Leaking Marquip

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Just noticed a bunch of gear or hydraulic oil coming from my 1989 1000# Marquip. The cable was backed off and when I raised the boom, it was clear the fuid was coming from up in the boom and not from the motor or pump in the base.

I've got the manual but there doesn't seem like much in there that is serviceable. And really tough to get at. It looks like the hydraulic lines and hose fittings are pretty corroded. Aluminum manifolds and steel fittings.....

Has anyone run into this? Is this one of those deals where you just get it re-furbed (you know that's gonna hurt $$$$) or has anyone had succes in re-plumbing one of these? Thanks

 

[fixin-to-cruise]

My 1990 1500# Tender Lift sprung a leak 2 years ago. There are 2 hydraulic lines going from the pump to the hydraulic cylinder. They attach to the cylinder in a block-shaped valve. There is a long steel tube that goes to the top end of the cylinder from that valve that is welded on. Unfortunately that tube rusted and failed on a seam. The paint on the cylinder was inadequate for the marine environment. Maybe you will be lucky and just have a loose fitting or leaking flexible hose.

For my boat the fix was to remove the crane from the boat and remove the cylinder and have it rebuilt by a local hydraulic service shop. It is big $$ to replace and the part is custom and no longer made. They disassembled it, welded in a new tube and replaced all the seals for about $350. I painted it really really well afterwards- acid etching primer, epoxy primer and awl-grip.

The cable system is a little bit complicated and you will need to get a rigging shop to recrimp the cable end. Checking my notes...I got a lot of help from Tim in Engineering at Marquipt. I also spoke with Jimmy who is their parts expert I think. This is a time consuming job but you can save a lot of $$ if you can do it yourself, and you know it will be done right too.

 

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Just got back in town, sorry for the delay. Thank you for the reply, sounds like it may be the same issue.

I guess in your experience it's best to remove from the boat before you get to work on it? Thanks again.

 

[fixin-to-cruise]

With 1 or 2 helpers you can remove the crane and put it on the deck. Turn it upside down, pull out the cylinder and cut the swaged nicopress sleeve on the cable with a cutoff wheel with a drill or whatever. Everything is held in place with cylindrical pins that slide into place. They pins are retained with a trim plate held on by phillips screws at the top and small bolts and washers at the bottom. You will have to borrow a nicopress swaging tool or bring it to a rigging shop as the last step in reassembly. Wrap some tape around the end of the cable so it doesn't unravel.

I took mine down in 2 pieces but reassembled it before putting it back on the boat with some block & tackle pulleys. There was some heavy aluminum corrosion inside that I removed and repainted too. Take some pictures as you take it apart! The cable threading is clever but a little complicated to put back together.

 

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Thanks for the insights. That's just what I've done. I've got the cylinder down at a hydraulic shop for re-sealing. It was in fact the wiper seal on the end that was leaking. And as you said after a little heafting around it was pretty staright forward. Marquipt did a good job in assembling with nylon insulators and t-gel, becuase after 20 years almost every pin, screw and bolt came out fairly easy.

Sanding and painting now prior ro re-assembly. Thanks again for the insights.