Oh man, I've got a tough one, piston bolt.

JL Sargent · Jul 22, 2008

Blew a dipper cylinder seal last night while digging up a stump. Pulled the glad with cylinder still on tractor no problem. Its a 3" bore 1.5" rod cylinder, small Case backhoe. The piston bolt is giving me trouble though. I have used a good IR 3/4" impact on it to no avail. I then heated the nut to approx. 500 degs (for loctite if any) and worked on it with the impact, still no joy. I have now soaked on penetrating fluid and calling it a night until tomorrows attempts. Any suggestions appreciated.

actionaj · Jul 22, 2008

A long cheater pipe and hit the nut with a hammer while trying to turn it.

Bird · Jul 22, 2008

I agree with actionaj, but I also wondered what kind of air supply do you have to the 3/4" IR. I don't think anything less than a half-inch hose will give you full power even if your compressor does have 90 psi or more.

JL Sargent · Jul 22, 2008

Yes, Im running the impact through a 1/2" hose at 125psi. I just knew that gun would break it free, especially with a little heat. Not so!

I have not tried a cheater, guess that will be next. Maybe I can carefully ease my trucks tire on the eye of the rod end and then use my weight on the cheater pushing downward?

Skipholiday · Jul 22, 2008

Anyway to split the nut?

Wayne County Hose · Jul 22, 2008

This is not a tough one, you just need a little assistance. What size is the bolt head? Impact guns rarely take these out. And I mean rarely. You need a 3/4" breaker bar, good quality, no Chinese junk, and a cheater bar. Using penetrating oil on these is like peeing into a fan, you just make a mess. It's not corroded, just tight. You need to have the rod's eye end securely fastened, then shock the cheater bar by putting all your weight on it at once. I like to jump in the air and place all my weight on the bar on the way down. But then, I am only 155 lbs. Don't apply pressure slowly, you have to commit to it and do it. Do not hit anything on a cylinder with a hammer unless the hammer is either a dead blow or you plan on replacing what you are hitting. I know a lot of you guys are just trying to help, but seriously, no advice is better than bad advice. Now that you have heated the nut, it's junk. Do not use heat on a cylinder part unless it's a very last resort. You can almost bank on replacing anything you heated. Even though you will be installing a new locknut, loc-tite it anyway. I feel it's just good insurance.

Where did you get the seals? Case uses some funky stuff. The new kit will probably look different from the old stuff, especially on the rod side. The piston end on the case machines tend to be pretty easy, just take your time.

Andy.

ampsucker · Jul 23, 2008

i have zero experience with your machine and maybe you've already considered it, but is there any chance it's a reverse threaded nut?

i know it's not likely, but thought i'd mention it anyway.

amp

JL Sargent · Jul 23, 2008

Yeah, got it broke.

Thanks for the help. Got it with a breaker bar, 5ft. pipe and a plastic sledge. It took em all to do it too. I bent a strong USA Armstrong 3/4" breaker bar and finally got it to go by putting my 300lbs. on the bar while my dad struck the breaker with a plastic sledge. I heard the bolt "pop" when it let go. Lots of black threadlocker.

Now to the gland packing. Ive included some pictures of what came in the kit and whats down the hole.
The last picture shows corrosion has occured behind the rod wiper. This has also migrated to the backside of this steel. Should I be concerned and what to do about it?

Wayne County Hose · Jul 23, 2008

Sarge,

Clean it up as best as you can. It looks like it should be okay. The corrosion is not on any of the sealing surfaces. Just pay close attention as to the direction the seals face. The instructions you posted have very good pics showing the direction. The buffer seal can be a booger, the rod seal too. If you place them both in a bowl of water and nuke them for about a minute, they will become softer and easier to install. What is the piston seal configuration?

JL Sargent · Jul 23, 2008

Thanks Andy.
The piston seals were straightforward as the replacements looked just like the originals (except for color). Basically there were 3 parts. The seal with a rubber ring under it and a bearing.

Ill give the microwave a try. Your right about the buffer seal, very tight space. How do you steer the seal in there, double it, scrunch it, or just keep mashing?