slow oil leak (drip) from bendpak hd9

danieldolin · Jul 25, 2012

as the title says, I have a very slow oil leak from my bendpak hd9 (new last month) from where the piston enters the cylinder. It only amounts to about 1 drop of oil every couple of times the lift is raised / lowered. I only use my lift a few times a week as it is mostly for vehicle storage, so it works out to me just wiping the oil drip off once a week or so before it has a chance to drip down to the lower car.

My question is, is this normal? I imagine it is and not a big deal, meaning that for those that use thier lift many times a day this would start to add up to a lot of drips over time... so if this is the case, at what point do I need to add more oil.

The other side of my thinking is that maybe it was just overfilled to start with by the installers and these drips will stop over time as the excess oil gets flushed out maybe... The lift has probably gone up and down only about 20 times so far so I can not say if this drip will continue over the longer term.

Anyone with experience of similar drip?

Thanks

-Dan

darkk · Jul 25, 2012

Search for the Bend Pak rep/employee here on the forum and ask them. I haven't noticed any seepage from our HD9Xw, but then again I haven't looked for any.

Steevo · Jul 25, 2012

A quality hydraulic cylinder should not seep, leak, ooze or otherwise excrete oil around the shaft at the seal, or from anywhere else. It is not "normal", it is a problem that should be repaired or replaced under warranty. Leakage at the shaft seal is typically either a scratched shaft or a damaged seal.

danieldolin · Jul 25, 2012

Steevo said:
A quality hydraulic cylinder should not seep, leak, ooze or otherwise excrete oil around the shaft at the seal, or from anywhere else. It is not "normal", it is a problem that should be repaired or replaced under warranty. Leakage at the shaft seal is typically either a scratched shaft or a damaged seal.

Thanks, I will monitor for a few more weeks and if it continues I will contact for a replacement.

torquepower85 · Jul 25, 2012

Sounds like it might be a seal problem. Only a guess. I would call BendPak or PM "JSK".

MikeMustang · Jul 25, 2012

I had the same problem with mine and Bendpak sent me a new cylinder free of charge. I swapped it out and all is well. Now I need to figure out how to repair the old one so I have a function spare if needed.

danieldolin · Jul 25, 2012

MikeMustang said:
I had the same problem with mine and Bendpak sent me a new cylinder free of charge. I swapped it out and all is well. Now I need to figure out how to repair the old one so I have a function spare if needed.

how hard is it to swap? Can I DIY or do I need to call the people that did the install? I am not very familiar with hydraulics but can use basic tools...

Bob C · Jul 25, 2012

If the lift is new, I thought I read in one of the install manuals that it may seep/ooze/drip a bit as it is first used. They called it bleeding. It's supposed to stop .

MikeMustang · Jul 25, 2012

I did it by myself. The cylinder is pretty heavy so you will probably need a friend. Its pretty simple to do, you just need to make sure you get the cables back on the pulleys correctly and in the right places. You will also need to drain the fluid out of the cylinder. I keep track of how much comes out so you know how much you need to add back. Call bendpak, I think they offered to have someone install it for me but I wanted to do it myself.

danieldolin · Jul 26, 2012

Bob C said:
If the lift is new, I thought I read in one of the install manuals that it may seep/ooze/drip a bit as it is first used. They called it bleeding. It's supposed to stop .

I am going to keep my eye on it for a few more weeks and see if it stops before doing anything else... don't want to deal with warranty replacement if I don't have to as the above poster indicates, I will probably want to have someone do it for me if it involves removing all the cables etc. which means taking another day off work for the installer to come out.

Hopefully it just stops!

Thanks,

Dan

danieldolin · Aug 5, 2012

Been a few weeks, slow leak is still there. Even with the lift on the locks for the past 7 days with no movement, a few drips needed to be wiped off the black face of the hydraulic cylinder where the silver shaft enters. Not sure if the seal can be replaced or if the entire thing needs to be swapped. I am going to call BP this week to figure it out and get someone out to fix. Thanks for your help guys!

ket-tek · Aug 5, 2012

I purchased 2 HD9's a couple years ago, not a single drip ever.

I'd contact them and get the needed replacement parts. BP is great about helping you get what you need.

1507dennis · Aug 5, 2012

My Bendpak is 12 years old and no leaks around the cylinders........................

Andybull · Aug 5, 2012

Call and get it replaced. As stated before, the cylinder should NOT have any seepage. The piston or seal is out of spec, or damaged.

James E · Aug 5, 2012

Mine is about a year old or close to it. Never a single drip. I would say this is not normal and that BP should have an opportunity to deal with this.

danieldolin · Aug 5, 2012

James E said:
I would say this is not normal and that BP should have an opportunity to deal with this.

Will call this week to have them take care of it under warranty. Will keep you guys posted!

roaddog359 · Aug 5, 2012

danieldolin said:
how hard is it to swap? Can I DIY or do I need to call the people that did the install? I am not very familiar with hydraulics but can use basic tools...

Call Bend Pak and ask to speak with Jeff or Joe Vermillion, It should not leak to my knowledge. I believe the warranty will cover labor as well. You get 2 years on the Hyrdaulic cylinder or power unit and 1 year on site labor.

danieldolin · Aug 7, 2012

Called BendPak. Spoke with Joe yesterday. Needed some numbers off the lift (serial number and hand written number on the cylinder itself) which I provided to him after I got home from work yesterday. Called me back today to inform me that a new cylinder is on its way out to the distributer that did my install, then they will be out to swap. No problems at all. So far, great customer service experience!

danieldolin · Sep 24, 2012

just wanted to give an update... new hydraulic unit went onto my lift this morning, everything working as it should. Face of the hydraulic is dry with no signs of leaking where the origional did. Happy customer.

darkk · Sep 25, 2012

Nothing like good customer service...

Steves32 · Sep 25, 2012

This is why I have a Bendpak in my garage. Can't beat the service.
My friends cheap 4 post lift is for sale after seeing & using mine.

slow oil leak (drip) from bendpak hd9

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