Genie S80 Lift Cylinder Repair in Ames
If your Genie S80 boom lift is dropping under load, leaking hydraulic fluid down the mast, or just won’t hold a platform steady anymore, you’re probably looking at Genie S80 lift cylinder repair. We see these cylinders come through the shop from rental yards, contractors, and municipal fleets all over central Iowa, and the failure pattern is usually the same story every time — worn seals, a scored bore, and a lock cable or lock cylinder that’s on its last leg.
How We Do Genie S80 Lift Cylinder Repair
Genie S80 lift cylinder repair at our bench starts the same way every time, no matter what brought the machine in. We pull the cylinder off the boom, tear it down completely, and inspect the bore, rod, and piston for scoring before we quote anything final. A lot of shops will just slap new seals in and send it back out the door — we don’t, because if the bore is scored, new seals will fail again within weeks.
- Remove the cylinder from the boom assembly
- Fully disassemble and inspect the bore, rod, and gland for scoring or pitting
- Replace head seals, piston seals, U-seals, and wiper seals to spec (we’ve used part numbers like HS686-342, P-AA1062, and MCU-1500-D on comparable cylinders)
- Check and replace the lock cable and lock release cylinder if worn
- Reinstall the cylinder, bleed the system, and cycle it under load before it leaves our shop
For most Genie S80 lift cylinder repair jobs, we can do this either at our shop on Freel Dr or on-site if the machine can’t travel — mileage runs 30 to 40 miles round trip for most locations we service without a trailer involved. If your rig needs a trailer or is further out, just tell us when you call at 515-292-2599 and we’ll work out the logistics.
What a Rebuild Actually Involves
A cylinder rebuild isn’t just new O-rings. We’re machining or honing the bore if it’s scored, checking rod straightness, and matching seal kits to the exact bore and rod dimensions so it holds pressure the way it’s supposed to. This is the same process we use for excavator and skid steer cylinders, and it’s covered in more detail on our hydraulic cylinder rebuild cost guide.
Common Symptoms That Point to Genie S80 Lift Cylinder Repair
The Genie S80 uses lift cylinders on the main boom to raise and hold the platform, and when they start going bad, the signs are pretty consistent:
- Platform drifts down slowly on its own once it’s raised and held
- Visible hydraulic fluid weeping around the rod or head seal
- Jerky or hesitant lift motion, especially near full extension
- Lock cable or lock release cylinder not engaging properly, so the boom won’t stay in a raised, locked position
- A grinding or scraping feel when the boom moves, which usually means the bore is scored and metal-on-metal contact has already started
Here’s something we tell every customer up front on Genie S80 lift cylinder repair jobs: it’s really common for the other lift cylinder to blow out shortly after we rebuild the first one. These machines run both cylinders under the same load and hours, so if one is scored and failing, the other one is usually not far behind. We’ll flag this during inspection so you’re not surprised by a second failure a few weeks later.
How Much Does Genie S80 Lift Cylinder Repair Cost
Pricing depends on how bad the bore is scored and whether the cylinder can be rebuilt or needs to be replaced outright. Rough ranges we’ve seen on similar jobs:
- Standard seal kit and rebuild, no scoring: labor plus parts, often in the $400–$700 range depending on cylinder size
- Rebuild with a scored bore that we can machine and save: add roughly $300 on top of standard rebuild pricing
- If the rebuild doesn’t hold and the cylinder needs full replacement: add around $800 for a new cylinder on top of the rebuild attempt
- Lock release cylinder replacement (smaller unit): parts alone often run around $145, plus labor
- Mileage for on-site work: typically billed at a flat rate for trips within 30–40 miles of our Ames shop, no trailer
We know that’s a range and not a flat number — that’s because every S80 that comes in has a different amount of wear on the bore, and we’re not going to quote you a rebuild price before we’ve actually opened the cylinder up and looked. If you want a general breakdown of rebuild pricing across different equipment types, our cylinder rebuild cost guide walks through it in more detail, and if your fleet also runs excavators, our excavator cylinder rebuild page covers similar failure patterns on tracked equipment.
Genie S80 lift cylinder repair isn’t glamorous work, but it’s work we’ve done enough times to know exactly what to check, what to replace, and what to warn you about before it becomes a bigger problem. If your S80 is dropping, leaking, or won’t lock in the raised position, give us a call at 515-292-2599 and we’ll get it scheduled — whether that’s a trip to our shop on Freel Dr or a technician coming out to you.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you fix a Genie S80 lift cylinder that’s leaking fluid?
Yes — most leaking lift cylinders on the S80 are seal failures. We remove the cylinder, inspect the bore for scoring, and rebuild with new head seals, piston seals, and wiper seals. If the bore is scored past what a rebuild can fix, we’ll let you know before moving forward.
Why did my other lift cylinder fail right after you rebuilt one?
This is genuinely common on the S80. Both lift cylinders take similar hours and load, so when one starts scoring or leaking, the other is often close behind. We flag this risk during every Genie S80 lift cylinder repair so you can plan for it.
How long does a Genie S80 lift cylinder rebuild take?
Once we have the cylinder torn down and know the extent of the scoring, most rebuilds take a few days including parts sourcing. On-site jobs within 30-40 miles of Ames can often be scheduled faster since we bring parts with us.
Do you come on-site for lift cylinder repair or does the machine need to come to your shop?
Both. We regularly travel to job sites for Genie S80 lift cylinder repair within about 30-40 miles of Ames without a trailer, and for bigger jobs or bore machining, we’ll bring the cylinder back to our shop on Freel Dr.
How much does Genie S80 lift cylinder repair cost if the cylinder can’t be saved?
If the rebuild doesn’t hold or the bore is too damaged to save, replacing the cylinder outright typically adds around $800 on top of the rebuild labor already done. We always try the rebuild first since it’s the cheaper route when the bore allows it.
Written by Josiah Ragsdale, Ames Hydraulics