A simple and cheap storage door hydraulic door support repair

[Geocritter]

After 21 years none of my hydraulic storage door supports were working any more. A friend showed me a simple repair that only cost me $2.11 to do.

First you measure the throw of the hydraulic lift when it’s fully open (the throw on mine were all slightly longer than 8”). Next obtain some PVC pipe with the interior diameter one size larger than the outside diameter of the lift cylinder. Cut a section of pipe about 0.5” shorter than the throw of the hydraulic lift. In my case 8” was perfect. Unscrew the bottom hydraulic cylinder attachment piece and slide the PVC pipe up the cylinder. Next remount the hydraulic cylinder attachment piece and reinstall the entire hydraulic storage door support.


Here’s a photo of the hydraulic storage door support with the PVC tube in its ready-to-deploy position.


Here’s a photo of the PVC tube in the deployed position.

When you lift up the storage door you slide the plastic tube up the hydraulic cylinder all the ways to the top of the throw and wedge the bottom of it against the top of the cylinder. To release the storage door support, unwedge it and drop it down the hydraulic cylinder.

It took me maybe 45 minutes to install this fix on my six storage bay doors .

Steve

[Poptop]

Good idea, I like it.