Genie S65 Hydraulic Pump Repair in Ames, Iowa
If your Genie S65 boom lift is groaning, leaking at the pump shaft, or just refusing to raise the platform, you’re probably staring down a Genie S65 hydraulic pump repair. We see this machine come through our shop more than most rental and construction operators expect, and it’s almost always the same story: the gear pump has worn past its tolerance, a seal has let go, or the relief valve setting has drifted and the boom just won’t build the pressure it needs to lift.
We’re a family-run hydraulic shop at 210 Freel Dr in Ames, and Genie S65 hydraulic pump repair is one of the jobs we handle regularly for local contractors, sign companies, and rental yards. We don’t send this work out. We pull the pump, tear it down on the bench, and either rebuild it with new gears and seals or drop in a replacement gear pump depending on what we find and what makes sense for your budget.
How We Handle Genie S65 Hydraulic Pump Repair
Every Genie S65 hydraulic pump repair starts the same way — we don’t just swap parts and hope. We hook up a pressure gauge and run the machine through its functions to see exactly where the pressure drops off. That tells us whether we’re chasing a pump problem, a bad relief valve, or something further downstream in the valve bank. If your boom is acting sluggish but the pump still shows decent pressure, the issue might not be the pump at all — we’ve got a whole breakdown on that over at our hydraulic pump not building pressure page if you want to dig into the symptoms first.
Once we confirm the pump is the culprit, here’s what a typical Genie S65 hydraulic pump repair looks like at our bench:
- Pull the pump off the mounting and inspect the drive coupling, PTO hub, and shaft for wear or scoring
- Split the pump housing and check the gear set, wear plates, and bearings for pitting or excessive clearance
- Replace worn gears, seals, and o-rings, or swap the whole unit for a new gear pump if the housing is too far gone
- Check and reset the pressure relief valve — we regularly see these drift out of spec, especially on machines that have been rebuilt before
- Reinstall, bleed the system, and run a full function test on the boom before it leaves our shop
We keep a stock of gear pumps in various displacements and drive configurations on hand, because waiting two weeks for a special-order pump isn’t an option when a lift is sitting idle on a job site. If your pump housing is salvageable, we’d rather rebuild it than replace it — it’s usually cheaper and just as reliable when done right.
Common Genie S65 Symptoms That Point to a Pump Problem
Not every hydraulic issue on an S65 is a pump issue, but a few symptoms show up again and again when a Genie S65 hydraulic pump repair is what’s actually needed:
- Boom moves slow or not at all — worn gears inside the pump can’t maintain flow under load anymore
- Loud whining or growling from the pump area — usually cavitation or internal wear letting the gears rattle against the housing
- Fluid weeping from the pump shaft seal — a bad seal will drip oil onto the frame and slowly starve the reservoir
- Pump runs but pressure gauge barely moves — internal bypass from worn wear plates, meaning the pump is spinning but not actually pumping
- Intermittent function loss — sometimes tied to a failing relief valve rather than the pump itself, which is why we always pressure test before we quote parts
We treat every Genie S65 hydraulic pump repair as its own diagnosis. Two machines with the same symptom can have completely different root causes, and guessing wrong just means paying twice.
How Much Does Genie S65 Hydraulic Pump Repair Cost
Pricing on a Genie S65 hydraulic pump repair depends heavily on whether we’re rebuilding your existing pump or replacing it outright. A gear pump rebuild — new gears, seals, wear plates, and bearings — usually runs somewhere between $450 and $850 in parts and labor, depending on what we find once it’s split open. A full pump replacement with a new gear pump unit, fittings, and installation labor typically lands between $900 and $1,600, and that can climb if the drive coupling or PTO hub is also worn and needs replacing.
Labor alone for pulling and reinstalling the pump usually runs one to two hours at our shop rate, plus whatever time it takes to diagnose the pressure issue properly. If we need to deliver the repaired machine or a loaner back to your site, we charge mileage for trips outside our immediate Ames area, similar to what we do on our other lift and material handling calls — you can see how that works on our material handling hydraulic repair page.
If the pump turns out to be fine and the real problem is a cylinder losing its seal or drifting under load, that’s a different repair entirely — we cover pricing and process for that on our hydraulic cylinder rebuild cost guide. Either way, we won’t quote a pump job until we’ve actually confirmed it’s the pump.
If your Genie S65 is down and you need a straight answer on what’s wrong and what it’ll cost to fix, call us at 515-292-2599. We’ll walk you through the diagnosis, tell you honestly whether you’re looking at a rebuild or a replacement, and get your Genie S65 hydraulic pump repair scheduled at our Ames shop as soon as we can get it on the bench.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does a Genie S65 hydraulic pump repair take?
Most rebuilds are done in one to two days once the pump is on our bench, assuming parts are in stock. Full replacements can sometimes be same-day if we have a matching gear pump ready to go.
Can you fix the pump without replacing the whole thing?
Often yes. If the housing and shaft are still in good shape, we rebuild with new gears, seals, and wear plates rather than replacing the whole unit — it’s usually the more affordable option.
Do you work on Genie lifts other than the S65?
We work on most Genie boom and scissor lift models that come through central Iowa, along with other brands. The S65 is just one we see often.
What causes a Genie S65 to lose lifting power?
Usually worn gears or wear plates inside the pump causing internal bypass, a bad shaft seal leaking fluid, or a relief valve that’s drifted out of adjustment.
Do I need to bring the whole machine in for pump repair?
Not always. If you can pull the pump yourself or have someone haul it in, we can turn it around faster. Otherwise we can send a tech out or arrange delivery for a fee based on mileage.
Written by Josiah Ragsdale, Ames Hydraulics