Churchill Hydrolastic pump

[spoon.450]

I've just bought this from my local garage. Although the pressure gauge looks to be damaged I am told the pump works as it should. Can anyone please point me to an instruction manual, or give a brief description of how to use it .....what lever / knob does what etc ?
It is available for anyone to borrow if needed.
Thanks
Dave

[111Robin]

20170808_194115 by Robin Derrick, on Flickr

[111Robin]

Yellow valve is on the right side

20170808_194208 by Robin Derrick, on Flickr

[spoon.450]

Fantastic Robin.....thanks very much

[111Robin]

No problem. The vacuum side doesn't work on mine but it's fine for setting the heights. There was a rare Churchill pump overhaul kit on eBay recently but it went too far for me. I'll strip it down some day. At the minimum I'd need a new vacuum gauge but I don't think that would be all somehow.

[Andrew1967]

The vacuum side on ours doesn't work either but its not a problem at all.

We pump the suspension up and then let right back down again, which pretty much evacuates all the air. Then re-pressurise and set to height.

[Bart Smith]

Looks like a baby Dalek to me.

[Vulgalour]

People do tend to refer to them as Daleks, I picked one up a little while ago that unfortunately had all the seals fail after a couple of uses. The components are obsolete sizes and I've not yet found a supplier for replacement components. I've been considering modernising the internals so it's easier to service but keeping the same external appearance as they're a handy size and shape.

If you've got one and it works, look after it. They're quite prized things now. I only wish mine worked, especially since I have both a Hydralastic and a Hydragas car that would benefit from its services. There is someone local with a Liquid Levers pump but that has no vacuum function and it costs to get him to come to the car, which can get a bit expensive if you need multiple call outs.

[winabbey]

Below are the instruction sheets that came with the BMC hydro pump.

Hydro Pump 18G 703 Instructions p1.jpg

Hydro Pump 18G 703 Instructions p2.jpg

Hydro Pump 18G 703 Instructions p3.jpg

[winabbey]

BMC Australia published this Service Bulletin to assist Dealers in maintaining their pump. As already mentioned getting genuine NOS repair kits or individual parts is almost an impossibility so alternatives would need to be sourced. I'm not aware of an easy option for this.

ST41 p1.jpg

ST41 p2.jpg

ST41 p3.jpg

ST41 p4.jpg

[111Robin]

Very useful information thanks. I had dealings with many seal suppliers at work previously so might give them a call. I'm sure if I sent the seals to them they could find some current alternatives. Likely to be pricey though.

[mk1]

I bought a knackered hydro pump off ebay a few years ago, stripped it & decided I couldn't decide how to make it work, with the info above, I am now filled with hope (again).

Thanks folks.

[nick@dunsdale]

The garage i worked in as a lad had a pump, but it wasnt like one i had seen before
My boss had worked for a Austin dealer in the 60's and had acquired it from there

I t looked just like a grease gun but was a hydro pump, he told me it was a portable one that was much handier to take to broken down vehicles, he still has it i will try to get a pic the next time i see him

[minimk1man]

Thanks for that information Winabby. Extremely useful.

[rich@minispares.com]

The garage i worked in as a lad had a pump, but it wasnt like one i had seen before
My boss had worked for a Austin dealer in the 60's and had acquired it from there

I t looked just like a grease gun but was a hydro pump, he told me it was a portable one that was much handier to take to broken down vehicles, he still has it i will try to get a pic the next time i see him

you can convert a normal grease gun if you put the right fitting on the end

they are pretty slow to use and it would be a pain to re-fill a full system, but they work ok for quick little adjustments.

a mate of mine used to have one and I used it a few times

[geroch]

I have the innocenti model pump..



The vacuum pump works little, the pump has the pin irremediably damaged.
However, you can do the same to charge the units, take some time and a little liquid is lost.

The mechanism is the same:

20160302_141950

20160302_141944

20160302_144804

20160302_141939

20160302_141956

[rich@minispares.com]

I have the innocenti model pump..

it probably does cappuccinos as well!

[Vulgalour]

Winabbey: thanks for posting those, I hadn't been able to find large scale reference like that, it could make the search for parts a bit easier.

Geroch: Never seen an Innocenti one before. Typically it's ever so slightly better looking than the British version.

[ChrisM]

Has anyone got a knackered one that would donate the gauges? I have a borrowed one that needs TLC. Again VAC doesn't work, but I can probably make the parts.

Cheers - Chris.

[IAIN]

If you've got one and it works, look after it. They're quite prized things now. I only wish mine worked, especially since I have both a Hydralastic and a Hydragas car that would benefit from its services. There is someone local with a Liquid Levers pump but that has no vacuum function and it costs to get him to come to the car, which can get a bit expensive if you need multiple call outs.

I have an early liquid levers pump. When it packed up I opened it to see what was wrong to find a cheap plastic bottle for a tank and a clutch slave cylinder for the pump.
There is no vacuum on this model but at least it's easy to fix.