Used JLG Manlift Purchase Question

I'm starting to look for a used manlift. The use will be my own personal use around my property maintaining buildings primarily. Looking for about a 40' lift. I was thinking JLG or Skyjack with Deutz diesel. I think either a straight boom lift or an articulating boom lift would do me. It appears I need to look about 2013 or prior to avoid a common rail engine. I looked at a 2014 and it had the common rail. I almost bought a 2014 Skyjack but decided against it partly because of the common rail engine and the need to buy a $1000+ tool to work on it. JLG it appears has a control system that requires an electronic diagnostic tool to diagnose issues. From what I see though the tool doesn't seem to be too badly priced (about $300 or so I think). Anyway, I wanted to post here and see what kind of insight people have into these machines. I'm pretty good at working on stuff mechanical, electrical, and electronic but I'd like to not wind up with a machine that needs very expensive diagnostic tools to work on it.

Manuals are available online for free for all genies and some JLGs. Havent been able to figure out where the cut off is. Plan on replacing at least a few hoses right away. With the analyzer I think JLG are easier to work on personally.

It’s nice that the real manuals are easy to come by fir these machines.

I bought a Skyjack a week or so ago and they also have all the manuals parts op and repair online free for the veiwing. Bought some parts for it and they seem quite avalible. I wouldnt be afaid to buy another at this point

There was a guy in Maryland that had some nice Skyjack lifts for sale. I almost bought a 2014 until i found out it had a common rail engine. I thought 2014 wouldn’t be but i guess deutz started with that a year or so earlier.

Im not sure I understand. What repairs are you planning on doing that requires avoiding common rail duetz?

Well in a perfect world no repairs ever. That never works for me though and so whatever it needs as time goes on. The point is to buy something that is repairable by me, which is why i want to avoid an engine with modern controls. Really the modern engines probably wouldn’t be so bad if the manufacturers would implement them in a way that they could be diagnosed without very expensive diagnostic tools.

So its not something to do with common rail, you're avoiding common rail because thats when deutz uses an ECM?

As far as i know this is the case. I can’t remember the engine model of the 2014 but whatever it was i researched it and it appears to have electronic controls.

Deutz models prior to common rail/computer control were typically BFM1011F and BFM2011F, both are old school manual injection diesel engines, fairly reliable, but unless you can confirm it's been done recently then plan on replacing the timing belt and tensioner pulley, I try to not go over 2 to 3 thousand hours on those belts. Bad things happen if they let go.

^^^That’s good info! I have a compressor with the F3L912 engine. I don’t think that one has a timing belt but gears. I’d have thought the 1011 and 2011 engines were the same.

IMHO, the Deutz 912 is prolly the best diesel engine ever made. Noisy as hell, but damn near bullet proof! The 1011 and 2011 at totally different engines compared to the 912.

Well i bought a 2007 jlg 450A in a richie bros auction. It should be delivered tomorrow or the next day. It has the Deutz 2011 engine and about 2300 hrs. The auction title listed it as a 450AJ but it’s a 450A, no jib at the end. My application is building maintenance around my property. With this model i don’t think the lack of jib will be an issue for me. They don’t seem to sell the 450A anymore just the AJ version. Both machines have about the same work envelope. I suppose the jib gives a little more up, over, and down-in capability. Once i get it i plan to order a new timing belt kit and install it before using the machine. Probably will order the jlg controll system diagnostic display too. I see various sources have aftermarket versions of this display kit. Anybody got any experience with these vs the oem version?

I got my lift and I'm pretty happy with it. It all seems to work except there seems to be an issue with operating mode speed from the basket controls. I am going to buy the diagnostic pendant. Seems like that will be a good way to diagnose a bad switch or maybe the potentiometer is bad. And I don't need to worry about changing the Deutz 2011 timing belt because this has a Perkins engine. From what I had seen it seems most of these lifts use Deutz engines so that's what I assumed this had. I think it's the 404D-22. I'm still not quite sure on this one. I still need to clean the engine up more and see what tags it has but the block has N844L cast into it. This is a Shibaura engine I think. But there are several Perkins tags on a few parts on the engine. Also from what I read this seems like the same engine as the Cat C2.2. Very confusing. No real concerns because it seems to run great. I want to give it a good going over before using it.

N8844l cat 2.2 perkins 404 all the same. Ive rebuilt many. Keep oil in it it will treat you fine.

Facebook www.facebook.com If this is the one you need maybe you can make a deal for it

The one that the manual for this machine calls for is a different part number. Thanks anyway, that would have been good.

Well crazy thing! I ordered my JLG diagnostic display thing and it came. The part number on the pendant is the same as the one shown in the facebook listing above. The thing is that the part number the manual calls for is the kit part number. The kit has two things in it the cable and the pendant thing I did think that this was a possibility but I couldn't find out anywhere what the part number of the pendant was that's called for. Oh well no big deal.

What the new one cost you?

$274.93 Delivered, about $250 before shipping and tax. I should add that the part number for kit that the manual calls for is 2901443 and this kit includes the cable (not sure about it part number) and the pendant which is part number 1001249694. I plugged it into the unit and tried to start platform test mode according to the instructions in the service manual and it says "TEST NOT ALLOWED". I don't see this message in the service manual anywhere and a google search says that it could be a number of things (boom position, level, etc) and I set it all as the AI bot tells me and still no good on the system test from the boom. I will test from the lower port later.' I did get into the diagnostic mode though and determine that the platform speed pot does not seem to work so I will look at this.