Fix your own cylinders

[Richard]

Just a PSA to anyone that has a leaking cylinder and is preparing to take it to the shop.

Try it yourself first. I had taken several of mine to the shop over the years to have new seals installed. I thought there was something difficult about it.

I finally had my crowd cylinder off machine (and could barely carry it myself) and decided I really had nothing to lose AND, I'm sort of adventureous on taking things apart. Carrying it was the hardest part.

Over this past weekend, I did the two stabilizer cylinders.

What I've found (given the design of these cylinders) the hardest part for me after carrying them was removing and replacing the piston seal. That was a little bugger to install.... but patience and persistence did it.

I pinned the rod back to the foot of the machine so the machine would hold the rod steady while I tightned it down (also did it to loosen it).

No special tools other than pipe wrench to unscrew cap on end, then it was clean up, new gaskets and put back together.

There is a bit of a mess but I did my best to drain cylinder prior to taking apart. Got 99% of the oil out.....but still got some on ground.

I wish someone had slapped me upside the head 15/20 years ago when I was dragging cylinders down to the shop, waiting a week or so while THEY sent it to ANOTHER shop to actually do the work (I didn't know this at the time).

You can probably do it yourself and will save yourself some cash.

 

[Richard]

Wife interrupted me....

I was going to add that I started to take pictures to show the process but got so oily..... I didn't want to touch the camera.

 

[HoustonGlock]

Subscribing for this. Need to repair the ones on a loader/backhoe I bought.
Ford 3500 diesel

 

[Texasmark]

I bought a well used 40 year old JD 95 combine once which I worked it into serviceable condition. In the process, I probably experienced every type of hyd. cylinder....aka how do you get them apart, imaginable. The hardest to initially figure out was where you depress the seal assembly on the end where the ram protrudes ¾ inch roughly, and expose a snap ring. Remove the snap ring, clean up the exposed cylinder surface and pull the whole shebang out of the cylinder. On putting large cylinders back together with new packing and all, working alone, you have to be creative.

 

[Richard]

Yikes on your stabilizers being chained up though, that is where I would have been (I've got a built in slot for hooks which hold them, I presumed everyone had those)

I just did those and found the pins that hold them on were rusted inside. Not where the Zerk was but on the "shoulders" that hold the pin (I don't know what that sectionn is called)

Had to cut my pins in two and heat/hammer them out. That was the hardest part of the entire process.

 

[Richard]

working alone, you have to be creative.

TOTALLY agree with you.

I had to fix my boom cylinder (biggest one on my backhoe) and it's buried INSIDE the boom section of the backhoe. They say you have to dig a hole, then plant the hoe into the hole to allow you to crane it vertically.....then reverse process to put back in.

Not going to happen here.

I had recently had shoulder surgery so was still a "one armed bandet"

We have a dry pond. Backed up to it, layed hoe down into it and it looked like the angle was enough to pull cylinder out (probably weighs 200+ pounds?? but I have no idea. It IS the biggest/heaviest on machine and the backhoe will dig down to 15 1/2 feet deep so it's a big machine.

Layed hoe into dry pond, loosened things, took a bunch of ratchet straps, mounted them to the loader bucket, draped OVER the cab. Using them to winch/hold, slowly got cylinder pulled out of there (with one arm). Then, using more ratchet straps, pulled the hanging end over to truck and as I tightened those in truck, loosened those on loader bucket, worked it into the bed of truck.

I had crawled all over this thing like a monkey moving things inches at a time...

Literally, 2 minutes AFTER I got it into the bed of the truck, my wife's cousin (next door neighbor) came out and asked how he could help..... me...... then with a puzzled look on his face, he sees cylinder in truck, my arm still in a sling and just stops and asks "how in the H... did you do that???"

I just smiled and said "I'm a persistent little bulldog"

 

[Richard]

Boom cylinder is buried inside the boom. Clean appearance but more difficult to reach. The two you see are for the bucket and dipperstick (I realize most probably know this)

 

[BukitCase]

"I realize most probably know this"

Not necessarily Richard - I think each brand of full size backhoe has their own "gotcha's" - My old Case 580B cylinders are (almost) reasonable to work on


But the brakes are ANOTHER story

And the above pic is about to be "revisited", that was about 12 years ago and only a "re-hose" job; now, every cylinder on the hoe itself is a good way to dump hydraulic fluid on the ground, just move the lever ... Steve