I have taken a few pictures of my indoor forklift.
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My first question, do you think that tires need replacement ($700) or not? Pressing new tires is $700.
My second question is about the side shift. I looked at it and it is clearly not connected to the forklift in any way. There is two hydraulic nipples on the reel mount and no lines going to the forklift.
Why can this be so, realistically, and do you think that it is an easy DIY job to fix? Do you think that they unhooked it because it was leaking? Or what would be the typical reason?:
I just got back from the plant after doing some forklift work. We don't like to run it while people are there working. Even propane exhaust stinks!
Yes, your tires look very worn. Measure the thickness at several places and compare the most worn area to new tires. Then you will know for sure.
As far as the side shift, look at the cylinder and see if the connections have been capped or plugged. If so, remove and try to force the fork assembly to move. If no caps, try to move the assembly.
The pictures show damage to the fork assembly and perhaps some welding repairs. Is the bent part binding the side shift assembly?
I suspect the assembly is bound up somewhere and would stick to one side or the other, so someone solved the problem be centering the assembly and then removing the hoses.
I wouldn't put $700 into tires if it was me. You're only going to use this 1 - 2 hours a week right?
Why don't you try air pressure to move the forks side to side. You can see if something is bent that way. I doubt somebody would disable this valuable feature over a minor leak but you never know.
My view on fork lifts - use them as you bought them. Then get another when it dies. Or you might buy another entire lift for $700 and use it as the donor machine. There are a LOT of old fork lifts out there.
I think that it is close to an hour per day so far. It has only been 2 days, so I cannot tell with certainty. Probably 4-6 hours per week.
Good point.
I like this, intuitively, but I like screwing with stuff, which I think is not always a good habit. I will try to wait with wheels. I think, though, that new wheels will make it easier to ride it on gravel. But then again, if I fix the brakes on the Cat, it will not be that necessary.
Iggi, I can't tell if there even is a cylinder on this sideshifter. Looks like its missing. If there is one on there then find some hoses and hook them up and see what happens. If the truck drives kinda smooth then I would run those tires. They look chunky.
A lot bigger issue with this lift will be what kind of loads you will be lifting with this thing. The heels of the forks look worn badly, probably due to worn lift chains and or worn tires. They look like they have been dragging on the floor for a while. That will seriously decrease the lifts lifting capacity
Upon second look... no sideshift cylinder.. the sideshifter had plates welded to the carriage locking it in place. Why someone would do this rather then repair is beyond me... What else may have been repaired on the cheap?
As far as other replies as to sideshifts causing roll overs, All lifts are rated for specific loads at certain heights with attachments, a sideshifter being an attachment. If all is well with the lift and an operator isn't doing anything stupid then a lift will not tip over. Then again with the stupid factor, all bets are off.
$FILE/ForkArmWearCaliperGuide.pdf At the very least the drive tires should be replaced as this will smoothen out the ride, all four would be nice. I don't know how much money you have in this thing but if a dealer gets a hold of it your wallet will get lighter in a hurry. A local tech would be the way to go if there are any in your area.
The heel is the position that transfers to a vertical point on the fork . There is almost never any wear on the vertical part of a fork, most will be at the bottom rear (heel) due to worn tires, worn not adjusted chains. This is where a fork will bend, break under load. If your an inch of the ground with a stable load, scary but probably ok. 8 to 10" with a nice piece of equipment and you ain't going be happy.
It also looks like the side shift hanger bearings are worn badly or even missing as well. This would cause the side shifter to not work even it everything else was hooked up.
There should also be another two hoses coming down the mast from the hose reel to the front on the machine then to the third function hydro valve (side shift). It looks like those hoses are missing as well.
Looking at the data plate should tell you the rated load. Looks like
42 inch forks. 5,000 lbs will probably be a bit much without knowing what the data plate says
Trying to not be negative but not working too well....
Forklift tech for 25 years or so... I've seen lots of cobbled stuff over the years. All is fine until someone gets hurt. Then shit hits the fan. You running the lift is one thing, someone else might cost you big time.
$FILE/ForkArmWearCaliperGuide.pdf This was great. I will measure everything. Thanks.
I bought this thing for $500. Four tires press-on replacement costs $760. Which is something I would not actually mind doing, if it improves handling of this forklift. I am just not experienced enough to tell if it would.
Ack about dealers. They want $100 per hour just to come to my building. I asked two of them for a quote on parts, no one even got back to me, despite promising to do so.
I got it. I will carefully measure the forks.
They are missing.
This is a Nissan model C50, with 60 inch forks (I measured).
From what I could see of the data plate it said 42" forks. That said then if all else is in order than the capacity should be around the
5000 lb mark. Throwing 60" on this thing will change the center of gravity from 21" out to 30". Thats alot and will decrease the capacity, add in any wear at the heels and the stress at the heels increase.
Those are really rare here in the Northeast, I don't think I have ever come across one. I will do some checking to see if there even a dealer in these parts
The heel of the forks are the area of the forks right at the bend of the steel. Notice how the steel is thicker about 6" or so away from the bend? The difference between the thick part and the worn part is where the problem is.
Oh and if the ride is bumpy when you're on a smooth surface replace the tires. They get to the point where the load on the rubber is high enough to split them (the rims and floor work like a pair of dikes and the pressure crushes the rubber till it shears.
If all else fails... You might be able to switch over to a mechanical governor, or an electronic one meant for a generator set.
Don't raise the drawbridge, Lower the river. ;-)
They do have belt-drive governors with fancy linkage set-ups where you have a manual slider on the dash like a lawnmower to set the speed, or a potentiometer for the electronic ones, and the governor arm runs the throttle to hold your engine speed set-point.
Does the big solenoid run a butterfly valve on a throttle body, or is it directly pulsing the fuel/air supply?
And Plan C is a hydraulic cylinder on the main pump that cuts the throttle as system pressure increases - so if you aren't moving and you hit the lift hydraulics, the drop in pump pressure off the relief set-point gasses the engine to match. There have to be old-school mechanical solutions for that, for ancient fork trucks.
Eventually it gets bad enough where the tire rubber comes totally off where it's vulcanized to the steel ring at the center, and the tire falls off. Then you aren't going anywhere.
If it's bad enough, and you plan to keep the truck for a few years, get the tires done.
Keep the receipt, you might get a few extra bucks at resale ("Tires only have 25 miles and 40 hours on them!") if you have to sell it faster than you thought.
W>> I am kinda hoping that I can move 5,000 lbs with it.
With the extra long forks (and info from Gunner) you can - BUT.
You'll have to "choke up" on the load - get it up closer to the mast to be in the normal range of the factory length forks.
If you have your load out on the tip of the forks, you'll have to derate to (guessing) 3,500# or so. There will be a chart somewhere.
Load too much weight on the forks and/or too far out, and the rear tires of the forklift will be real light - hit the brakes, and the rear of the truck will pop up on you as the load drops.
If the load was up high and the pallet falls/rolls off the forks as it tips way forward, suddenly the 4-ton counterweight is heavier again - and you land back on the wheels rather violently.
(For a diagram of this, see the "Barrel Of Bricks Trick" - the falling barrel yanks you up in the air - then the wooden barrel of bricks hits the ground and the bottom breaks out, and suddenly you're much heavier than the remains of the barrel.)
If the action didn't get you hurt slamming into the steering wheel face-first when the truck tipped forward, the equal and opposite reaction of it all going back down sure the hell will. Bronco Busting something the size of a bull elephant.
Never Push It Too Far - that's how people get hurt, sometimes killed.
I sure wouldn't change tires expecting one of those indoor hard tired machines to perform off pavement at all. They will get stuck and spin on a good sized gob of spit. They are marvelous machines on a smooth hard surface. They are helpless even on hard packed gravel.
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