# How to bleed Skyworker boom control system



## Skyworker

We have a Skyworker boom bucket truck. 3 controls running from the bucket to the bottom of the boom. On the bottom of the boom there are bleeder valves for all 4 lines coming from the controls on the bucket. We recently replaced all the lines and added new ATF fluid. Air has been trapped in the lines and I'm curious if anyone could please explain how to bleed the system. Thanks for your help in advance. :monkey:


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## CentaurG2

Skyworker lifts are an old system. If I remember correctly, the lower controls are usually high pressure and the upper controls (bucket controls) can be either low pressure or high pressure. To get the air out of the upper controls, you will need to have a lift company come out and pressure blead the upper controls. This is nothing more than a propane tank full of oil and charged with enough air to move the oil through the lines. The bleeders are on the lower control valve. Sometimes, you can bring the upper controls back by putting the lift straight up in the air and letting it sit overnight. The air trapped in the lines will slowly move to the top oil reservoir. For the record, the oil in the lines should be shell diala ax NOT ATF. The diala ax is electrical insulating oil to prevent you or anyone around the truck from getting juiced. If you are going to have a company bleed the system, put in the right oil and get the boom inspected. The knuckle and the leveling cables are known to be problematic on this lift. Make sure to check/lube your cables and pulleys. Good luck.


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## prentice110

we use a brake power bleeder. if you put the boom up over nite, you will never be able to get all of the air out of the lines or the control box. weve had 3 of them ol skyworkers and i know quite a lot about them. theres only 4 people left in the country thatll even work on them or certify them. they have been redflagged by osha because they have killed so many people. if you have an aluminum elbow, check it every week for cracks. do yourself a favor and crawl under it with a flashlite and see if there are any cracks on the circle shaped part the hoses run into. Mine was cracked there and i had to scrap it. any other questions let me know. I have a couple numbers for parts and service. Doug from midwest aerial out of madison wiscon has mobile service availible. and i could sell you my bleeder if you want. i have no use for it any more cost over 300 new .


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## mikemsb77

*boom bleeding lines*



prentice110 said:


> we use a brake power bleeder. if you put the boom up over nite, you will never be able to get all of the air out of the lines or the control box. weve had 3 of them ol skyworkers and i know quite a lot about them. theres only 4 people left in the country thatll even work on them or certify them. they have been redflagged by osha because they have killed so many people. if you have an aluminum elbow, check it every week for cracks. do yourself a favor and crawl under it with a flashlite and see if there are any cracks on the circle shaped part the hoses run into. Mine was cracked there and i had to scrap it. any other questions let me know. I have a couple numbers for parts and service. Doug from midwest aerial out of madison wiscon has mobile service availible. and i could sell you my bleeder if you want. i have no use for it any more cost over 300 new .



yes someone put a new pump on and i cant get the lift up was wondering if there would be a simpler way to bleed besides calling someone thanks alot mike


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## prentice110

you dont need to call any one its easy as hell it just takes a while. theres a valve on the side of the upper controls. hook a clean brake bleeder to it , go to the lower controls and turn the thingy. just like bleedn brakes. dont use more than 30 psi or you could blow a line. + shut down all valves before you take off hoses and make sure you stop b4 the bleeder is empty.


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## Chris Francis

*I Need a used bucket*

One of my idiots crashed the bucket into a limb and destroyed it. It was a 1-man bucket on a skyworker lift. I would like to find a used one complete, but would settle for hydraulic parts if we could make it work. Thanks.


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## prentice110

Chris Francis said:


> One of my idiots crashed the bucket into a limb and destroyed it. It was a 1-man bucket on a skyworker lift. I would like to find a used one complete, but would settle for hydraulic parts if we could make it work. Thanks.



your best bet is to call russel tupper. hes in the boonies of georgia. i dont have his # handy cuz it was in a phone that crashed. hes been workin on skyworkers since the mid 60's. if no one else has his #, check old pages in tcia mag, he used to put ads in that said 'skyworker parts and service' . only 4 guys left in the usa that'll touch those booms, and he was always good to me.


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## RodInEscondido

*killed so may people?*



prentice110 said:


> we use a brake power bleeder. if you put the boom up over nite, you will never be able to get all of the air out of the lines or the control box. weve had 3 of them ol skyworkers and i know quite a lot about them. theres only 4 people left in the country thatll even work on them or certify them. they have been redflagged by osha because they have killed so many people. if you have an aluminum elbow, check it every week for cracks. do yourself a favor and crawl under it with a flashlite and see if there are any cracks on the circle shaped part the hoses run into. Mine was cracked there and i had to scrap it. any other questions let me know. I have a couple numbers for parts and service. Doug from midwest aerial out of madison wiscon has mobile service availible. and i could sell you my bleeder if you want. i have no use for it any more cost over 300 new .



I just inherited a Skyworker (1945C #58) mounted on a 73 Ford F600 and become a little curious about how these people were killed. Maintenance problems? Misuse?
The unit I have seems to work ok from the lower controls except for the hydraulic piston ram on the lower boom has rust on the outer piece so can only be actuated for about 18 inches for testing. I guess it may be better to start a new thread on best approach for this and the overall opinion of if parts can be acquired or if it is better to send the assembly to be rebuilt?
Thanks for information.


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## prentice110

*TO Rodinescondido*

Primarily the aluminum elbows were prone to cracking. The crack would go unnoticed, untill the elbow broke and threw you to your death. The product liability lawsuits is what put the company under.


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## Papa43

*Bleeding Skyworker*

:msp_scared:
Back in the early seventies I worked on Skyworkers for four or five years. Several of the trucks that came through our shop had killed their operators. This equipment was all hand made and no two parts were the same, not interchangeable. We had to modify almost every single part to get it to fit before we could install it. 
The company that manufactured this equipment got it's start manufacturing refrigeration equipment, I never heard how they move into manufacturing cherry pickers. 
I personally saw many problems in the design of this equipment mostly caused by cost cutting measures. I saw upper boom piston cylinder rod end nuts go from a nut that was 1 ½" inch thick to one that was about ½" inch thick. I brought this to the shop owners attention and was told to mind my own business. 
From what I was told the company owner designed these units himself and he wasn't even an engineer. 
The tree guys loved these units because they were so maneuverable but as soon as I took one of them apart I refused to ride in them even to test them out after repairing them.


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## RodInEscondido

*thanks for the input*

I got sidetracked from this project for a while, but will try to get a couple pictures posted of the upper controls. Mine look a little different from another post I have seen on this site.


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## RodInEscondido

Papa43 said:


> :msp_scared:
> Back in the early seventies I worked on Skyworkers for four or five years. Several of the trucks that came through our shop had killed their operators. This equipment was all hand made and no two parts were the same, not interchangeable. We had to modify almost every single part to get it to fit before we could install it.
> The company that manufactured this equipment got it's start manufacturing refrigeration equipment, I never heard how they move into manufacturing cherry pickers.
> I personally saw many problems in the design of this equipment mostly caused by cost cutting measures. I saw upper boom piston cylinder rod end nuts go from a nut that was 1 ½" inch thick to one that was about ½" inch thick. I brought this to the shop owners attention and was told to mind my own business.
> From what I was told the company owner designed these units himself and he wasn't even an engineer.
> The tree guys loved these units because they were so maneuverable but as soon as I took one of them apart I refused to ride in them even to test them out after repairing them.



I got sidetracked again. Hopefully you stay in touch here so we can pick your brain.
Rod


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## Chris Francis

*Skyworker for sale*

After reading that post about killing the operators, I am now sure that I want to get rid of mine. 251-FOR-TREE gets me. I have a complete type A skyworker mounted on a F700. Everything worked when the motor blew on the truck. Take all or I will sell parts.


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## hjak274

*bleeder*

l


prentice110 said:


> we use a brake power bleeder. if you put the boom up over nite, you will never be able to get all of the air out of the lines or the control box. weve had 3 of them ol skyworkers and i know quite a lot about them. theres only 4 people left in the country thatll even work on them or certify them. they have been redflagged by osha because they have killed so many people. if you have an aluminum elbow, check it every week for cracks. do yourself a favor and crawl under it with a flashlite and see if there are any cracks on the circle shaped part the hoses run into. Mine was cracked there and i had to scrap it. any other questions let me know. I have a couple numbers for parts and service. Doug from midwest aerial out of madison wiscon has mobile service availible. and i could sell you my bleeder if you want. i have no use for it any more cost over 300 new .



I know it's an old message, but do you still have the bleeder? I would be interested in buying it.


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## RodInEscondido

*how time flies*

Chris, how are things going for you?

did you get rid of the SkyWorker?

I still have mine, but the project got back-benched for a while.

I found a pressure bleeder on line and can post the location tomorrow if you do not get a response (not for Chris, for the previous response).

best to all

Rod


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## harrison6jd

you can also make a bleeder. a garden sprayer with aid line adapters will get the job done as well. no too sophisticated but for $15 with parts from a garden center and napa, you will have a bleeder.


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## RodInEscondido

This is what I got, have not tried yet so cannot evaluate. Many adapter varieties, here is a start:
Motive Products POWER BLEEDER Single Adapter Brake & Clutch System Bleeders

Rod


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## FanOFatherNash

CentaurG2 said:


> the oil in the lines should be shell diala ax NOT ATF. The diala ax is electrical insulating oil to prevent you or anyone around the truck from getting juiced.. Good luck.




did you know the boom on these are metal, with bucket leveling cables of steel thru and thru, but ya electrical insulating oil might help?


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## FanOFatherNash

Make sure small resouvior is full with a 5 weight hydraulic fluid,
and then from middle position take two controls and pull them up to top at same time and let them return to middle repeat 10 times alternating between leavers but two at same time , with engine off


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