Altec lrv 56

[arborworks1]

I have started having trouble with my upper boom moving slow. Noticed the pistol grip control was hitting the aux control handle. When I moved it a little upper boom resumed operations.
My question is can the aux controls be eliminated altogether???

 

[SkwerI]

Show me a picture, I'm not sure what you mean by 'auxiliary controls'.

The pistol grip controls need to be adjusted once in a while as well. And then you have the fraying/breaking dead man cable to deal with. Those can be a bitch. I've had mine apart more than once (both trucks) so I'm getting better at it but it's still a pain because of the lack of room.

 

[MasterBlaster]

'auxiliary controls'

It's the lever you set when you want to use hydraulic tools.

 

[SkwerI]

Oh, heck. I removed all that plumbing 4 years ago when I had to rebuild the material handler winch. I have never and will never use hydraulic saws from the bucket and there was almost a dozen lines and two valve bodies taking up tons of valuable space in there. Just more crap to leak, I bypassed it all.

 

[MasterBlaster]

That's what he was axing, if it could be removed. I guess it can!

 

[SkwerI]

The layout is probably different but you should be able to eliminate the whole mess. Would be a good opportunity to find and fix any leaks as well, they only get worse with time.

First picture is my control layout. My tool circuits were pressurized all the time and the only way to shut them off was hitting that big red button next to the pistol grip, that shut off all high pressure to the upper boom. I still have that big red button and hate it. Stuff falls on it and I need a screwdriver to pry it up from underneath so I can get moving again.

Second picture is the dead man valve (you have to squeeze the pistol grip before you can move the booms). Regardless of what Altec may tell you, there's only about 6 O-rings in it and it can be resealed in about 10 minutes. An easy fix if you don't accept the mechanic's diagnosis and buy a new $120 valve.

 

[sotc]

I plugged off the quick couplers on mine but never did do away with the control valve, from time to time I hear it it hissing cause something knocked it in the on position. No biggie

 

[arborworks1]

Seems like the aux control lever has to be in just the right position for the upper boom to work right.

 

[SkwerI]

Can you snap a picture?

 

[arborworks1]

Sure. Truck is at the shop. I'll get it tomorrow. Unless I can find it on google