Well I'm not getting much done around here. The mini Hoe is still Broke, Well that's because so is my foot. now the boom on the bucket truck won't behave. My son was changing out some lights in a Sonic road sign and the boom started drifting down. It's always settled some but now it creeps too fast to work on the signs. You should have seen me pulling the boom lift cylinder with a broken foot. I messed with it some in the shop but I'm having issues with the test rig I have. I want to do a pressure test on the cylinder BEFORE I tear it apart for a rebuild. I'm not positive that the problem doesn't exist in the damn control valve. Not leaking any oil around the ram and I usually see that LONG before the seals blow on the piston but never know. Not too sure about this thing on the power end of the cylinder either. I suspect it's a relief valve to protect from over loading the fiberglass boom.




I've reach out to Versalift for support but they haven't gotten back to me. I'll try calling them next week. Can't find anything online for this antique. I'll have to see if I can get a pic of the data plate that is better But this shows the Mod#, S/N, & MFR date. should be all I need.

Still Hopping around a bit.



Got one of these that lets me get around and do some stuff.

I'm pretty sure this is a pilot operated check valve. the only thing that makes sense. doesn't seem to be a relief valve Won't know for sure until I can pick up a pressure gage & install it on the hyd pump so I can monitor the pressure. If thats the case, it either stock partially open or I'm definitely blowing by the piston. I'll have to machine a test block to take it out of the system so I can do a proper pressure test of the cylinder.

Glad you can hobble around a bit! at least you can look stuff over and get ideas of the problems!
Unless your cylinder is leaking inside past the piston seals,--the check valve could be sticking open or worn out.
The controls in the bucket could possible not be holding too. My Hi-Ranger has some weird valving on it ! Still trying to figure some of it out too. I am not going up in it unless I have a ground person at the bottom controls! I am not too keen on the idea of going up 70 feet and not be able to come down in a safe manner.
From your tag, I would say model # Tel 29B,and possible T under the dark spot. I would say 29 foot model.
F8627 looks like serial # and 2000 could be working pressure of the hyd. system
5 6 86 could be build date and 300 would be bucket capacity load limit.
Just guessing here! LOL! Keep us posted on your progress!

That model doesn't come up. But yeah on every thing you said. If you see the plate from the right angle at the light you can read it. I can't find a manual for the model number though. IT's just so damn old it's archived I'm sure.

I also removed the mechanical control levers at the bucket. All they did was operate switches in the boom so I extended the wire to the bucket and will mount the switches in a watertight box. The linkages were sticky and difficult to operate.

Jim thats a lock valve,it protects against dropping the load(people bucket)in case of hose or system failure. Unscrew the lock spool(left in photo)and check it for trash or contaiminates..sometimes they get hung up.I had one on a forklift that drove me crazy..speaking of slow progress its so wet and muddy here Im shut down for a while till it all freezes..IF it does..can't do much until I can mobilize over the mud..my small articulated loader fork is still broken down, can't get it to the shop to work on it cause of the mud..aggravating! Best of luck with your recovery

Yeah... I verified it as just that. Explains why the engine lugs when lowering the boom too. I took it off, took it apart and cleaned it. I'm working on a way to flush the Hyd. system on the truck. Oil looks like Milk & there was a bunch of snot looking crap in the check valve. Pulled the poppet out & cleaned it all out. Gotta figure out how the hell water got in the system. I think Maybe the breather cap isn't sealed where it's screwed to the tank top because it looks wet around it when it's dry..

Picked up a nice clean barrel today for $20. Going to empty the trucks Hyd. system into it so I can clean out the tank and flush the system and replace the filters. I'm going to try & clean up the oil & reuse it. we'll see how that goes. I figure if I heat it up, I should be able to get the water out of it. wish I had one of those lube oil purifiers we had on Submarines. Make that stuff like new just about.

Sounds like you are gaining on it! Ya, that oil is contaminated with something for sure. Some oils do pick up water and get nasty even in a good vented system. Air moving in and out of the breathers will at some point in time make the oil bad.
The only model I can find is a TEL 29 N unit and nothing for the B unit. They might be close to the same.
Speaking of an old unit,----my Hi-Ranger is on an 84 F-700 truck and I would assume the bucket unit could be the same year so parts/info/manuals for these units are hard to find. I did get a manual for mine from an e-bay seller, so lucked out on that one.

Sounds like your next project..grab one of your spent refrigerant cans, weld a couple legs on to support it, a small 120V water heater element and some pipe bungs welded into the can and a filter or two and you should be good to go. Then again, oil isnt that expensive just yet..but wait till this summer..buy it now

I was thinking more of a turkey cooker pot to cook off the water, then I can filter the hot oil to remove suspended particulates.
Been laid up for two months now. everything is expensive when you don't have any income. I need to figure out exactly how much oil the darn thing holds. At a minimum I need to clean this stuff up enough to flush out the system. I'll consider buying new oil when I'm back to work. I'm really hoping that cleaning out the check valve fixed the problem. I really hate putting the ram back in without testing it somehow. that's what I'm working on as well as fixing the oil situation. I gotta go through all my shit & see if I have a pump that will handle the Hot oil to filter it. I'll have to see if I have any pumps from fryer filter machines that I can doctor up enough to use. those are designed to handle 400 degree oil. I know I have a pump but not sure about the motor that goes with it.

Turkey pot should do for the heater part. For the filter,----how about a remote spin-on filter unit off of an old industrial motor, or something from a used parts yard.
For the pump, any small hydraulic pump would work. Belt drive it to isolate the heat for a while. set the pump and motor on a temporary board with a long belt then motor would be away from the heat. ---- just thinking out loud here!! LOL!

got as much oil out of the tank as I could with the barrel pump. looks like around 25 gal. That's a shit load of oil. I sure hope I can clean it up. I still have to get the cap off the drain & finish emptying the tank. figure there's at least 2 gal left in there. going to fit in a ball valve for future use. still waiting on fittings so I can close loop the lines to the boom ram & flush them prior to reinstalling the cylinder.

Gotta wonder where the hell the oil came from to get this crap in the strainer. Had to pull it out to get the barrel pump in the tank.

want to figure out a way to load test the cylinder prior to putting it back in. hate to go through all that just to find out I really do have to rebuild it. ANY good ideas? thought about putting it under the back of the RV but I'm sure that wouldn't end up well. Got no way to keep it in place. ( the RV that is) sure it will swing left or right.

why not put the cylinder on the ground and hydraulic pressure charge one side at a time at full extension and retract

I've done that, but in order to actually verify that the piston isn't leaking by I need to put a weight load on the ram somehow. the way that pilot operated stop/check valve is mounted doesn't allow testing in both directions with an open vent on the return side. I can power it in and out all day long but without actually loading the cylinder I'm not verifying that the piston doesn't leak by. I'm waiting on fittings and gages so I can see if the pressure bleeds off a lot when I center the control valve at the end of the stroke each way. the lack of fittings & gages or means of loading the cylinder is keeping me from moving forward at this point.

Also I wonder if your master valve is leaking?
Cylinder internal leaking would be best under load,--BUT with it extended fully and up against relief pressure with gauges hooked up and watch how fast it drops could tell a little.
IF you had a simple stand to set the cylinder in then hooked under the rv that would work to hold it from tipping.

I have a plan now for testing for internal leak by. I'll put the cylinder in my press and run it up to the ram. then I'll try to collapse the cylinder with the press if it moves, I have an internal leak if it doesn't, I'll consider it good.

got a pump. managed to scrape enough parts together from multiple doners to get one whole pump.

well I managed to get two pumps put together.

Only one motor though. windings were cooked in the second one. So I have what I need to circulate HOT oil. these are fryer filter pumps they retail for $1300 and are rated for 500 degrees. fryers are normally kept at 350 and don't expect to exceed 250. Just want it hot enough to flash off the water. Hyd oil flash point is around 500. I should be good. 250 is Normal op temp on Submarine Hyd systems so it shouldn't degrade the oil due to temp either.

Couldn't find the bolts for the motor. I need to dig some more. I was able to test run it by clamping the motor together. 10-32 x 7.
I should have two sets of motor bolts there, the motors were both in the same place.

going to go to tractor supply tomorrow & get a filter assy. for the pump. Going to put it on the suction side to protect the pump.

Hey! the press idea will work! Glad you have the pumps on go. I know it takes time and a lot of riggin but thats what we do! Right?

Didn't fit in the press. used the pull back ram with my portapower. Piston seals are SHOT

got the pump all together with the filter on the suction side. just got to get a section of 1/2" hose for the discharge side I'll update on the cylinder tomorrow. getting ready to go to friends for the evening to ring in the New year.

looks like the beginnings of a great little petro kidney package Jim

Just need to mount it to a board or something now and maybe put a switch ion it for easier operation.

got the piston out of the cylinder. seals are shot for sure. Now I just have to find replacements.

I had to modify a hose spanner to make it be a pin spanner so I could get the end cap off the cylinder. 30 + years old so it was a bit of a fight to get out.

Cylinder had some light rust on the wall. pretty much wiped off and it looks like it's just some discoloration. I'm going to try & run a hone through it and see what it looks like. doubt I would ever find a replacement cylinder. it's got 1 1/2" ram and pins. everything I can find in in that size range only has 1" pins. if it doesn't look like i can make it work, I'll have to take it to one of two hydraulic repair shops and see if I can afford to have it refurbished. I don't use the truck very much so If I can clean it up with a hone & make it work That would be great. finding the right seals is going to be fun. Also have to make an extension for the cylinder hone. it only makes it about halfway down the cylinder.

found something. time to dig out the Mics

I have the PDF file these came from if anyone wants or needs it.

Hoop there it is.

Lookin good Jim!! Ya that old seal is gone for sure. Glad you could match it up,---makes life a lot simpler that way.
I made some crude spanners for my Case skidloader and bigger ones for the Case 580 ck backhoe. They worked but were crude at best.

well with this chart I didn't need to measure much. I have a 3 1/2" bore. Only one seal on the list is in the range.

Think I'm going to try & get a burner assy. out of this griddle and use it for my oil heater. It's natural gas and I have natural out at my shop.


One of those burners should be Just the right size to fit under this nice pan. It's out of a Taylor shake machine so It's a nice stainless pan. Think it holds 8 gal. can't remember for sure. I've been using it to soak parts in degreaser. The water line in the pan is the 5-gal mark. I mixed water base concentrate to 5 gal. Can't keep solvents at the warehouse I rent. If you heat that stuff up to about 140, it works really well. cold water base degreaser isn't worth crap.

Sooo... my posting about my progress is slower than the actual progress. Here's the boil down rig.

Had the Hyd. tank off the truck so I could clean it out. Put it up on the lift table and ran 300 deg oil through it for a while. pretty sure that got all the water out of the tank. This is what the Hydraulic oil looked like when I took it out of the tank and the start of the boil down process. there was lots of moisture trapped in that oil.



I shut the flame off to check it out. Still kinda cloudy so fire it back up. Oil was at 220 in this one.

was still bubbling at 300 deg so I stopped there, let it cool then pumped it into the drum. going to run the truck for a bit then drain some off the bottom of the tank & see what it looks like. I will probably boil it off at least once more but it's way better than it was.

I did get it back to the right color.

I don't know how much this thing holds but I'm pretty sure that there's at least 20 Gal in it now and it's not up to the sight glass. I need to measure it & calculate the capacity.

Jim the formula I always used for tank capacity is length X width X height / divide by 240 should get you close in gallons..with basic 15w40 going for $16.50 a gallon,it would be a couple hundred to change that oil..I'd keep workin on it with your 'dewatering' process..great job

I divide by 230. (231 cu in/ gal). figure with baffles & all... .I priced fluid at TS yesterday. $200 gets me around 20 gal. figure probably be closer to 250 or three. I'll measure the tank today. I did more work to the hot pot. Tightened up the shielding on the sides and back AND finished installing the gas valves and thermostat. I'll be able to set the temp to around 225 and just let it run until it stops bubbling. Still need a knob on the t-stat & then I can index it. I'll be able to walk away from it without having to worry about it overheating now. that should speed up the process a little. Need to take the truck & put gas in it before I run it too much or I won't have enough to get to the station. I also STILL need to bolt the tank back down. It's just setting in place right now. Good weather today, so I hope to get the controls for up in the bucket hooked up too.

I'm bass ackwards. your number would be more accurate accounting for baffles, plumbing etc. I have my days.
either way I'm looking at a 40-gallon tank. 8.5 X 32 X 36. I sure don't see a need for that. this truck did at one time Have hydraulic connections at the bucket. I assume it was for hooking up implements like saws & stuff. for what the system has now I'm sure that I could make do with a much smaller tank. shit that sight glass will NEVER see a level. I see no need to have that much oil. Don't run the truck long enough to get the oil very hot.

The big tank is for runnin tree saws! --Got that connection up on my Hi-ranger too! For your use 20 gallons is plenty, and you could use a smaller tank without any problems.
Your clean oil looks great!
Original intended use was more for tree cutting and for extended run time of the hydraulic saws you would need a big tank to help cool the oil.
I figure for our type of use, you dont need that many gallons. Not sure what my Hi-ranger has but looks like about 40 gallons in it, but once the cylinders get filled it dont take much to operate them.

5 Gal would be plenty now with a cooler installed Just because the oil recircs constantly. Got the updated controls put together. Just need to figure out a good mounting system. Something I can hang on the edge of the bucket is what I'm thinking. It's real handy to be able to take the controls in hand while up in the bucket. All the old levers were difficult to operate so I took them off.

Looks simple enough! -- Not sure how the Hi- ranger controls run but looks like they are on oil/air combo---VERY complicated setup!

Sonny you have air over hydraulic to maintain the electrical insulation of the bucket, no metallic links (wires,hoses or cables) thru the fibreglass boom to the truck..the air lines are plastic so they don't conduct electricity..the plastic lines get cracks in them occasionally makes for difficult troubleshooting

Well, I used to be electrically isolated. I ran power to the winch and there's a receptacle for 120 runs off an inverter. The old controls operated the toggle switches via fiberglass rods. I just extended the wires and moved the switches. I don't plan on trimming any trees around any wires. I pretty much just use the truck for lot lights, road signs and setting equipment on roofs. I stay away from wires...

The boom top section on mine is steel with a plastic cover on it and the complicated control handle costs $2,200 up to have it fixed when it dont send you up,---- OR worse yet wont send you down!!! LOL! 70 feet down is a long slide! --- need ladder steps welded on the boom LOL!!

end section of my boom is fiberglass.

I think some of the newer Hi-Rangers were fiberglass too. This one is not twisted or bent that I can tell. I only need to do trees away from power lines so not much danger of hittin live lines!