Repack hyd. Cylinders?

[Chevy Guy]

Hi everyone.

I just got a Terramite T5C and it has a dripping swing cylinder on the backhoe. I have never rebuilt a cylinder and wanted to know how "easy" it is for an experinced wrench. Are there any step by steps out there? The cylinder and shaft are in great shape and the drip is pretty slow so I have time.

Thanks

[kennyd]

It's "usually" pretty easy for most smaller cylinders, Sometimes you need large snap ring pliers or spanner wrenches. The best step-by-step I can offer is to first get the parts breakdown from a dealer, then disassemble-replace O-rings and packing's then reassemble...

[Chevy Guy]

Thanks!!!!

Does the nut on the end of the cylinder hold everything together? Once I have that spanner nut off the rod slides out, replace seals/rings and put it all back together once well lubed?

[kennyd]

I am not going to say yes or no without seeing a picture of it...there is just to many configurations out there. But I will say "probably"

[Wayne County Hose]

I would say if it is held together with a spanner, then after that is loose, empty the cylinder of oil by moving the rod in and out. After all the oil is out, use the rod like a slide hammer and pull it all apart. Just look in there to make sure there is no internal snap ring. If after a few pulls it doesn't budge, try tapping in the gland with a brass punch. If it has a deeper internal snap ring, this will expose it.

Yes, for an experienced wrench, this is a learning process, but it is much easier than you think. I hope you have a good set of picks. The ones sold by Snap-on and Mac are my favorites. There are 4 in a pack, they look like small screwdrivers, about 5" long.

Good luck, Andy.

[Whitey]

You might just check with a reputable cylinder repair shop. I just had three rebuilt for my JD 7 BH. The cost of the spanner wrench, kits from JD, the buffing wheel for my grinder for the piston rod, the time! and making sure it was done right before hookup. Whew! I will tell you this, buy the time I had all three cylinders off and drained with hoses marked I had had enough Did I mention the six hoses I had to replace because of condition? 2 1/2 cylinder resealed, tested the works was $ 68.10 each. Kits were $ 45.75. You do the math it was the shop for me.

JD 770 / 70 FEL / 7 BH - 425 AWS / 54" MMM / 54" FMP

[oldhippy]

Chevy Guy
It looks like on my tc5 that the cylinder has a wire driven around the end of cylinder to hold the block with packing in the cylinder. Don't know if you have to use a spanner to unscrew or it the wire holds it in. Somewere on the machine, owners manual or on thier web page it says that these are common size cylinders and that you can get parts at most hyd. shops. The ease of repair is one of the reasons that I bought the one that I have. If the engine needs repair take it to a lawnmower shop. Some one on one of these threads said that they would rather use a shovel. I'm guessing that they never used a shovel other than to lean on. They will sure save you a lot of work after you learn to use them. big dan

[Wayne County Hose]

Ahhh, big Dan the ol' hippy may have given you the best clue yet for your disassembly. In from the cylinder cap about 1/2" give or take, there may be a small groove going maybe 1/2" around the housing. If so, spin the gland until you see the end of the wire. Now sticl a small pick or something similar down to pry the wire up while spinning the gland. It will feel like it's stuck at first, but once she starts spinning, it will be easy.

[oldhippy]

Andy is the gland still threaded into the cylinder? Does the wire work like a snap ring and once it is removed then you use a spanner wrench to remove the gland nut? I will have to repair a cylinder at some point just trying to learn a little about it before I reach that point. Thanks big dan

[Wayne County Hose]

Big Dan, If the gland nut is threaded on the outside of the cylinder, the gland just pops out. This is a 2 piece gland. If the gland is threaded inside the cylinder, it comes out as you turn the gland. If you see a groove cut around the cylinder as I described above with the wire retainer in it, once you remove the wire, the gland should come out. In any case, you may have to use the rod assembly like a slide hammer to pop the gland out of the cylinder. No matter how the gland is held in, the first thing you have to do before you start is determine what style retainer you have. If you don't, you are in for a battle. Just be careful as there are some hidden internal snap rings that you have to tap the gland into the cylinder to expose. Just take your time.
Andy.