Repairing a hydraulic jack repair involved replacement or reworking some parts to make it in new condition in terms of doing its function.
In other words, a repaired component should perform as good as lasting as the new one. In this post, I will focus on the word “repair” for the words in replacement and reworking.
In many cases, repairing a hydraulic jack can result in significant savings when compared to the cost of buying a new one. The cost that proceeds with repairs depends on the pricing to the cost of a new hydraulic jack. As a rule, the more expensive a new hydraulic jack is, the more likely that the repair will be cost-effective.
Factors That Influence Hydraulic Repair Costs
Many factors determine the hydraulic jack’s rebuild cost. These include:
- The extent of wear or damage to the hydraulic jack.
- Facilities and expertise of the repairer.
- Repair techniques employed.
If you’re responsible for keeping your hydraulic jack working and want to minimize the operating costs, then at some point, your hydraulic jack needs to be rebuilt by an expert.
Hydraulic Jack Dealers
With hydraulic jack repairs, the capabilities of dealers vary. Some have the necessary expertise and equipment to perform most hydraulic jacks repairs in-house, while others are entirely reliant on other suppliers to do this service. However, when a dealer depends on the third party for repairs to hydraulic jack parts, this could end up costing you more.
Exchange Programs
If hydraulic jack downtime is an issue and the dealer offers a “reman” program, this can be a good option. The benefit of this is that the dealer carries an inventory of the hydraulic jack’s components. So, instead of waiting for the hydraulic jack component to be repaired, it can be exchanged with a reman unit from the dealer’s stock.
It’s important to learn that the exchange price isn’t actually based on the cost of repairing a particular hydraulic jack component. It is typically based on the average rebuild cost for the hydraulic jack component plus the inventory charge. Some parts may be conditional if these are reusable.
Since the dealer’s exchange price is based on the estimated rebuild price, the price of the repaired component could either cost you more than the exchange price or may cost you less.
Definitely, the hydraulic jack downtime costs money, and the main advantage of the exchanged program is that downtime is reduced.
If downtime isn’t a concern, then it would be wise to acquire a repair quote for the hydraulic jack before opting for an exchange unit. This is one reason for scheduling hydraulic jack change-outs upon completing the expected service life. If the hydraulic jack rebuilds can be scheduled when downtime isn’t an issue, it will not be necessary to pay a premium for an exchange unit.
Hydraulic Jack Manufacturers
When a hydraulic jack needs to be repaired, a logical option is to bring it back to a company that manufactured it. What I’m referring to here is the repair shop operated by the hydraulic manufacturer also.
By using the hydraulic jack manufacturer, a repair to OEM standards can be achieved, but in some cases, this can mean foregoing the chance to save money.
Let’s say your hydraulic jack and shipped this to the manufacturer for repair. Now, upon dismantling the hydraulic jack, it found that the pistons and bores are not okay, which results in damage.
Because of that, the manufacturer suggests that because of this damage, most of the parts need to be replaced. As a result, the price of the manufacturer’s repair is almost as much as the new one.
As much as possible, you don’t want to buy a new hydraulic jack. You can try to get a second repair quote. This time, you take the hydraulic shop. After inspecting the hydraulic jack, the shop advises that it can rebuild for around 50 percent of the cost of the new one. Well, that’s a lot of savings compared to the previous suggestion.
Independent Hydraulic Shops
This one highlights the type of savings you want from an independently-owned hydraulic shop to carry out your hydraulic jack repairs. Other manufacturers can’t provide this lower-cost solution because the parts supplied by the independently-owned hydraulic shops are non-genuine.
However, not because it doesn’t meet the OEM standard would mean that your hydraulic jack can’t perform and last like the new one.
To help you decide, it’s crucial that you can distinguish between the proven hydraulic jack repair technique to save you money and the doubtful repair that might cost you more in the long-run. So, always ask the repair shop these two questions:
- Is the hydraulic jack repair technique proven to be successful in terms of performance and service life?
- Does the warranty cover the hydraulic jack repair?
If their answers are unsure and they’re not willing to back it up with a warranty, you may choose not to proceed. You need to make an informed decision based on the amount of money the hydraulic jack repair technique will save you than the cost of buying a new one.
However, some hydraulic jack repair shops may be willing to share the risks involved with the repair. As much as possible, discuss all the potential issues with the repair shop before proceeding.
