homemade toplink broke cylinder end. would CCM break?

[agh]

Well in spite of reading all the posts recommending toplink from CCM i like to "save money"(aka make mistakes and cost me money). I bought a new Lion 2.5 x 10inch cylinder 2500lbs off ebay for $58.00 including shipping. following waiting it came. i took an old bent toplink, cut off the ends and to make it right lenght of 22.5in center to center closed , I built a box that is removable that fits on the solid end of cylinder, had steel shop cut 1/2 inch plate to my measuements and punch a 1 and 1/16 hole for the round pin on the cylinder($12.00), i welded it up securely careful my box would slide onto the end of the cylinder, then welded the cut off large end of my scrap toplink. for the moveable end (the rod) i unscrewed the factory clevis and screw a large nut ($2.25) welded a small piece of 1/2 plate onto the nut for a solid base to well the small end of the toplink(the part that fits into your 3 pt toplink on implements) I went to local tractor dealer that makes hoses and fittings and had them rig up the adapters and make 1/4 hose fittings with quick connects($54.00) to hook up to my Case 485 and it would also work on my kubota M9000 which has a 8 ft boxblade. well today i started and ended on the Case. MY toplink worked great until I broke the rod right where the nut screwed onto it, at the last threads. I was digging some heavy sand around a little creek making a road. I have about 12 hours into modifying the cylinder to make it a toplink plus $126.25 spent not counting gas running all over town, oxy/acetylene, welding rods electricity, having to be real nice to my wife for my staying up late at night working on a new project(she understands)
Questions: My welds held up, what broke was the cylinder rod, is this common with hyd.toplinks? anyone else had one break and did you reweld it or toss the cylinder and go ahead and buy CCM ?
2. If I buy CCM any guarantee their cylinder rod won't break under heavy load? anybody had one of theirs break? what happened?
3. anybody using CCM toplinks to work their boxblade hard like it was a little dozer blade? now you know why i've got some old toplinks laying around bent,hey equipment ain't museum pieces to look at they are tools)

 

[radman1]

You don't mention how what size of boxblade or tractor. Your profile shows a Kubota m9000. If you are using it on that tractor, the toplink is too small. On my ag tractors I use 3" on the 60-100 hp tractors and 3.5-4" on the over 100 hp tractors. Bigger cylinders usually have a larger rods to take the forces. On my jd CUT, I use a gannon 3" cylinder but I do have a 1.5 diameter toplink on one of my smaller tractors. Also the flow rate of the m9000 probably moves the toplink too fast with a 1.5" cylinder, unless you can control the flow rate. A larger diameter cylinder will move slower and be more controlable. CCM does make a Cat II cylinder but I don't know the specs. I buy most of my larger cylinders made from Gnuse manufacturing but there are others.

Gnuse Mfg. Inc.

 

[3RRL]

radman is right that you need a big top link for your tractor.
But to answer your question, yes, I've had one of the ends break off from their cylinder right at the weld on the rod end. I called them and they replaced it 100%. They paid for return shipping too. You need at least a Cat II top link.

 

[agh]

You don't mention how what size of boxblade or tractor. Your profile shows a Kubota m9000. If you are using it on that tractor, the toplink is too small. On my ag tractors I use 3" on the 60-100 hp tractors and 3.5-4" on the over 100 hp tractors. Bigger cylinders usually have a larger rods to take the forces. On my jd CUT, I use a gannon 3" cylinder but I do have a 1.5 diameter toplink on one of my smaller tractors. Also the flow rate of the m9000 probably moves the toplink too fast with a 1.5" cylinder, unless you can control the flow rate. A larger diameter cylinder will move slower and be more controlable. CCM does make a Cat II cylinder but I don't know the specs. I buy most of my larger cylinders made from Gnuse manufacturing but there are others.

Gnuse Mfg. Inc.

I was using the case 485 (45-50HP) with 5 ft boxblade when i broke the rod end. also using 1/4 hose to choke down the flow. I will check out the Gnuse cylinders as well as CCM since i want to use same hyd toplink on both tractors. thanks for info. agh

 

[agh]

Update: i had mechanic friend look at cylinder and broken rod, he pointed out shiny wear marks on both the nut that the attachment end of toplink is welded to and 2 corresponding shiny wear marks on bottom of boxblade toplink attach point, seems the big nut wasn;t slim enough and there was interference upon full open cylinder , end of rod shaft is bent slightly from the stress that caused it to break. he told me of hydraulic shop that may rebend and straighten rod and weld attachment point to rod without big nut on it.
Will try one more time and if works out wiill post pictures if can do. agh

 

[Ordite]

I am rigging a hydraulic top link for a JD 3320 CUT. I ordered a hydraulic cylinder with 1 1/2" bore and 1" rod. It has swivel ends with 3/4" pin holes. It will be used with a quick hitch attachment and the heaviest load will probably be a 66" box blade with scarifier teeth, although I seldom use the teeth. The tractor is 32 hp and I chose this size cylinder because it was the size with 3/4" pin holes which are the correct size for the top link on the Cat. 1 TPH.

I would like your advice? Is this cylinder going to be strong enough for light to medium dirt work with the box blade or should I exchange it for a 2" or 2 1/2" bore with 1 1/2" rod? Will cost more dollars and need to use 3/4" x 1" bushings.

 

[skipmarcy]

On my 41 hp tractor I used a 2 1/2" x 8" cylinder, 1 1/2" rod and am glad I did. I don't think a smaller cylinder would have held up to the stresses I put my 72" boxblade thru - I use my box for alot of different things. I bought Cat 1 weld-on swivel eyes from TSC for about $7 each and welded them to my cylinder - this also allowed me to customize the retracted length to my hitch & implements and get the best use out of my toplink. All the ready-made toplinks were a little too long for my hitch. My ideal retracted length was right at 16". I bought my cylinder from Surplus center for $58 4 years ago.

 

[Ordite]

skipmarcy

Thanks for the reply. I think I will go with a larger cylinder. This is going to require some modification to the ends in order to fit my tractor. What procedures do you use to avoid head damage to the cylinder when welding on new end pieces? Is it necessary to dismantle the cylinder and remove the ram before welding or will wrapping the cylinder with wet rags absorb enough heat to prevent damage?

 

[3RRL]

It's not necessary to dismantle the cylinder.
Pull the rod all the way out as far as it goes and use wet towels like you said. Check the cylinder rod and body when welding on that respective end to keep the heat localized near the weld. I did both ends on one of my top links just like that. One guy here posted he filled the cylinder with hydraulic fluid when he moved the rod all the way out. Seems like a good idea too, although I did not do mine that way and it turned out fine.
Be sure to make very deep "V" grooves and good root welds. I used 6011 for the root pass and filled with 7018 over that.

 

[GinNB]

Bent/broken toplinks make me think that the 3pt is being used to push in reverse. They're not really designed for that. Toplinks, lower lift arms, etc work great for pulling and lifting, but fail quite quickly when used to push. Backdragging in reverse, if it's causing 3pt part failures, can be done going forward with a scraper blade if the convex part is facing forward. Broken bits can sometimes push their way into the cab, so it can be dangerous as well as expensive.