Hydraulic cylinder "leak"

jimmyj · Jun 12, 2009

My Kioti manual says that it is normal for cylinders to "sag" a bit over extended periods of time. I'm not sure what the right term is but by "sag" I mean leak and extend on their own.

I got a demo BH and I notice it's cylinder leakage is more than on the brand new loader. As a test I left the loader up for days and days and the cylinders did not move or sag even a bit.

The "demo" BH is a different story. One of the stabilizers definitely has a leaky seal as it'll drop 3 or 4 inches in a day. The book will "sag" maybe an inch in a week and the dipper cylinder will allow the bucket to "sag" about 1/4 inch a day.

Is this excessive guys? The BH has a full warranty and the dealer already told me he will rebuild the one stabilizer cylinder but I have not mentioned any of the others to him yet.

Comments?

kennyd · Jun 12, 2009

Sounds pretty normal...except for the stabilizer, and a chain/strap between the two will fix that.

MtnViewRanch · Jun 21, 2009

In my opinion, there is no reason to worry about leakage until either you have an external leak, or that the internal leak is so bad that it hinders the operation of the machine. Think about it, does it really matter if a cylinder leaks down 3-4 inches in a 24 hour time frame. When I use my tractors, I am continually using the hydraulics, so what if it leaked down .003 of an inch in the last minute. There are guys that are worried that their loader falls down a few inches over night. Again, so what, and besides that, what the heck are you doing leaving your bucket or 3pt up anyway.

Sorry for rambling on, it just seems like people worry just to have something to worry about.

IXLR8 · Jun 22, 2009

My bucket will drop to the ground overnight, no matter how high I leave it. It also does not seem to have the breakout force I think it should. I can't lift anything if I have a toothbar on it. These two things lead me to believe I have some seals that are leaking.. bad. I just have not had the time to pull the cylinders to check the seals... so I limp along.