Hydraulic Pump Refurbishment in Ames, Iowa
When a hydraulic pump starts whining, losing pressure, or just quits pushing fluid the way it used to, you’ve got two choices: buy new or bring it to us for hydraulic pump refurbishment. Most of the time refurbishment is the smarter call, and it’s what we do all day at our bench on Freel Dr. We’ve rebuilt gear pumps off flatbed trucks, piston pumps out of scissor lifts, and everything in between, and we know which parts wear first and which ones you can save.
Hydraulic pump refurbishment isn’t guesswork. It’s tearing a pump down, checking every wear surface, and deciding piece by piece what stays and what goes. We’ve pulled pumps that looked fine on the outside but had scored gears eating themselves alive on the inside, and we’ve had customers convinced their pump was junk when it just needed new seals and a fresh set of o-rings. That’s the difference between a shop that swaps parts blind and one that actually looks.
How we do hydraulic pump refurbishment
Our process for hydraulic pump refurbishment starts with pulling the pump and running it through a bench test if it’ll still turn. That tells us whether we’re dealing with a pressure problem, a flow problem, or both. From there we tear it down completely — housing, gears or pistons, shaft, bearings, seals, all of it laid out so we can inspect wear patterns.
- Full teardown and inspection of gears, pistons, shaft, and bearings for scoring or excessive wear
- Replacement of all seals, o-rings, and wear plates as standard practice, not an upsell
- Pressure relief valve testing and adjustment — we’ve set these as high as 7000 PSI on heavy-duty applications
- Reassembly with correct torque specs and a post-rebuild bench test before it goes back on the machine
- Delivery and on-site installation within about 100 miles of our Ames shop when needed
On flatbed trucks we’ve handled straight hydraulic pump replacement labor when refurbishment wasn’t in the cards, but on lift equipment we regularly install a rebuilt pump along with new valves and fresh hydraulic fluid — sometimes a full five-gallon bucket of ATF hydraulic oil goes into a lift after a rebuild. If your pump isn’t building pressure at all, it’s worth reading through our page on why a hydraulic pump stops building pressure before you assume the worst.
Common pump failures we see on the bench
Most pumps that come in for hydraulic pump refurbishment fall into a handful of categories. Gear pumps — like the 15 GPM units we see on flatbed truck lifts — tend to fail from worn gear faces and chewed-up bushings after years of cavitation from low fluid or dirty filters. Piston pumps on material handling equipment usually show up with scored cylinder blocks or worn swash plates. And PTO-driven pumps, the kind bolted straight to a truck transmission, often fail at the shaft seal first, letting fluid weep out before the pump itself quits.
Some of the toughest cores we’ve worked on are Blackmer-style pumps used in transfer and vacuum applications — if you’re chasing a leak or a pressure drop on one of those, our Blackmer pump troubleshooting guide covers the failure points we see most. And if the pump is only half your problem and a cylinder is leaking too, our cylinder rebuild cost guide lays out what that side of the job runs.
Signs your pump needs refurbishment, not just topping off fluid
Whining under load, slow cylinder movement, overheating fluid, or metal shavings in the reservoir all point toward internal wear that fresh fluid won’t fix. If you’re running a forklift, scissor lift, or other material handling equipment and noticing any of that, it’s worth a look before the pump fails completely — we cover more on that at our material handling hydraulic repair page.
How much does hydraulic pump refurbishment cost
Pricing on hydraulic pump refurbishment depends on the pump type, the size, and how bad the internals are once we get inside. A medium-complexity gear pump rebuild typically runs somewhere in the $450–$900 range for labor and parts. Larger piston pumps or units with adjustable pressure relief valves rated up to 7000 PSI can run higher, often $900–$1,800 depending on what needs replacing. If a full new pump makes more sense than a rebuild — which happens on some flatbed truck jobs — labor alone for pump replacement usually falls between $200–$450, not counting the pump itself.
Lift-specific jobs that include a new pump, valves, installation, and delivery within 100 miles of our shop tend to land in the $1,200–$2,500 range depending on lift size and how much fluid it takes. We always give you a number before we start cutting hoses, so there’s no surprise when the bill comes.
Whether it’s a gear pump off a flatbed, a piston pump out of a scissor lift, or a PTO-driven unit that’s finally given up, we can look at hydraulic pump refurbishment for your equipment and tell you straight whether it’s worth rebuilding or replacing. Call us at 515-292-2599 and we’ll get you scheduled.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does hydraulic pump refurbishment take?
Most pump rebuilds take one to three days depending on parts availability, though we can often turn around common gear pump cores faster if seals and bearings are in stock.
Is it cheaper to rebuild a hydraulic pump or buy a new one?
Refurbishment is usually 30-50% cheaper than a new pump, especially on larger piston pumps, but if the housing is cracked or the shaft is badly worn, replacement can end up making more sense.
Can you refurbish a hydraulic pump that’s been sitting unused for years?
Yes, though we’ll flush the system and check for corrosion and dried-out seals first — a pump that’s sat can still be rebuilt if the internal wear surfaces are intact.
Do you come out to inspect the pump before we bring it in?
For lifts and larger equipment we can come to you within about 100 miles of Ames; for smaller pumps it’s usually faster to bring the unit into our shop for teardown and inspection.
What’s included in a typical hydraulic pump refurbishment?
A full teardown, inspection of gears or pistons and bearings, replacement of all seals and o-rings, pressure relief valve testing, reassembly, and a bench test before it goes back into service.
Written by Josiah Ragsdale, Ames Hydraulics