Case 1816 Lift Cylinders

[lesgawlik]

I recently had an incident where I bent both rods on the lift cylinders. I tried getting the rods straightened, but was told the rods can't be bent more than about 1/2" for the straightening. Mine were worse than than, and the cost was not cheap. I tried to price new cylinders. There were a number of revisions to the original cylinders. They were no longer available. I tried to get used cylinders. I was quoted about a thousand dollars for two, if I wanted them re-sealed. I bought two of these on eBay for about $30 each. The tube ends had to be ground down, and you will want a sleeve bearing to accommodate the larger tube ends, but the cylinder will work with the sleeve bearings. The cylinder is a little shorter than the original, but the stroke is a little longer. The bucket appears to lift as high as it did with the original cylinder. And, you can't beat the price. 2 BAILY HYDRAULIC CYLINDERS 216-710 2"BORE 30" STROKE

 

[Tazza]

Why not just get new rods welded on? Its pretty simple to do.

 

[lesgawlik]

Why not just get new rods welded on? Its pretty simple to do.

I asked about replacing the rods. By the time I would have had the hydraulics shop open the cylinders and replace the rods, it would have been more money than getting the new ones. Plus, it doesn't take much to egg out the seals. They were getting $100 just to open the cylinders and reseal them.

 

[Tazza]

I asked about replacing the rods. By the time I would have had the hydraulics shop open the cylinders and replace the rods, it would have been more money than getting the new ones. Plus, it doesn't take much to egg out the seals. They were getting $100 just to open the cylinders and reseal them.

Thats robbery. With the bent rods, you would need to replace the seals. When you open the ram you should replace the seals anyway, they should be about $25 for a cylinder.
Have you talked to a machine shop? see if they can do the rod for you?
You can replace the seals your self, they really aren't hard to do.

 

[lesgawlik]

Thats robbery. With the bent rods, you would need to replace the seals. When you open the ram you should replace the seals anyway, they should be about $25 for a cylinder.
Have you talked to a machine shop? see if they can do the rod for you?
You can replace the seals your self, they really aren't hard to do.

I might explore that to have some spare cylinders, but remember that I got 2 new cylinders for about $50 each, including shipping to my door. I don't know how I could have repaired the cylinders for anywhere near that, even if I didn't count my time. I was primarily posting as as reference for anyone who had a similar machine so that they could replace the old lift cylinders, which are not available new at any price, with new inexpensive ones that work great, and need little modification.

 

[Tazza]

I might explore that to have some spare cylinders, but remember that I got 2 new cylinders for about $50 each, including shipping to my door. I don't know how I could have repaired the cylinders for anywhere near that, even if I didn't count my time. I was primarily posting as as reference for anyone who had a similar machine so that they could replace the old lift cylinders, which are not available new at any price, with new inexpensive ones that work great, and need little modification.

You can't beat that.
Bobcats lift cylinders actually have a stop in them, a piece of about 3" steel that sits over the rod that limits the travel of the piston to reduce it the 3 odd inches.
As long as the ones you have now lower to the correct point and lift high enough, which you said they do. Making or buying bushings to make the rod ends correct are a small price to pay. Glad it was so cheap, a lot better than the dealer!

 

[jerry]

You can't beat that.
Bobcats lift cylinders actually have a stop in them, a piece of about 3" steel that sits over the rod that limits the travel of the piston to reduce it the 3 odd inches.
As long as the ones you have now lower to the correct point and lift high enough, which you said they do. Making or buying bushings to make the rod ends correct are a small price to pay. Glad it was so cheap, a lot better than the dealer!

Keep a eye on them though if you are working them very hard. Most cheaper cylinders have only a o ring with a backup for piston seal and won't take high pressure too long. If they do go though a machine shop would be able to install poly pack seals on the piston.

 

[lesgawlik]

Keep a eye on them though if you are working them very hard. Most cheaper cylinders have only a o ring with a backup for piston seal and won't take high pressure too long. If they do go though a machine shop would be able to install poly pack seals on the piston.

Thanks for the pointers. They pull down to where the arms hit the frame, so they couldn't go any lower. They push up as high as I remember the old ones going up. I have another 1816 coming, so I can compare them toe to toe. I don't know about the internals, but the replacements seemed as heavy as the old ones, and the old ones were filled with oil. So I would imagine that there is about the same amount of steel in the new ones. One of the great potentials for this forum is to exchange information about replacement parts for original parts which are no longer made. For example, some 1816's like mine came with centrifugal clutches. The shoes are no longer available. The only option to me was to buy an entire clutch, because some of the internal pieces besides the shoes were unusable. I got the last clutch in the warehouse. I can't imagine that this clutch was made only for the 1816, but I couldn't find the specs for the original. I strongly suspect that there is a go-cart or similar clutch that would work just fine, and cost hundreds of dollars less.