Finding seals for unknown hydraulic cylinders

[greeneggsandham]

Hi
This is my first post here at TBN. I'm in eastern Ontario near Ottawa. I bought a 20 + yr old Kubota L245dt with fel. The loader has no brand name on the frame nor do the cylinders have any ID. I need to change the seals. Does anybody know of generic seal kits for 2" bore with 1-1/8" rams. What other info would I need to provide to a company who sells seals or kits?
Thanks very much.

 

[cjfling]

I had a similar problem. Even if you knew the brand name/model of your loader, with 20+ years on the rods, they wouldn't be the same thinkness. I found a local business that made custom seals. I took them my disassymbled cylinders and they measured the rods. If you or someone you know can re-assymble your cylinders, it won't be to bad. Ask around for a hydraulic sales and service place. Perhaps a machine shop could point you in the right direction in your area.

 

[art]

There is no generic seal kit per cylinder diameter. You might find a local dealer that might have a good inventory of seal kits and be able to match them up!

 

[tcartwri]

These folks are great to deal with. You can walk into the store with the whole cyl if you want and they will set you up. They do repairs and custom work on site.

http://www.frecofluidpower.com/

Freco Fluid Power Co

9-77 Auriga Dr, Nepean

613-226-1201

 

[greeneggsandham]

Thanks for the responses! I've been to 2 places that could'nt find seals before I posted this. I'd have a hard time justifying 800 bucks on new cylinders over a couple of gaskets. I'll definitely try Freco Fluid power. Aside from them, if they strike out, I'll check out custom made seals too providing it 's less than half the price of new cylinders. Thanks again.

 

[Leejohn]

That a look at these.

http://www.herculesus.com/

Martin Fluid Power - A worldwide distributor of seals, packing, gaskets, and seal repair kits since 1977

 

[wdchyd]

Finding seals online is very good IF you know what you want...

Best to search out a local hyd shop, they do it all the time.....that's what keeps them in business....

Just make sure you tear it apart before walking in...:thumbsup:

 

[Soundguy]

take the cy;s to a good hyds shop.. like a mom n pop outfit. I had 50 yr old cyls ona ford loader rebuilt with common v and chevron packing he had on the shelf. id / od / thickness.. kind alike matching a generic seal..

soundguy

 

[greeneggsandham]

I ended up at Freco Hydraulics. They had the seals and I got them to install them also. Was half the cost of new cylinders. Oh well , a penny saved is a penny earned.
Thanks for the help!

 

[Rocwin]

For most people seals are pretty frightening, but they don't need to be. To size seals you need a little bit of knowledge and a set of calipers.
We often use sealsonline.com as our supplier (just not online). If you go seal by seal, right down the measured sizes ( ID x OD x Height) you can match the seal profile and dimensions.

You first time it will obviously take a while to find the right series of seals to look for.

Wipers are almost always three styles. AN, D, or J (metal cased)

For rod seals, which are almost always U cups, I use BS or BT style seals.

Piston seals can be anything, U cups are UP or US, the rest are pretty basic with the exception of multi-piece piston seals. Multipiece has an ID and OD, but most often they have wear bands as part of the seal and you need to measure the piston for the proper dimensions.

The rest of the seals are usually wear bands, o-rings, and back up rings. Wear bands just guide the components and don't seal, unless there is other damage you can reuse them (but they are cheap.) O-rings and back up rings are pretty standard stuff, there are lots of charts for those.