We overhaul the cylinders, pumps, swing motors and valve banks on mobile cranes, piling rigs, excavators and other construction plant in the UAE, and we load test cranes after repair. Plant and crane hire managers use our Sharjah workshop for heavy component work and our engineers for on-site troubleshooting.
The plant manager’s world
A crane hire or construction plant manager measures everything in machine days. A mobile crane standing on a site with a leaking luffing cylinder is not earning, and the client may bring in another crane. A piling rig down on a foundation job holds up the whole programme. The questions are always the same: what is wrong, how long, how much, and will it fail again.
UAE sites are hard on hydraulics. Machines run long shifts in 45 to 50 C heat, in fine sand and dust that gets past wiper seals and into breathers, and often with operators who are not the ones paying for the repairs. Components wear faster here than the manufacturer’s service intervals assume.
Equipment we work on
- Mobile and crawler cranes: luffing and telescopic cylinders, outrigger and jack cylinders, slewing motors and gearboxes, hoist motors, counterbalance valves and main control valves.
- Knuckle-boom and truck-mounted cranes: boom, jib and extension cylinders, slewing rams, valve banks.
- Piling rigs and drilling rigs: mast and crowd cylinders, rotary head motors, winch motors, pumps.
- Excavators: boom, arm and bucket cylinders, main pumps such as the Kawasaki K3V and K5V families (see Kawasaki pumps), swing motors and travel motors.
- Loaders, telehandlers and access platforms: lift and tilt cylinders, steering, gear pumps.
- Concrete pumps and compact plant where the hydraulics are the main problem.
What fails, and what drives the cost
Cylinders. The most common job. Leaks at the gland, drift under load and bent or pitted rods. The cost depends on what we find after strip-down: a straightforward reseal is at the low end; a bent rod, scored barrel or damaged piston pushes it up, and a rod that needs re-chroming adds time with our machining partners. Our guide repair or replace a hydraulic cylinder explains the decision.
Pumps. Loss of power, slow functions and noise usually point to worn pistons, valve plate or swash plate, or to a regulator problem. Contaminated oil is the usual root cause. See noisy hydraulic pump.
Swing and travel motors. Leaks from the case drain, slow swing and brake problems. Often a case of worn rotating group and seals; sometimes the reduction gearbox.
Valves. Spool wear and sticking relief or counterbalance valves cause drift, jerky movement and loss of holding. Counterbalance valves on cranes are safety-critical; we bench test them after overhaul. See valves and VRCS.
Hoses. On older machines, one burst hose usually means the rest are close behind. Re-hosing the whole machine at once is cheaper than repeated breakdowns. See hose management.
Compliance: inspections, insurance and site access
Main contractors and consultants on UAE sites usually ask for a valid third-party inspection certificate for every crane before it is allowed to work, and again after major repairs. Insurers want the same evidence after an incident. That means:
- A proof load test after repair of load-bearing hydraulics such as luffing cylinders or counterbalance valves.
- A working and calibrated LMI or SLI.
- Wire rope in good condition, with certificates.
We carry out proof load tests with water bags and calibrated load cells up to 150 t and check LMI/SLI calibration. We do not issue the site’s third-party inspection certificate ourselves unless agreed; we provide the repaired, tested crane and the test data the inspector needs. See load testing and preparing for a crane load test.
How we work with crane and plant fleets
Workshop overhauls. Cylinders, pumps, motors and valve banks come to our Sharjah workshop. We strip, measure and send a condition report with photos and a firm quote before repair. After repair, cylinders are pressure tested on the bench at 1.5 times working pressure and pumps are tested before return.
On-site troubleshooting. For a machine that is down on site, an engineer attends with pressure gauges and test equipment to find the fault before anything is removed. We tell you whether to remove a component or fix in place.
Fleet programmes. For hire fleets, we agree a rolling programme: one machine’s cylinders or hoses at a time during its off-hire window, so no machine is out longer than planned.
Services that matter most
| Need | Service |
|---|---|
| Luffing, telescopic, outrigger cylinders | Hydraulic cylinder repair |
| Main pumps, swing and travel motors | Pumps and motors |
| Crane valves and controls | Crane hydraulics |
| Load test after repair | Load testing |
| Re-hosing a whole machine | Hose management |
| Plant and site power packs | Hydraulic power units |
Use our cylinder force and pump power calculators to sanity-check a component before you send it in.
What to send for a quote
- Machine make, model and serial number, and its hours.
- Photographs of the faulty component, its nameplate or part number, and any leaks.
- The symptom: drift, leak, slow, noisy, overheating, loss of power.
- For cylinders: bore, rod and stroke if known, and whether the rod is visibly damaged.
- For pumps and motors: the full model code from the label.
- Where the machine is and whether you can deliver the component to Sharjah.
We focus on component overhauls, whole-machine re-hosing and load tests rather than single-hose call-outs. For a single burst hose on site, a local hose shop or mobile hose service will be quicker.
