FEL lift cylinder rebuild?

[Gloftoe]

I've got a John Deere 2130, with a loader on the front. I'm unsure of the make/model loader, but the consensus is that it's a JD 146 or similar. I noticed this past Friday that one of the lift cylinders is leaking. I want to rebuild it, but am unsure how to disassemble the cylinder to get at the seals. Here are some pics of the lift cylinder (though the bucket cylinders are put together the same way):




Any help out there? I'd love to do it myself. I'm pretty mechanically inclined, just haven't really worked on hydraulics much (though I did rebuild the front hydraulic pump on this tractor myself last year). Thanks!

 

[PILOON]

Hydraulic cylinders come in various styles.
Some have screwed caps. some have snap rings and others use a wire insert.
The 1st 2 are kind of self explanatory and the 3rd calls for vice grips and you pull out the insert.

Next good luck finding a kit as JD will want to sell you a new cylinder and you have to guess what brand the cylinder actually is, in fact I doubt that even a dealer could tell you the brand name.

If it were me I'd look for a competent hydraulic shop and have them do it.

 

[JD5210]

I would goto JD parts and take a look and see what it looks like inside. I would then check out YouTube for any cylinder repair videos. Please take pictures along the way and let us know it goes.

John Deere - Parts Catalog

How to Rebuild a Hydraulic Cylinder - YouTube
Replacing the seals on a hydraulic cylinder; How to Disassemble a John Deere Lift Cylinder - YouTube

 

[JRobyn]

Piloon nailed it. As I have said on here several times, with a good local hydraulic shop (ask for references from a heavy-equipment operator like a dozing/grading service) you have the advantages of:
1) experienced techs that know how to get it apart without any damage and then correctly back together without damaging the new seals.
2) knowledge of and access to aftermarket parts that are sometimes WAY less expensive than OEM.
3) a TEST setup for both leak and function checks
4) often, the ability to correct problems like bent rods or pitted bores.
5) usually a guarantee.

All for not a whole lot more $$ than trying to do it yourself, and you have way less hydraulic oil all over the place.

Here's a case history - http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/parts-repairs/371882-loader-curl-leak-down.html

 

[ovrszd]

I rebuilt my neighbor's leaking cylinder. He got the kit from JD. Can't remember the FEL model, but he knew what it was. On a 4440.

If you could narrow down the available models on that tractor your JD dealer might let you take however many kits there are and return those not used.

If you can rebuild a pump you can rebuild a cylinder in your sleep.

First determine the FEL and get the kit. Then the rest will be easy. Post back if you have problems.

 

[LD1]

Where is the cylinder leaking at?

 

[PILOON]

Once had a FEL cylinder that had a deep gash on the shaft and it leaked quite a bit.
A competent local hydraulic shop machined a new shaft, installed all new kit parts, replaced a hose c/w fittings (not needed) and painted the cylinder as well.
Total price was $140. (Cdn) about 6-7 years ago. (That would read about $100. Us$)
Oh, and it was about a 4 day turn-around.

I kept the old shaft to use as pins as it was 1" dia. (sure came in handy)

 

[jenkinsph]

I agree with Piloon on this reasoning that if the bore needs honing most people don't have the tools to do this.

 

[Gloftoe]

Where is the cylinder leaking at?

It's leaking where the ram comes out of the cylinder. Examination shows nothing obvious (dents, holes, etc). It seems that a seal has failed inside there.

I'm going to call around to the local shops and see what they tell me.

 

[wdchyd]

I'm going to call around to the local shops and see what they tell me.

They're gonna tell you to bring it in for repair or take it apart and bring disassembled for them to match seals.......not many can fix it over the phone