Hydraulic Chute Rotation

[mswanson]

I bought an old Ford 715 2 point snowblower that is set up for hydraulic chute rotation but it didn't have the hyraulic cylinder. I searched on Ebay for one roughly the right length. I hooked it up with 1/4 inch lines to the rear remotes on my NH TC33 and it is acting differently than I expected. I was expecting to to go out to the end of its stroke when I moved the control handle on my fender one way and then go back when I move the handle the other way. Instead it is going in and out, in and out really fast all while I move the control handle in just one direction. Unfortunately I don't know that much about hydraulics. To me it seems like there is something wrong with the cylinder. Can anyone give me an opinion on what is going on? thanks!

 

[MadReferee]

Does the cylinder work correctly when it is not connected to the snowblower?

Do other implement cylinders work OK when connected to your remotes?

If the first answer is "no" and the second answer is "yes" then the cylinder is bad. Go to Surplus Center and get a new Chief cylinder that will have a warranty. You can never be sure what you are getting from someone on eBay.

 

[mswanson]

The constant fast back and forth action when directed to go one way happens before bolyting it to the blower. When I bolted it to the blower it just kinda froze. This is the first time I have plugged anything into the rear remotes. My backhoe works great off the power beyond and the loader works fine so I think the tractor's hydraulics are not to blame. The cylinder was fairly inexpensive on Ebay but purchased a while ago....oh well. thanks for the response and the link!

 

[MadReferee]

The constant fast back and forth action when directed to go one way happens before bolyting it to the blower. When I bolted it to the blower it just kinda froze. This is the first time I have plugged anything into the rear remotes. My backhoe works great off the power beyond and the loader works fine so I think the tractor's hydraulics are not to blame.

I would not rule out the cylinder just yet. You have not proven that the rear remote is working correctly but based on what you are saying it probably is. Getting a new double acting tie rod cylinder from Surplus Center is probably the cheapest alternative (< $100) to taking the tractor to a dealer. You probably need a 2" bore with a 4" or 6" stroke cylinder which are the common ones for chute rotation on many blower models. Good luck.

 

[hazmat]

The 715 parts manual calls for a 2.5 X 5" stroke cylinder with 3/4" dia pins - P/N BER-656557

Is your chute rotation set up like the attached pic? I've got a call into my parts guy to see if the kit is still available. If not, I'd be interested in some measurements on the arm & pulleys. I like the design - uses pulleys doubling the distance the chute travels for a more compact installation.

pic 1 diagram
pic 2 parts list
pic 3 my blower

 

[MadReferee]

Wow, 2.5" x 5" is a real odd-ball size. 2.5" bore is a little overkill for a chute rotator and any 2" bore would suffice. However, the 5" stroke is the real odd-ball as I cannot find any off the shelf cylinder with that stroke in my catalogs. Most companies (Chief/Bailey and Prince) only make standard cylinders in even inch increments (2, 4, 6, 8, etc). Also most of these have 1" pins so a bushing will be needed to get to .75".

I notice that Surplus Center has an odd-ball cylinder that is 3" x 5" with a retracted length of 16.25" and tie rod ends, part #9-5100-05. Price is only $44.95 which is probably way less than you can get it from New Holland. They also have a much smaller cylinder (2" x 5" with 10.75" retracted length) with cross-tube ends, part # 9-6816 for $64.95 that may work.

 

[mswanson]

Yes my blower looks like the same model. It came with the shute rotation kit on it minus the cylinder. I attached a couple pics. The second pic shows what I am trying to do. The cylinder I bought a while back on ebay seemed to look good but when I hooked it up to the remotes it didn't act like I was expecting. It doesn't just extend and then stop. It extends then right away retracts, back and forth. When I bolted it to the blower it went back and forth a couple times and then just freezes. I had to cut the bracket a little to acomodate its length. The cut bracket is bending under the pressure of the cylinder. I plan on grinding the bracket off and welding a new one on wherever it needs to be for the new cylinder I buy. I measured and it does require a 5 inch stroke cylinder. Since it is just to rotate the chute I wonder if a 1.5 inch bore cylinder would do it?

 

[MadReferee]

Since it is just to rotate the chute I wonder if a 1.5 inch bore cylinder would do it?

Should work with no problems. It's not like you are lifting hundreds of lbs. Even a 1" bore would work just fine.

 

[Birdman253]

The problem you are describing does not really make sense. A cylinder is pretty simple. You feed oil into one side of the piston, and the rod moves away from the oil. When it moves, the oil on the other side of the piston is forced out the other hose, and back to the main reservoir.

Since you say yours strokes back and forth, when actuated under no load, i.e. not hooked up, and seems to work a time or two, and then "freeze" when hooked to a small load, the chute, I suspect blown packings on the piston. You can check this easily. Remove the cylinder completely, and disconnect the hoses. While being very careful to not be in front of either port, use a blow gun hooked to an air compressor to blow compressed air into the hose port. If you blow into base end, the cylinder should extend to the end of the stroke, and then stop. At that time, there should be no air escaping from the other hose port. After extending it to max, simply change the blow gun to the other port, and do it again. The cylinder rod should then retract to its stop, and once again, no air should leak by and escape through the other port.

If air is leaking from the port opposite from where you are blowing, you have an internal leak at the piston sealing rings, and it can probably be repaired simply by installing a new sealing ring kit in the cylinder.

If this is not the problem, then I am completely stumped. In over 25 years, I have never seen a cylinder do what you describe. Please let us know what the final outcome is.

Hope this helps.