Ford 4500 Crowd Cylinder

[berky]

Hoping someone out there may be able to help because I am a little confused. Over the years I have rebuilt several cylinders on both the loader and the backhoe of my 4500. The crowd cylinder has been acting a little funny so I decided to tackle it in the last few days. Got it off (Boy is that sucker heavy) and apart (seals were all in terrible terrible shape, surprised it even worked at all). I noticed on the piston that both the front and rear seal sets were all facing in the same direction (toward the rear). I have usually found that the front set faces forward and the rear set to the back on a double acting cylinder. Might have some previous owner installed the seals wrong or is it a possibility that Ford did this because the crowd cylinder usually needs all its power on the out-stroke (booming dipper in) when digging? I want to get it right now before I have to pull it off again.
Thanks in advance for any and all help.

 

[LD1]

my guess is someone did it wrong.

There are many times when you need alot of power booming out too. Which is already less power to begin with since that is retracting the cylinder.

If you get a new seal kit, it will likely come with an instruction diagram too.

 

[berky]

Thanks LD1. That was kind of my thinking too. Already have the kit and no instructions. Of the five cylinders I have rebuilt on it to date, none of them came with any instructions!