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QUESTION:A Hyster 4000# gasoline pneumatic tire forktruck followed me home from the
auction today...
Its not in as good a shape as I'd like. It has very low hours, 1900, and
most of the wear looks to be just from sitting around for 30 years (outside
a lot I think). I need a reliable unit for just a few hours a year. Maybe
load and unload six semis a year.
I've got a good handle on what the gas engine needs; replace/rebuild the
entire electrical system. Plus fluids, belts, hoses, filters, etc. At least
the engine doesn't smoke and seems to have good compression - no overhaul.
"The Kid" says he'll take the lift to work for sandblasting and professional
repaint.
So far, I don't see any oil leaks. The hydraulics appear OK and the clutch
and tranny are sound for driving around the farm.
My questions, Anyone have a good source for a Hyster forklift manual for
model H40F? And, what items in the forklift should be inspected/rebuilt once
every 30 years? I'd like to go through it real well. I learned the hard way
last year about how forgiving semi drivers and grocery chains are when you
can't load and deliver because of a breakdown.
ANSWER: Not much forklift specific, but based on the 37 year old hydraulic
system (backhoe) I do own....
Changing the hydraulic fluid (and filter, if any) at a bare minimum
would be good. If a very careful inspection after some serious
exercising (pick up and set down a box of rocks or something for several
hours - get it good and hot) does not show any leaks, you might choose
to leave it at that.
Drive around with the box of rocks on the forks while doing this -
simulate real use, look for any other problem areas (especially check
for massive bearing wear in things like steering parts that are
inconvenient to grease that were supposed to be greased, once you have a
manual on hand, or simply by inspection). You can press in and bore out
bushings to restore the fit if you have that problem. Check out the
brakes when you don't have someone else's trailer in close proximity if
the thing fails to stop.
If you find any zerks that won't take grease, assume that you need to
get the bearing area apart, and expect to find damage when you do.
Otherwise (reliability) assume that any hydraulic hoses are just waiting
to break until an inconvenient time, and replace them all. Cylinder
seals might also be a good idea, but are usually too damn much work to
bother with until they at least start leaking, and you hope that they
will give you a while of leaking and working before they blow out; they
usually do. Hoses just blow and drop the load on whatever is under
them...
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