fluid. The leaking cylinders should go to a hydraulic shop unless you are very good at rebuilding cylinders.

Agreed, and the system must be bled out of any remaining air before being used, this should be left to a specialist unless you are extremely familiar with the operation.
 
Agreed, and the system must be bled out of any remaining air before being used, this should be left to a specialist unless you are extremely familiar with the operation.

Dont take the above warning as someone jus trying to spoil your fun! :(

It sounds like you do not have the operation manual for that lift. The bleeding procedure on over centre booms is a lot more involved and important than the average hydraulic shop serviceman might be aware of. Both sides of the cylinders must be blead or you can have a run away as you go over centre and the forces go from push to pull. (or vice~versa)Example; Some vertically mounted cylinders on some equipment have to be unpinned, laid flat and stroked or they can trap air for quite a period of time.
 
Please listen to these guys! There is nothing keeping you from hurting yourself, or others, than your own good judgment. Air in the system can make them really hard to control. You need someone who knows that system to help make sure it's safe & ready to use.
 
actually the life span of an asplundh bucket is 20 yrs. I would suggest looking at their website & contacting someone in the maint. dept. they had a real good mechanic(wally rheam) spelling unknown!! who can give you better advice.

LXT..........
 
Bob

I have a 1985 LR 50 Asplundh bucket.Does anyone know what was as the orignal hydraulic pump which was attached to the power take-off.The outriggers work fine but the boom suddenly stopped working. It makes a noise like it is trying to pick the boom up but wont pick it up.
Thank's , Bob
 
altec bought asplundh?

Bob,
Some1 said altec bought asplundh. If so, I've used an altec technical advisor named Ed, who was very helpful in my case. His # 816-364-2244. (eastern time zone). In my case, he used my serial # & model # to pull prints & assisted me in the treoubleshooting. He was very helpful & took a day to acquire the prints. Be patient with him. In my case, an interlock stopped the main boom hydraulics from operating. Trace your inlet/exit hydraulic lines & get familiar with the flows! Good Luck!:bang:
Greg
 
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