hydraulic cylinders

[john cutts]

cylinder on loader bucket is leaking. Can someone tell how to take it apart and repair it?

 

[Nebraska Kirk]

Well, not all cylinders are the same. Some are held together with long bolts and it is as simple as unscrewing them and pulling the ends out of the barrel. Some are welded and have to be cut apart. In others the removable end is threaded and just screws out, still others use a blind snap ring to secure the removable end.

Once you have the end and rod & piston removed from the barrel, it is fairly straight forward to determine size, type and quantity of sealing rings and order replacements.

 

[mkirsch]

Kirk's right on the money.

Unless it is a simple tie-rod style cylinder, you really need specialized equipment to work on it.

Welded cylinders need to be cut open on a lathe.

The hidden snap ring cylinders need a special pin wrench to turn the cap, and getting the ring to feed out is tricky at best.

The screw-in types require a large vise and solid bench to hold them, because

"Keith Fenner" on youtube did a series on rebuilding a snap-ring type of cylinder last year. Very educational, but be warned he makes it look easy because he has all the right tools. Look for videos titled "CSI Yard Man" by Keith on youtube.