Re-welding hydraulic ram

[HankStains]

Hi,
Anyone out there ever had any luck welding the end on a snapped ram. One of the slew (right, left) rams has unfortunatley snapped at the point the piston meets meets the eye to attach to the frame. It's a 1 1/4 inch piston in a 3" ram. theres plent of metal there to weld but I wondered if there is anything I should look out for. It is only a short ram, about 8" travel, will the heat ruin the seals.
Any pointers would be great. If not, where could I get a replacement piston?

Cheers

Pete

 

[rockinmywaypa]

I wouldn't think there'd be any problem , most of the ends are welded on in the first place. Extend the rod out so the welding isn't close to the seals,wrap the rod so that no weld splatter can get to it and go for it. Hopefully the rod didn't bend before the end broke off, if it did then you will be in the market for a more involved fix than welding.Good luck.

 

[Zork]

******AS LONG AS IT IS NOT A LIFE AND SAFETY ISSUE AND THERE IS NO POSSIBILITY OF FIRE OR EXPLOSION FROM FUEL***** and the person is a competent welder. I watched my dad do it 20 plus years ago. He extended the cyllinder, take it off of the equipment if you can (or disconnect the battery and keep your welding leads as close as possible to each so that the electricity takes the shortest path to each connection-- away from electronics and with no contact/ arcing on the polished area so that the seals wont be damaged). He wrapped the ram in a cool heat absorbing material to protect the seals from heat and the pollished area from splashing. He welded it by first tacking it in 3 locations, 120 degree's apart (not that critical) and then he followed through with a progressive weld in 3 stages allowing it to cool so that the ram doesn't get hot down near the seals. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[markct]

heres where i shortened and rewelded a ram and it has held fine, its a toplink cylinder and it has held loads that were enough to lift the front end off the ground of a 12,000 lb tractor so its pretty strong i think


shortening cylinder

 

[HankStains]

Cheerfs Guys,
Great advice. Will let you know how I get on. Just one other thing. I have a 150 AMP MIG welder. Will that be man enough for the job or should I get my mate to do it with his arc welder???

Cheers

Pete

 

[MadReferee]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( one other thing. I have a 150 AMP MIG welder. Will that be man enough for the job or should I get my mate to do it with his arc welder?)</font>

If you grind a bevel around the edge to maximize the surface and make multiple passes the 150 amp mig will work.

 

[boustany]

And make sure you protect the rod from any potential splatter ....

 

[jsimon]

Attach the ground lead to the end that was broken off. That way you want get any arcing internally in the bore of the cylinder...

good luck