# Skyworker Bucket hydro oil ?



## Climbing Cutter (Aug 21, 2008)

I got a skywalker bucket and need to know what type of hydro oil to put in the tank. Is the universal hydro oil from tractor supply OK to use? I think i read some where that the skywalker buckets used 2 different types of oil for the high pressure and low pressure's systems? My truck only has one reservoir and one pump. Thanks for any help.


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## Aaction (Aug 21, 2008)

I use 22 grade in my Abbey and GMJ lifts. 46 grade causes heat friction.


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## motor (Aug 21, 2008)

The high pressure side of the system should be filled with oil designed for standard hyd systems. Not tractor oil, tractor oil has additives that actually promote some friction for clutch packs and brakes. Where are you in the states? If in a colder climate 0-90F use a 22 weight, if warmer go with a 32 weight. The low pressure side is filled with aircraft oil, we use Shell Diala AX. It is usually filled with a pressure bleeder or by the resevoir at the upper controls if you have one. Do you have low pressure controls?


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## Climbing Cutter (Aug 25, 2008)

I honestly am not sure. There is a tank of some sort at the upper controls. The lines that run into the side of the valve block are no longer there. The hoses for the upper sections are small clear hoses, so i am assuming that they are lower pressure than the outrigger lines. But there is only one hydraulic pump. I have uploaded pics of the upper and lower controls to help clarify things.













Which brings me around to my new problem. i finally finished wiring up the pony motor setup i will be using (the lift was previously on a truck with a PTO pump on the tranny). Well i got the motor running but no hydraulic pressure whatsoever. so i bleed the air out of the pump a couple of times to no avail, only to find out that the pump is sucking instead of pumping. The #@$%# pony motor turns the wrong way. Can i just switch around the inlet and outlet hoses on the pump (running it backwards) or will this not work correctly? i know just about nothing when it comes to hydraulic pumps.:dunno: Thanks for any help.


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## motor (Aug 25, 2008)

Yup, that's low pressure alright. The tank is hard plumbed right into the valve block. The little knob to the right is a primer but, with the amount of air I can see in the line at the lower controls you may not be able to to purge the air with it. A pressure bleeder is the right way to go. Also it looks like the system has ATF in the low pressure side or maybe just red aircraft oil? You'll have to run it and see how it feels.

As far as the pump goes...some pumps are reversable, can you post a pic? If it is a small gear pump it may not be reversable but those pumps usually aren't too much money.


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## Climbing Cutter (Aug 25, 2008)

Here is a shot of the pump, and a pic of another extra pump that i have that is almost identical.


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## harrison6jd (Aug 25, 2008)

i have the same unit and i am curios as to what size motor and pump you are running?


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## Climbing Cutter (Aug 25, 2008)

I think the motor is 14.5 hp , not sure about the hydraulic pumps. The one on the truck came with the bucket, it used to be mounted to a f700 transmission. The extra pump pictured is from a f600 transmission . It used to power my old versalift bucket.


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## motor (Aug 27, 2008)

That pump may not be reversable. My suggestion;Get a new pump 2500psi, 6-8gpm, and with the right rotation. By the time you monkey around trying to get either of those pumps to work you could have had a new one on there. Do you have any hydraulic shops around? You may have to check your RPM's on the pony motor as well. I'm sure that engine is going to spin faster than the PTO on that old Ford. The Ford was probably around 1000-1500 RPM's where the pony motor will probably be 2500-3000. So you would have burnt that pump out anyway.


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## Climbing Cutter (Sep 10, 2008)

I picked up a new 2 stage pump and got the hydraulics working. All of the lower controls work properly but i only have one functioning at the bucket. Do any of you guys know how to bleed out the air ? Thanks for any help. :monkey:


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## Climbing Cutter (Sep 10, 2008)

The new 2 stage 13.5 gpm pump.


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## motor (Sep 11, 2008)

Nice work, 13.5 is a little high, but the Skyworker may not care too much. If you start developing alot of little leaks, or the thing flys around like a carnival ride you may have to get a smaller pump, but run it for now.

First get you self a gallon or two of aircraft hydraulic oil. We use Diala AX made by shell. Run the upper boom over center from the lower controls so the basket is on the ground. Fill the little resevoir at the upper controls, and pump up the little primer at the upper controls. It should become hard to pump. Try your functions, you may have to repeat this several times to bleed the air using that little plunger. You also may have to crack the bleed valves at the lower control valve to let some air out. We use a pressure bleeder which attatches to the bleed valves at the lower controls. It is much quicker and gets all the air out. 

If the plunger doesn't seem to be doing the trick you may have problems in the upper or lower control valves, when was the last time the unit ran? Give that a shot for now.


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## Climbing Cutter (Sep 11, 2008)

Thanks motor - Thats not the pump i wanted to get ,but when i got up to northern tool thats all they had in stock. its a 2 stage pump, i think the gpm drops down to like 3 or 4 gpm under a load. it should work ok for now. i will be upgrading to a better motor etc later in time. I,want to have a second pump in the system as a back up .


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## Climbing Cutter (Sep 11, 2008)

I'm pretty sure the lift has been sitting idle around 2 years (the old truck threw a rod)


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## motor (Sep 12, 2008)

Alot of times when they sit, depending on wear in the upper control rods and storage conditions, the upper control valve would actually get water in it. This of course could damage the valve had any presence of water froze.

I've seen and worked on alot of Skyworker low pressure control systems and they all have their own "personality." I've seen some that leak like a spinkler but work even on the coldest days. Others will weep a little oil, but need to be bled twice even three times a year. Some are just a plain old nightmare and we've ripped them off and installed a high pressure system, which is worth it's weight in gold when it comes to reliability and servicing.


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## Climbing Cutter (Nov 1, 2008)

I've changed out the low pressure lines because they were brittle. Now ive noticed that one of the upper control levers will suck air into the lines when held down and released. How hard is it to change the seals on the bucket control levers? Is it just an o-ring? It looks like there is just three screws that hold the lever into the valve block. Is this something that a reasonablely ok mechanic can fix (me), or do i need to take it to an expert on bucket repair?
Also i have a leak from the upper boom cylinder 'safety block'. I will get up a pic to help explain. Thanks for any advice.


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## Climbing Cutter (Nov 1, 2008)

Here is a pic of where the upper boom cylinder is leaking from. The little plate on the side of the block.


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## Climbing Cutter (Nov 1, 2008)

Also does anyone know of a suitable substitute for the shell diala ax oil? I cant find any quantities less than a 50 gallon barrel. @ $500. I was reading that the shell diala ax oil is basically just refined mineral oil.


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## KBART8421 (Sep 25, 2010)

*Skyworker*

I just came across this forum. The posts are over 3 years old. I am working on a Skyworker and I would like to continue discussions with other owners. I can share my experience with bleeding the control lines and the type oil I am using.

kbart8421


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## mrautocar (Sep 29, 2010)

*skyworker*

HI , I have a 1045 A and was told by a guy in georgia tha works on and has parts for these booms that a 2 part transmission atf to 1 part diesel fuel mix is what they use, I tried the mineral oil and that was a waste of time and the hi dollar dielectric oil is a waste on the booms if yours does not have the insulator, due to the steel cable inside that go all the way thru the boom section for the bucket leveling. I have had the atf diesel mix in mine for 3 years with no problems here in NH


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## RodInEscondido (Jan 27, 2011)

KBART8421 said:


> I just came across this forum. The posts are over 3 years old. I am working on a Skyworker and I would like to continue discussions with other owners. I can share my experience with bleeding the control lines and the type oil I am using.
> 
> kbart8421


 
I too am new to this forum and have been browsing the archives to find things relating to the Skyworker lifts before posting anything int he wrong place.

If there is a better place to post these questions, please let me know.

I see here a recommendation to use 2 parts ATF (regular or dexron not specified) and 1 part diesel for the upper controls. What do you use?

I inherited this 1045C center-mounted (or is that what the "C" means?) on a 73 F600 flatbed.

Have no previous experience with these rigs, but it is a neat piece of machinery.

Everything seems to work when running off the main engine/PTO except for the controls in the bucket.

Have not cleaned out the fuel system in the auxiliary engine yet (rig sat for a couple years), but note on it what looks like a vacuum switch to prevent it from running if the main engine is running?

What type of grease is to be used on the several fittings on the boom?

What type of lubricant/preservative is used on the cables?

The hydraulic cylinder on the boom has rust so I can only test with the first foot of piston movement. Is there somewhere that is recommended to rebuild or replace this unit?

Is there a maintenance manual available? If it is not too large, and someone is willing to part with one for a short period, I would be willing to scan it in so it is available electronically.

I am in San Diego County so the environment is not too harsh on the equipment.

thanks for help, I probably will be back with more questions


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## VA-Sawyer (Jan 27, 2011)

The red aircraft hydraulic fluid is MIL Spec 5606 fluid. Should be able to get it from the local airport as it is used in most small planes for one thing or another. There is also a blue/green colored aviation hydraulic fluid used in larger planes that is called Skydrol. It is synthetic ester based and requires special seal material. Skydrol will eat up common o-rings. The MIL 5606 fluid is petrolum based and simular to ATF but more stable in terms of viscosity and oxidation. 
Rick


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## RodInEscondido (Jan 28, 2011)

*fluid is vailable*

I called one of my local aircraft maint facilities and they do have the Mil spec 5606 fluid in stock at about $33/gal. They did say I could purchase it in quart quantities.
Thanks for info.


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## VA-Sawyer (Jan 28, 2011)

That sounds a little pricey. Go to aviall.com and find a location close to you. Call them and tell them you want to buy a gallon of 5606. I think I paid $15 for my last gallon, but then, it was in the previous century.

Just did a quick search online. I found a couple of places selling it for less than $20/gal. There is a newer compatible synthetic fluid that is more fire resistant. It is MIL-H-83282 and sells for a slightly higher price. As it is synthetic it should be more temp stable.
Rick


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## RodInEscondido (Jul 12, 2012)

My how time flies .... i did not realize how long since I have been here.

Is there still interest in the SkyWorker, mine is a 1045?

Since my last post i did a little cleanup on the pony engine and all works well except for bleeding the upper controls and getting the hydraulic ram for the upper boom repaired (rust so it cannot be actuated more than about 1 foot).

Does it make sense to take the few individual threads on this subject and create a single thread, or can it reasonably be done?

Rod


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## Chris Francis (Aug 15, 2012)

Not trying to spam, but I remember how hard it was to get parts for my Skyworker. If you are in the same boat, I can now help. I have a complete truck available for purchase or parts, but it has a blown motor. Call 251-FOR-TREE or email me. It has been down 2 months, and I finally realized I am not going to be rebuilding the engine. You can if you want to, but I replaced it with another truck. So.... need parts for your Skyworker? Need parts for your F700? I got 'em. Upper boom was rebuilt recently. Tranny rebuilt. Rear end rebuilt. Lots of good parts. Everything worked until the engine crapped out. I hope this helps all you Skyworker guys out there.


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