Thanks for the all the recommendations. I'm going to do exactly as Swoop223 suggests.

Question for you as I haven't worked on a forklift before but have rebuilt plenty of motors in my life. Is there any way to gain easier access to the front of the motor? The left side exhaust manifold covers the junction of the water coolant hoses near the water pump. So I can barely get my hand in there, let alone see anything.

Appears I need to pull the manifold but was hoping maybe I'm not seeing something that can be removed at the rear end of the lift & provide full access to the front of the motor (water pump = front motor).