M-610 tilt cylinder replace or remanufacture?

[rjardo]

Hey all, my 610 has a small pesky leak in the right tilt cylinder.. I'd be all over pulling it and dropping in a seal kit, but both tilt cylinders have visibly bent rods, and of course some good dings in the shafts.. any decent replacements out there, or should i just reseal the heads and rotate the rods 180 and keep digging? i'm betting the rods can't be reconditioned if they are bent..

 

[jerry]

A good hydraulic shop can straighten the rods although on those cylinders it may not cost too much to have new ones made. Don't just rotate them because they are already distorting the gland as the bend passes through. Small dings can be smoothed out, all depends on the condition overall whether it should be replaced or repaired.

 

[rjardo]

A good hydraulic shop can straighten the rods although on those cylinders it may not cost too much to have new ones made. Don't just rotate them because they are already distorting the gland as the bend passes through. Small dings can be smoothed out, all depends on the condition overall whether it should be replaced or repaired.

Thanks Jerry, I was just out thinking about it and realized i have to take the piston off anyway to do a rebuild on the head side, i'm thinking with some wood blocks on my press, i can probably get them in better shape with small amounts of 'love' in the right direction.. also thinking about the wire brush / JB weld for some of the deeper dings, and i may get by for just the cost of the rebuild kit.. I'll post back and take some pics if i get to it any time soon. Thanks again

 

[jerry]

Thanks Jerry, I was just out thinking about it and realized i have to take the piston off anyway to do a rebuild on the head side, i'm thinking with some wood blocks on my press, i can probably get them in better shape with small amounts of 'love' in the right direction.. also thinking about the wire brush / JB weld for some of the deeper dings, and i may get by for just the cost of the rebuild kit.. I'll post back and take some pics if i get to it any time soon. Thanks again

When you get them apart you will see the distortion in the gland or head end hole. Bent rods do that to aluminum glands. Hopefully new seals will stop the leak, I don't think glands are cheap no matter where you get them.

 

[jerry]

When you get them apart you will see the distortion in the gland or head end hole. Bent rods do that to aluminum glands. Hopefully new seals will stop the leak, I don't think glands are cheap no matter where you get them.

When you press on the rods stand back and be cautious. Some rods are case hardened about 100 thousandths deep and will snap if pressed to aggressively. I don't remember is bobcat rods are or not.

 

[rjardo]

When you press on the rods stand back and be cautious. Some rods are case hardened about 100 thousandths deep and will snap if pressed to aggressively. I don't remember is bobcat rods are or not.

Thanks again Jerry, i did find new glands for $157 each, i'll check it closely when i get it apart. i think the leak is due to some deep scratches near the end of the rod.. it drips after i shut down, but if i dump the bucket over so the rod is extended 4-5 inches, it doesn't drip as much.. Hopefully i can catch it before the gland is damaged too much, and JB will stand up to the transmission fluid for a couple of years..

 

[jerry]

Thanks again Jerry, i did find new glands for $157 each, i'll check it closely when i get it apart. i think the leak is due to some deep scratches near the end of the rod.. it drips after i shut down, but if i dump the bucket over so the rod is extended 4-5 inches, it doesn't drip as much.. Hopefully i can catch it before the gland is damaged too much, and JB will stand up to the transmission fluid for a couple of years..

I have used jb in places it was never intended for with fair results, kind of rough up the spots for jb so it has something to grip to. good luck.

 

[Tazza]

I have used jb in places it was never intended for with fair results, kind of rough up the spots for jb so it has something to grip to. good luck.

I was told small dings are generally fine, as long as there are no sharp bits that may cut the seal. If there are bumps coming from the rod, you can rub them down with an oil stone.
New bobcat rods are case hardened, not sure about the older ones. If the cylinder rod has dings as you say, i'd suspect it's not hardened. The hardened ones take a LOT to mark the outside.
Depending on how bad the bend is and how much wear the gland has, you may get away with a set of seals.
If you can pull them apart and get them to a hydraulic seal shop, get some pre-energized pressure seals. I don't know if yours have these already, but they do an excellent job of holding back any drips. I had a tilt cylinder that used to drip, two seals later it still did it. They gave me a different style seal, not a drop since.
Bobcat use this style of seal now in newer cylinders, again, not sure about the older ones.
This style of seal is a little harder to install as it's thicker as it has an energizing ring, but worth the extra fighting that you do to get it into place.