The Stovebolt Site Forums The Parking Lot Big Bolts Dump bed PTO Hydraulics

Hi dliptak. That's a different screen name for sure. How did you come up with it?
What part of CO are you in?

Ok, I'm a little thrown by your observation of a cable going to the transmission to "disengage the input shaft form the driveline". That is not what it does. As crenwelge pointed out that is done by depressing the clutch to stop the transmission. Then you pull the PTO cable out to engage the PTO. Then you have properly observed that the other cable operates the pump valve and yes it does control the hoist speed. The large hose is the suction line and it uses the cylinder as the reservoir by drawing fluid from one end and pumping it to the other end (work side of the cylinder. So far so good. The other or third cable of which you speak would be attached to the body near the rear and would pull the valve back to neutral as the body raises. It is not attached to the PTO but to the hydraulic pump valve spool. People often make that mistake if unfamiliar with the nomenclature or just how these things work. So your understanding is essentially correct. I think you will find that the suction hose is attached to a pipe along side the cylinder that goes to the rod end of the cylinder which is where the oil comes from and is stored (reservoir) on top of the piston. So it is a simple recirculation of oil and about as straightforward as it gets. The oil only needs to be changed if 1: it is dirty, 2 if it is contaminated (generally by water) or 3: if it is aerated. If foamy or milky then by all means change it. There will be a plug on the cylinder at the top to refill the system and the oil is drained by removing the pressure hose from the pump after and ONLY AFTER SECURELY BLOCKING THE RAISED BODY. This is dangerous and can cost you your life!!! if not done correctly. READ IT AGAIN! Then remove the hose which will have some residual pressure in it and drain it out. Refill and cycle it several times to bleed off the air it will have in it. Some systems are different and use a separate oil reservoir and that makes life a lot easier so I hope that is what you have. If you have doubts or feel insecure about any of this then by all means take it to a qualified professional body builder like Kois Bros. Equipment Co. in Denver or Layton Truck Equipment in Colorado Springs or Maxey Truck Equipment in Ft Collins.

NEVER run the truck with the PTO engaged unless spreading gravel. ALWAYS make CERTAIN that it is not engaged after lowering the body. Just pull the cable to raise and if it doesn't then your good to go. Place the pump cable back in neutral so the next time you use engage the PTO the hoist doesn't start before your want it to.

The PTO driveline U-joints require greasing and zirks are provided for this. Make sure they are in good operating condition and that they are in phase with each other or it will shake you out of the cab. Use a little graphite lube on the cables or whatever your choice is and that there are no kinks or bends in them. Check the output shaft seal on the PTO for transmission grease.

The equipment houses can also supply you with safety decals for the cab and that may be a good idea. Even experienced operators forget or get dumb at the wrong time occasionally.

That should cover the basics and if you would e-mail me personally I will send you an operators manual for a current hoist. It will be different from yours but not so much that you won't get the drift. OK? If you have specific questions or are unclear do not hesitate to e-mil me and I will do my best to answer. Good Luck and send us a photo of your truck.