Catastrophic hydraulic top link failure

[aczlan]

I do work for a local farm and have welded new eyelets on cylinders either because they wore out or got damaged. In some cases I machined larger ones to make them stand the abuse the operators could give them. Never had an issue with them after so Aaron is giving you good advice. :thumbsup:

Thanks, just repeating what I have seen recommended on here various times.

MtnViewRanch, if we ever need a hydraulic toplink or a Top and Tilt kit, I know which one place we will be looking.

Aaron Z

 

[john_bud]

Well guys, it was one of my top links. It was a cat 2 end, but not heavy duty. I have since gone to all heavy duty ends on the 3' cylinders and doubt that this will happen again. The std cat 2 ends are just not strong enough to take any additional load stresses such as the bouncing that was apparently going on. I was notified of this failure this morning and the replacement is done, paint is drying and will be shipped out tomorrow. Oh, and all with no questions asked, period. I don't want any failures out there and this is CLEARLY A FAILURE. :ashamed:

Good for you, sir! Everybody knows "stuff happens", that's a given. It's the response afterwards that shows the caliber of the person (or company). Keep it up and have a Merry Christmas!

 

[nomad]

Was this likely due to metal fatigue of some sort, and would it be likely to happen again if I replace with the exact same make hydraulic top link?

To understand real technical reason, the crack should be studied in a laboratory. It can be due to fatique or manufacturing error (weak structure, forge default, material, heat treatment, a residual crack at beginning propagated later in time which showed itself at a shock load.) We don't know real reason for failure, but, we know one thing that it isn't the cylinder which failed first, so, even if it was a manufacturing error, it must be an accidental, escaped out of quality control type of product. Poor quality toplinks usually fail in cylinders, causes leakages, etc. Eye in this toplink is a cheap part of the total cost, so, I don't think mfg error is intentional if it is mfg error.

 

[john_bud]

^ good call. But it doesn't matter on the user end as the supplier is replacing it with a more robust unit. As a user, that's what's important!

 

[jenkinsph]

Brian,
Great that you stepped up and dealt with this so quickly.:thumbsup: Good service such as yours will be remembered by all of us here.

 

[mfreund]

Not a big deal to weld on a new one, just run it all the way out and cover the whole rod with wet rags to keep the seals cool and the rod spatter free.

Aaron Z

x2!!!!

 

[kennyd]

Brian,
Great that you stepped up and dealt with this so quickly.:thumbsup: Good service such as yours will be remembered by all of us here.

Couldn't have said it better myself...

 

[SPYDERLK]

Here's a closeup of the metal surfaces that broke.

I too am very glad it didn't happen with the 2200 lbs chipper attached! My stump grinder weigh a little over 1000 lbs. My Bush Hog 3209 cutter weigh as much as the chipper, maybe even a little more. I also recently got a Valby 3pt log grapple that could have put a lot of stress on the top link when lifting logs off the ground.

The top link is a 3" cylinder and cat2 specs as far as the pin dimensions, etc.

I did contact the seller and a replacement is on its way at no charge. It also incorporates a different design with beefier ends.

srs, yes, I certainly have been though a lot worse than this before!

To understand real technical reason, the crack should be studied in a laboratory. It can be due to fatique or manufacturing error (weak structure, forge default, material, heat treatment, a residual crack at beginning propagated later in time which showed itself at a shock load.) We don't know real reason for failure, but, we know one thing that it isn't the cylinder which failed first, so, even if it was a manufacturing error, it must be an accidental, escaped out of quality control type of product. Poor quality toplinks usually fail in cylinders, causes leakages, etc. Eye in this toplink is a cheap part of the total cost, so, I don't think mfg error is intentional if it is mfg error.

The quality of this picture shows that the failure was very sudden. It may have been instant, or may have begun as a crack a million or so milliseconds before that stayed tiny until the high failure load. The failed area is fresh and shows no rubbed area or rust. With some attention in the finishing stages that meager eye could probably reach an acceptable durabilty level by blunting/peening all sharp edges/corners in stressed areas. Thats the kind of thing to do only if you are stuck with it. ... More metal is cheap in this application. MtnViews fix will be bullet proof.
larry

 

[kennyd]

Well guys, it was one of my top links. It was a cat 2 end, but not heavy duty. I have since gone to all heavy duty ends on the 3' cylinders and doubt that this will happen again. The std cat 2 ends are just not strong enough to take any additional load stresses such as the bouncing that was apparently going on. I was notified of this failure this morning and the replacement is done, paint is drying and will be shipped out tomorrow. Oh, and all with no questions asked, period. I don't want any failures out there and this is CLEARLY A FAILURE. :ashamed:

I had another thought on this, if more OEM's and vendors would step up to the plate like this, we (the TBN members) may not see threads deleted and/or censored like we have so much recently. We will never know if its the ownership protecting their financial interests or the vendors not wanting the negative press.

 

[MtnViewRanch]

I had another thought on this, if more OEM's and vendors would step up to the plate like this, we (the TBN members) may not see threads deleted and/or censored like we have so much recently. We will never know if its the ownership protecting their financial interests or the vendors not wanting the negative press.

All I can say is that I have been in business for myself since 1975. I am very good at what I do. Stuff happens beyond my control, whether it has been a material failure or customer neglect or even abuse. I have ALWAYS taken care of the problem and will continue to do so. If I ask questions, it is because I want to understand how or why the problem came about. No blame is brought up, just if some things are done-handled differently then the problem might not occur again.