Cylinder rebuild, how hard?

[Richard]

I've got an industrial backhoe/loader. The front bucket cylinders are now starting to drip. I've owned this for maybe 8 years... so perhaps it's time

Do you just go get a spanner wrench to unscrew the 5" nut on these, use a come along or something to pull them out and then replace parts?

I'm pretty handy mechanically so for me it's more a function of having the right tools and being able to lift these darn things!

I pulled the dipper stick cylinder off my hoe (middle cylinder) and about killed myself getting it to the truck and then reinstalled. Those SOB's are heavy!!!

These are a lot smaller though.

I'm thinking they could be repacked/sealed while mounted on the machine and only removing the ram.

Am I too far off base??

Keep a big bucket handy to collect the fluid when it flows out??

 

[Soundguy]

to do cyl work you need a hefty table with apipe vice.. a table that is usually metal and mounted imoveably to the floor so you can make that gland nut spanner work.. I do my own tires and tractor maintenance.. except hyd cyl rework.. for that I farm it out.

the big lift cyls on my loaders can be rebuilt for 80$ each while I wait at the local shop.. usually takes 1/2 hour and the packing is still an availaible on-the-shelf item even for my old 50-70's era ford stuff.

soudnguy

 

[woodchuckie]

I rebuilt mine with it on the tractor so I didn't need a vice to hold it when loosening or tightening it. Just used the mounting brackets to hold it. One of the seals was a bugger to get on but I did finally get it.

 

[kennyd]

Post picture of it, then we can tell you how to dissemble it.

 

[Richard]

I didn't take this picture for the sake of the thread, I just happened to have it handy.

The primary culpret here is the far side bucket tilt cylinder, not the lifting one.

I think though, if this is something that a backyard mechanic can do, I'd just as much rather fix all four of them. The lift and tilt cylinders so that they're all on the same page.

I was thinking you could take the special wrench to them while on machine, then keep one end attached (on the back side) while removing the pin on the bucket side to allow the rod to be pulled out.

Carrying the rod only would make the entire thing a lot lighter.

You can just barely see the nut on the upper near cylinder. All of them look essentially the same other than bigger nuts on the bigger cylinders (duh)