stevenj Posted February 13, 2005 Posted February 13, 2005 The hydraulic lift cylinder in my 17 GTH-L is leaking where the shaft enters the cylinder. I thought I could take it out and rebuild it but the cylinder is welded at both ends. A new cylinder runs about $160.00. Does anyone have any experience with a hydraulic repair shop that has successfully cut one open, rebuilt it, and then rewelded it back together? And if so, what did it cost?
HubbardRA Posted February 14, 2005 Posted February 14, 2005 Watch the ebay posts. I bought one from a Sunstar, same cylinder, for $45, that I am installing on an AC716H. I'll have to look at mine, thought it screwed apart. I have another cylinder off something else that was removed because of a leak. It is welded. I was thinking of grinding one of the welds out and trying to put a new seal in it. Haven't tried that yet, though.
stevenj Posted February 14, 2005 Author Posted February 14, 2005 quote:Originally posted by HubbardRA I have another cylinder off something else that was removed because of a leak. It is welded. I was thinking of grinding one of the welds out and trying to put a new seal in it. Haven't tried that yet, though. I don't know if it's possible, but if I had access to a lathe, I'd try chucking it up and turning down the weld then use a cut-off tool bit and try to cut down the mating joint. Shouldn't have to cut too deep to separate the halves and the groove should allow plenty of weld penetration when you weld it back together. But then again it's just a thought.
UCD Posted February 15, 2005 Posted February 15, 2005 I was just on a site where they ground out the weld, replaced the packings then welded back together. They put the cylinder in a container of water deep enough so that only the area to be welded was out of the water so that the seals would not be damaged from the heat.
HubbardRA Posted February 15, 2005 Posted February 15, 2005 Maynard, Which end of the cylinder did they grind the weld off of? I would assume that if they placed it in water, then they must have ground the weld off of the closed end instead of the rod end.
UCD Posted February 15, 2005 Posted February 15, 2005 Rod I will have to find the site again and look. This is the web page [url]http://www.kingofobsolete.ca/King_today_webpage.htm[/url] It is the 7th picture down. And this is the picture with caption. DID SOME TRICKY WELDING ON SUNDAY ON THESE HYDRAULIC CYLINDERS. THE WATER IS USE TO KEEP THE CYLINDER COOL SO THE SEALS DON'T MELT OUT. THANSK [img]http://www.kingofobsolete.ca/welding%20on%20water%20feb%206%202005.jpg[/img]
comet66 Posted February 15, 2005 Posted February 15, 2005 Somebody, I think MDB, Passed that sight on to us yesterday. I spent about an hour and a half there today it's a pretty interesting and fun sight.
Tom45 Posted February 15, 2005 Posted February 15, 2005 If you try to cut it apart, the end opposite the rod would put less heat into the seals, especially of the piston were pushed to the rod end. It would be best to cut it apart on a lathe. On a welded cylinder, each end normally has a close fit pilot into the cylinder tube to act as a backup when welding and also to keep the tube round and prevent weld distortion.
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