Latest update:
I carefully moved Eleanor's engine from our upstairs out to the new garage.
Eleanor and her engine are now reunited! ...Sort of.
I've mentioned in past posts that when we moved from the old house, stuff was pretty much thrown wherever. Hopefully these pics give some context to what I mean...
And yes, this IS the second story to our home (which is a barn, BTW), and yes, that IS a full-sized trampoline!
I didn't include any pics of the old "garage" aka: glorified shed, which is also in equal disarray. I'll throw a pic or two up next time I post.
While I was busy drilling holes for the radiant barrier insulation, I was noticing that my boom lift was leaking hydraulic oil and making my new garage floor a complete mess!
Turns out the outrigger cylinders were leaking oil. This one as well as the rear-right cylinder were dripping oil like a dripping faucet. I determined it wasn't safe to use the lift in this condition, so I attempted to dismantle the affected cylinders and replace their seals...
HUGE MISTAKE!!!!
As you can see in this photo, the end cap is recessed into the cylinder itself. Haulotte (the manufacturer) has ZERO information on how to remove these, but I noticed that the holes closer to the center were angled. Meaning that it's likely one could take a punch and hammer to inch the end cap on and off.
This technique did NOT work for me! To add insult to injury, the hex grub screw was also froze solid in place. No amount of Aerokroil could budge it, and I wanted to be very light on the propane torch, as the internal gaskets could turn to goo. So I decided to go for the nuclear option...
...Which involved my drilling out the grub screw AND drilling/tapping the four holes to fit a bolt. I also fashioned a rudimentary "wrench" that allowed me to fasten all four bolt holes to said wrench. Even with an 8' cheater bar, the damn thing didn't budge a millimeter!
Which, this failure to remove the end caps resulted in me reaching deep into my pocket book and ordering two ~ $1,700.00 hydraulic cylinders
What's most annoying is that I could not find new or used outrigger cylinders at a decent price ANYWHERE online (even eBay)!! I had to create a Haulotte catalog account just so I could order the cylinders direct from them...at MSRP
.
The story about the war being lost over a horseshoe nail is rather apt here. I can't start any work on Eleanor until I get the barrier hung up, but I can't do that until I get the cylinders replaced...
....All that being said, there will be more to follow...