Rebuilding AirLift Magna Glides

[ScottV]

Does anyone have a solution for rebuilding a Magna Glide? I have 8 of them that the internal slide seals are shot and they won’t work. My distributor says Airlift sells new ones and refurbished ones, but doesn’t have a program where you can send yours in for repair and return. They will give $100 per unit core credit, but I have to pay for the shipping so it’s a net cost to send them in. I’m just wondering if anyone has information on someone (company) that can rebuild these. At $2k each, I hate to send them for scrap metal.

 

[gcwash]

Scotty, I have been in your position a few years ago as I own 2 airlift doors from 1996. I have successfully rebuilt both of my glides after numerous people and the airlift company telling me they have proprietary parts within it and cannot be fixed unless sent back to Airlift. The answer is, be nice to your local hydraulic shop. A hydraulic shop builds rams and repairs them on a daily basis for heavy construction equipment. After letting them inspect the carriage and sealed pipe, they were not phased by repairing it and told me there isn't anything within this pipe we will find we cant have made or make ourselves. The first one I paid for an expedited repair by them where everything was overnighted and was ready for me the following day in the middle of February. $500 for parts and labor, $300 to jump to the front of the line. $800 total bill for the broken one, the other I had repaired voluntarily in the summer and gave them time, that was $450 to have done. I have had no issues what-so-ever.

Tip* if you must get those doors to work while the weather gets cold, pour transmission fluid into the air line going into the sealed pipe. The fluid will compenstate for the bad seal. The door will open and close for aehile before all the fluid passes to the other side of the glide and will stop working again. Its a very temporary fix however it does work very well. No damage other than having to drain the excess fluid as it comes out the other other airline and goes to the airlift box. The residue of the fluid left in the line after the rebuild ensures the seals are lubricated lightly.

Good luck
-SG

 

[mjwalsh]

Wow. I had no idea that the Magna Glides were that spendy to buy & maintain. On the other hand ... looking at car washes over the years with rusty operator-chains etc with torsion springs might not be the better choice either.

We bought & installed 24VDC ZAP operators from Airlift over 17 years ago. They are not powerful & reliable enough to allow customers activate the operators ... but the UK made ZAPs come in handy for our own use enough to pay for themselves. Not to be fear mongering ... but I am certain that the ZAP operators are SAFER.

Since we just have self service bays ... we prefer to maintain manual ropes properly & our specific local customers are acclimated to using the one rope close to a side rail to pull the doors down. With our Airlift Strapeze Counterbalance properly set up ... the doors can be lifted open with just a little finger.

It is kind of high up on a ladder in our truck bay to grease the zerks so we finally broke down & are in the process of getting a battery operated Dewalt grease gun that we can also use on our skidsteer loader.

 

[gpsoma]

Does anyone have a solution for rebuilding a Magna Glide? I have 8 of them that the internal slide seals are shot and they won’t work. My distributor says Airlift sells new ones and refurbished ones, but doesn’t have a program where you can send yours in for repair and return. They will give $100 per unit core credit, but I have to pay for the shipping so it’s a net cost to send them in. I’m just wondering if anyone has information on someone (company) that can rebuild these. At $2k each, I hate to send them for scrap metal.

Fill the compressed airline that is leaking with 80/90 gear oil (approximately 10",) and try it. If it doesn't work repeat it one more time. It should solve the problem.
It helped me and my door is working fine now but, I am thinking of replacing the door with a airlift role up door in the summer.

 

[mjwalsh]

It helped me and my door is working fine now but, I am thinking of replacing the door with a airlift role up door in the summer.

gpsoma,

Is the big enough gain "speed" or "durability-long term cost" when it comes to replacing the Airlift Magna Glide Alaska door with an Airlift Roll up door??? The roll ups may have their own set of problems? The rollup XRS series??? maybe now they have been out long enough so long term comparisons should start showing up?

 

[gpsoma]

gpsoma,

Is the big enough gain "speed" or "durability-long term cost" when it comes to replacing the Airlift Magna Glide Alaska door with an Airlift Roll up door??? The roll ups may have their own set of problems? The rollup XRS series??? maybe now they have been out long enough so long term comparisons should start showing up?

I am thinking of XRS Roll up doors. They are nice but, not ideal for windy conditions. I heard 10' wide doors can withstand the winds but, my door is 12' wide.
It will be expensive to fix the magna glide doors as the cylinder and the carriage are expensive.

 

[gpsoma]

The XRS roll up doors are way faster and cheaper compared to magnaglide doors. But, the magnaglide doors are way more stronger. After adding the gear oil the door worked perfectly for about two months but, started to leak again. I didn't have time to consider alternative solutions and I installed new cylinder yesterday. The installation was very easy and the door works like new now. Definitely, the magnaglide doors are more durable than the roll up doors.

 

[mjwalsh]

Definitely, the magnaglide doors are more durable than the roll up doors.

In some areas ... potential vandalism destruction with a potential knifing perp .... might even enter into the picture when choosing the XPS Rollup?

Or are the variety of rollups all made out of metal & not extra vulnerable vinyl or fabric?

 

[gpsoma]

Good point vinyl can be easily cut.