What A Piston Pump Looks Like - Suspension Installation

The piston should be easy to tap back into position using a piece of bar that you can tap down. Remember, when doing this step, the air stem can't be on the tank or allow the air to escape and the piston to come down.

With the piston all the way down, the tank was filled with hydraulic oil.

The new pump head was replaced and torqued down evenly to prevent it from leaking.

Herman reassembled the piston pump to get it ready to put it back in the trunk of the car.

As easy as the pump came out, it went back into the trunk just the same.

This pump rebuild went smoothly, and this ride was ready to be tested once the tank was filled with air pressure.

We wanted to show you some of the differences between a regular tailgate pump and the piston type. First, the tank rods are thicker, so the aluminum block is drilled out bigger.

The rods on the newer piston are 3/8-inch thick, compared to -inch rods used in the conventional pumps.

Here's a look at the rods side by side.

Most of the piston pumps are honed out to allow the piston to move smoothly just like an engine piston would.

The average tank used for hydraulics is about 0.05 thick.

The piston pump wall is 0.2495, which is equivalent to a -inch wall or thickness. It's amazing how the technology has progressed from the time hydraulics first started.