Added 2-17-18

Replace a standard lift unit with an H Model?

What you need to know.

So you have an H Model unit you want to use to replace your standard lift unit. The "H" stands for "High Lift". This means the unit is 2" taller overall, AND it lifts 2" higher than a standard unit. So an E-47H is 2" taller and lifts 2" higher than an E-47. Since I am asked all the time, the only parts that are different on an H Model are the Tank, Tank Studs, Cylinder, and Lift Ram. The only exception is the early E-60, it also used a smaller bore cylinder than the E-60H, and that meant a smaller Piston, so you would also need a new Piston and Follower. E-60 units made after January 2004 had an updated larger diameter Lift Cylinder, with the larger Piston and Follower.

So what do you need to do mechanically, to replace a standard unit with an H Model? You need to drill a new hole in your Lift Arm. Meyer Service Bulletin 208 explains the change. The reason for having to drill a new hole in the Lift Arm is because the back of the Tank, the Motor (E-57H, E-58H), and the A Valve protection ring on the back ofthe Sump Base will all hit the EZ Classic Lift Frame and cause damage to the H unit. Below are some examples:

First, we have an E-57H installed on an EZ Classic. It was sold to a local school, by a local Dodge dealer as a direct replacement. Clearly it was not. It was installed with the bolt in the Lift Arm through the rear hole, which caused even more damage than if it was in the front hole. You can see the dent in the back of the tank matches the curve of the cross tube on the Lift Frame perfectly.



After the damage was noticed, they moved the bolt to the front hole. It came in because it would not stay up. We converted it to a standard, and not long after they wre back again for a new Sump Base because it started dropping on its own. After the conversion it worked perfectly, for a short while, then an internal crack from the initial damage showed up, and stopped the unit from staying up.



You can see the Motor was also hitting the cross bar on the EZ Classic Lift Frame.



And the cast ring around the A Coil & A Valve was hitting as well and had chunks missing.



Next we move on to an EZ Custom, that a customer bought a complete used system and we installed it. We found an E-47H on it. Apparently, a previous owner noticed the Tank was going to hit, so he torched out the Lift Frame to prevent it. During the install, we replaced the sloppy orignal 10514 Lift Arm with the updaed version, with the new hole location for H Models.



Next we have an E-58H on a Jeep CJ. This one had the most damage. The Tank hit at the top, the Motor hit at the top, and they even bent and cracked the Crossover Relief Valve because on the orignal E-58H PA Block, the Crossover Relief Valve is in the bottom of the PA Block. It too hit the Lift Frame.



The Tank actually had a crack in the bottom of the dent, and was leaking fluid. This was a new car dealer, and their original contact with me was to ask why the unit leaks fluid everywhere EVERY time they use it. You will see why. (The stripped fitting has nothing to do with the H on a Custom mount, someone tried to steal the unit and damaged both hose fittings).



The E-58H is turned upside down to take this pic of the damage and crack in the Crossover Relief Valve.



A closer look at the crack.



The Meyer 15014 Lift Arm went through a couple of changes in the last 50 years or so. Here is the orignal design, which had a flat plate with a T slot in it for the chain.



In 1980 Meyer was granted a patent for a new improved 15014 Lift Arm design, which is still in use today with one exception.



The exception is that they eliminated the old front hole, and made a new front hole, further forward, so an H unit could be used with the 15014 Lift Arm. I marked the rear hole with S for Standard lift units, and front hole H for the H Models. Meyer actually stamped next to the holes what units use their respective holes. I tried to enlarge the stampings and inset them into the picture. After powdercoating they are not very clear in the pictures. You may be able to see E-57 and E-60. E-47 is not listed because by 2005 it was discontinued (officially discontinued Nov 2007) and Meyer offered the E-58H as the only replacement.



Service Bulletin 208 from 2005 explains the change.



As you can see above, Meyer called the front hole that was used with the engine driven hydraulics the "Low Line Mounting". In the 15014 patent picture above, you can see the E-47 is using the rear hole in the 15014 Lift Arm.

But wait, there's more :)

Meyer began using the E-58H in place of the E-47, E-57, and E-60 in 2005. That is why the Lift Arm was redesigned. Remember that problem the Jeep CJ with EZ Custom mount had with the Crossover Relief Valve hitting the Lift Frame? Well it was also a problem with the TM Lift Frames as well, including the Wrangler Lift Frame. Meyer Service Bulletin 219 from October 2006 addresses this, but is unclear what the exact solution was. Contacting Meyer for a replacement Lift Frame is vague. I assume the tabs for the bottom pump mount were moved up, and maybe forward, but I am not sure.



In November 2009 the EZ Classic was discontinued as a complete new plow system, and went to parts only. There are a couple of things to keep in mind when it comes to dates. First, most improvements are what is called "running changes". That means when they run out of existing stock, the new improved parts will begin to ship. Second, just because Meyer began a running change, does not mean that Distributors and Dealers are not sitting on large quantities of a given part, and may take years to purge them from inventory, and by purge I mean sell them all to customers.

One other thing to consider, is while you can go from a standard lift model on an EZ Classic Lift frame, you cannot go to a standard lift model on an EZ Plus or MDII Lift Frame. I have seen it done with a 2" spacer added to the Lift Ram, though I would not recomend it. It s simple geometry that the plow will not lift as high as it was designed to with only a 6" stroke when it was desinged for an 8" stroke.

So I hope I provided you with enough information to understand what needs to be done and what to watch for, if you want to replace a standard lift unit (E-47, E-57, E-60) with an H Model (E-47H, E-57H, E-58H).

But wait, there's even more.

All of this information only pertains to EZ Classic or EZ Custom mounts, because the MDII and EZ Plus have always only used H Models. The only system to use the H Model during the run of the EZ Classic was the Diamond Pull Away mount. It looks a lot like a full size EZ Classic Lift Frame (11255), except it does not use the 15014 Lift Arm, but rather the same Lift Arm as the MDII, which uses two Lift Chains. The Diamond part# was 812000040 (yes Diamond always had a lot of 000's in their long part numbers). Because it is meant for the H Model, the bottom crossbar on the Diamond Pull Away Lift Frame (81255) is 2" lower than a full size EZ Classic Lift Frame. It will slide irght into a Meyer EZ Classic Mount, and there are many of them out there being used on Meyer EZ Classic systems. Since I mentioned Diamond Pull Away, here are some examples of the Meyer EZ Classic system and the Diamond Pull Away system Lift Frames to compare.



The Meyer EZ Classic Clevis would have two or three sets of holes to mount the plow, depending on the application, and the Diamond Pull Away would have two or three steps.



Diamond Pull Away example



The EZ Classic and Diamond Pull Away were then merged, and since they were separate designs, they could be considered the "first" design for Diamond under Meyer ownership, but they (EZ Classic and Pull Away) ran at the same time, so when they were replaced by the next design, it was called the MDII for short. It actually stands for "Meyer Diamond 2". Now the mount was all Meyer, and the plow could be Diamond or Meyer. Diamond evolved into "Diamond Edge" and was fully absorbed by Meyer.

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Smith Brothers Services, LLC 3212 State Route 94 Suite 9 Franklin, NJ  07416 (973) 209-PLOW We are open 9 - 5 Eastern Time M-F