Allmand 425 Backhoe Cylinder

[pianoko]

Hello all. I'm relatively new to the tractor world, or really any hydraulics in general. That being said, I'm the type that fixes everything myself and tries to become an expert on anything I own. I have had an Allmand 425 TLB now for about a year. It has been a wonderful machine with tons of power for its size. It's a 2007, so we're looking at 17 years old. I believe the last owner treated it decently well. He marked all the filters with the hours when it was changed, and he used it to dig french drains for a living, so it was an important tool for him. Several of the hydraulics hoses have been replaced, but all of the hydraulic cylinders seem to be original. I was using the backhoe pretty hard last week, and it looks like I have developed a leaky seal on the backhoe bucket cylinder. I found the seal kits, but upon further investigation, I see a couple of little nicks on the rod and would consider replacing the whole cylinder. Finding that part has proven to be a challenge. After reading through some forums, it seems as though the backhoes on these tractors were made by Bradco out of Iowa. I'm thinking if I could find which Bradco backhoe it was, I might have a better chance of finding the cylinder. So, I have a few questions:
1. Does anyone know the Bradco backhoe model that was on these units? I found some reference to BRADCO 408A and 509A BACKHOE, but it's from a different model tractor.
2. Are there any suggestions on finding other parts and cross references? All the part numbers on the manuals are Allmand specific and mean nothing. However, it seems like most all the parts are generic. (note: I'm familiar with allmandtractorparts.com. That's where I will be ordering the seals, but their inventory is quite limited).
3. How bad can nicks be on a hydraulic rod before they should be replaced? Should I assume if it's not perfectly smooth that it's hosed?

Thanks for any input. I'm becoming pretty familiar with this machine, so I hope to be helpful to others if possible!

 

[Dman1981]

Been building cylinders for forty years if you need everything perfect with no little sweat marks you can have rod made if can't find cylinder
Worked
Mainly for owner operators if it got a nick that was protruding I would file and buff it would get a little oil but not bad enough for him to spend a grand on parts or even more if it was dealer stuff
I get all my kits from oring place same seals just a lot cheaper
So it depends on your preference
And how much money everything

 

[pianoko]

Hi Dman. Thank you for the reply. The nicks are pretty small, so I think I will probably leave it for now and just see how it works with a new set of seals. Can you explain what you mean by getting your kits from "oring place"? Do you take them all out and bring them to the place to match?