My new old 4 post lift....

[thrashingcows]

OK so now that Christmas and the holiday season is over I can start getting to the 4 post lift.

First off is one of the pulley shafts got bent...not sure if the reason for the retirement of the lift, or maybe happened during disassembly, or perhaps when we were loading it and all the columns and hardware shifted and slid together, regardless it is damaged and needs to be fixed.

Clearly this lift sat outside for a year or two...the corrosion is a bit more then I'd expect on a lift that was recently retired, oh well time to pull everything apart and clean, fix and replace as needed.

Here is the bent pin with one of the other ones...

It's 3/4 round bar by about 6.75" long.

Now due to the corrosion I figure I'll just replace all the pins in the system since they do need to spin nice and easy for maximum efficiency of the system. The pins don't appear to have been chromed, but maybe a low grade stainless, they are magnetic. For replacement would just basic cold rolled steel bar be fine or should I go with stainless bar, or maybe a plated pin?

 

[69.5CUDA]

stainless has a higher chance of bending doesnt it?

i dont even know that it would have been plated just a greased pin

looks like the same pin setup in a 2 post with overhead cables, and those are just cold steel rod nothing special to them at all

as silly as it sounds id likly bend it straight and insert it from the other end grease it and forget about it..unless it just cant be straightened

 

[Dr.Jass]

Give it one full stroke with a half-round file. You'll probably know halfway through just by feel and sound if it's hardened. If it's not, the file will do its thing easily. If it barely makes a mark, they're hardened. If there's no bearing in that pulley, I'll bet they're hardened pins. Yes, hardened shit will bend. It's more about the alloy than the hardening.

I looks at the hoist and thinks to myself, "Self, this thing could drop three tons on a head of which I'm rather fond," and then I fixes it right. First call? The lift company, if'n they're still around.

 

[thrashingcows]

There are no bearings, just a thin brass bushing between the pulley and the pin.

Had not thought about using a file...will do that and report back.

 

[thrashingcows]

Just did the file test...just plain old cold rolled steel.

I looks at the hoist and thinks to myself, "Self, this thing could drop three tons on a head of which I'm rather fond," and then I fixes it right. First call? The lift company, if'n they're still around.

One of the reasons I asked...I want to do the repairs right.

I want those pulley spin with minimal resistance so I think I'll just fab up all new pins for every point there is a pulley on the system. Then clean and grease everything so it's smooth as butter.

 

[74DartSport]

McMaster 3236T22

 

[b-body-bob]

Every time I read about someone getting a lift I think how dumb I was to build a garage instead of a shop, but then getting up and down all day long wasn't such a big deal 20 years ago either.

 

[thrashingcows]

McMaster 3236T22

Well that tosses a few more issues into the decision now doesn't it. Now how to determine exactly what type of metal pin I have? Likely short of filing off some material and sending it off of analysis there is likely no way to know for sure.

Metallurgy chart...

McMaster-Carr

69's suggestion of straightening it and installing it from the other direction is starting to sounding like this might be the way to go?

 

[Dr.Jass]

Bending fatigues metal. Bending it back fatigues it further. However, that may be immaterial since getting it perfectly straight may be nearly impossible due to stretching and compression. You might have better luck with a hammer and anvil than you would with a press, but that presents its own peculiarities (strike-zone deformation, etc.).

Did you try the/a lift manufacturer? The price of that bar stock is a bit unnerving, and you'll still have to drill it.

 

[69.5CUDA]

if its setup like it looks, its got little to no load on the "other side" and probably has holes 1/4 inch too big...or atleast the 2 post i had sure did

im not saying its right tho..but if its anything like i suspect it is..the "far side" of the pin has zero load and is only "stretch and sheer" value for the pulley side and really just for the sake of being the "easy" way for them to make it in the first place instead of having the pulley on a pin that coudld eventualy wear and not be replaced

 

[thrashingcows]

I've been working on the bend this evening...never even thought to use the friggin press to try and straighten it.

I set it in the vise then heat and a few strikes from a dead blow hammer and repeat, repeat, repeat....got it basically straightened out but for a small hump on the one side. Set up my make shift anvil...8" piece of railroad track in the vise...then more heat and a bunch of whacking with the brass 2.5lbs hammer and brass drifts on the hump. That got it pretty darn straight but there was still a slight rise so took the file to it and smoothed that out. Slides through the collars now no problem.

I'm going to send them an E-mail and see if they have any pins for sale, or at a minimum if they can tell me what type of metal is used in the pins. I don't have much hope though since the guy I got it from called them since they have a warehouse/showroom in Calgary, and tried to get a seal kit for the cylinder and they wouldn't even consider selling him one, said they would only sell him a complete cylinder. But maybe they would do a pin, or pins?

 

[thrashingcows]

Got a reply from the lift company confirming what pin I was looking for, responded that yes it was one of the cross beam pins, now no response.