What boom truck hydraulic repair costs
The working price ranges we quote from in Kenner and the New Orleans metro, published so you can budget a repair before you ever pick up the phone.
Boomworks Hydraulics rebuilds boom truck hydraulics for a living, and these are the numbers that come off our own bench. Every truck is different, so each line shows the range and the things that push a job toward the top or bottom of it. The quote you approve is written against these same ranges.
| Job type | Typical range | What moves the price |
|---|---|---|
| Hydraulic cylinder reseal (boom, outrigger, extension) | $800 to $1,500 | Bore and stroke size, gland condition, how hard the cylinder fights removal. A clean rod keeps you at the low end. |
| Cylinder rebuild with rod repair | $1,500 to $3,500 | Polishing vs rechroming is the big swing. Rechroming a long rod can be half the job. A bent rod on a long stroke cylinder may need new rod stock. |
| Hydraulic pump rebuild or replacement | $1,800 to $4,500 | Gear pumps usually replace, piston pumps usually rebuild. If the pump shed metal, add system flushing, and sometimes valve cleanup. |
| Hydraulic motor (winch, rotation) rebuild | $1,200 to $3,200 | Motor type and parts availability. Rotation drives on older cranes can hide gearbox damage behind the hydraulic symptom. |
| Control valve bank rebuild | $1,200 to $3,000 | Section count, corrosion on tie rods, and whether obsolete sections need sourcing. Reliefs get reset against a gauge, included. |
| Holding valve / counterbalance valve replacement | $400 to $1,100 | Access is everything. Some cartridges are a 30 minute job, some hide behind the boom pivot. |
| Hose assembly, cut and crimped on site | $150 to $450 per section | Diameter, pressure rating, length, and routing. Multi hose jobs price per section, not per visit. |
| Hard line fabrication | $250 to $700 per line | Material, bends, and fitting type. Stainless for the salt air near the river costs more and lasts years longer. |
| Full system rebuild (pump, valves, cylinders) | $5,000 to $10,000 | Machine age and parts availability. This is the keep-an-old-crane-alive package, and it beats three separate failures on labor overlap alone. |
| Fluid, filter, and PM service with sampling | $350 to $700 | Reservoir size sets the fluid bill. Sampling is included, and it is the only early warning a pump ever gives. |
| Emergency mobile call out (24/7) | $250 to $450 plus repair | Distance and hour of night. Credited toward the repair when you approve it on site, so it is not an extra fee stacked on top. |
| Pre season or pre turnaround fleet inspection | $150 to $300 per truck | Fleet size brings the per truck number down. Findings come back in writing, priced off this guide. |
The three things that really set your price
- How long the truck ran after the first symptom. A weep caught early is a seal kit. A pump run to destruction sends debris through every valve and cylinder downstream, and the cleanup costs more than the pump.
- Rod condition. South Louisiana humidity and salt air pit chrome rods, and every pit cuts seals on every stroke. Pitted rods need rechroming, which adds hundreds and a week of plating shop time.
- Parts availability. Late model National, Manitex, Altec, and IMT parts move fast. Cranes from the 1990s can need seal kits built by dimension and valve sections hunted down, which costs hours, not just dollars.
Inspections, compliance, and why the paper matters
Truck mounted cranes working construction fall under OSHA’s annual inspection requirement in 29 CFR 1926.1412, and aerial devices carry their own rules under 29 CFR 1910.67 and the ANSI A92 standards. Hydraulic findings, drift, leak down, weeping cylinders, are what those inspections flag most. Our repairs come with the documentation an inspector or insurer wants to see, so the fix closes the finding instead of starting an argument.
One more budgeting note for this market: hurricane season runs June through November, with the peak in late August and September per NOAA’s National Hurricane Center climatology. Storm response is when every boom in the metro works hardest and when emergency rates apply. The cheapest hydraulic work you will ever buy is the inspection you booked in April.
Cost questions we get weekly
Why do repair shops refuse to publish hydraulic prices?
Because every job has variables, and ranges feel risky to print. We publish the ranges anyway and explain the variables, because you cannot budget a repair from "call for quote." The written quote you approve always falls inside these ranges unless we find something and show it to you first.
Is it cheaper to buy seal kits and do the reseal ourselves?
Sometimes, if you have a way to break the gland, a press for the piston, and a means to test at pressure afterward. The failure mode we see from yard reseals is a scored rod nobody caught, which cuts the new seals in weeks. If you do it in house, at least have us look at the rod.
Does insurance ever cover boom truck hydraulic failures?
Wear failures, no. Damage failures, often yes: a struck boom, a rolled truck, storm damage. We document teardowns with photos either way, so if there is a claim your adjuster gets evidence instead of an invoice.
What does the emergency call out actually buy?
A service truck with hose stock, a crimper, fluid, and a tech at your job site, dispatched now instead of scheduled. The $250 to $450 covers rolling the truck day or night, and when you approve the repair on the spot, the call out fee is credited toward it. Repairs are then priced off this same guide.
Put a firm number on your repair
Tell us the truck and the symptom and we will turn a range into a written quote, usually the same business day. Or call (504) 385-9868 and get it on the phone.