Cylinder seal

[JerryIke]

Hi guys. I'm trying to rebuild my tilt cylinder on an old Mustang 330. The problem I'm having is the inner seal that goes inside the screw on "end cap" for lack of better description. It's the one you fold into a "heart" shape and put inside the unit. It is suppose to unfold itself when inside the groove. It appears there is too much seal to get into the grove (will not unfold all the way), hence wrong size. But I ordered the seal kit using the number from the parts manual for the machine. Any suggestions? It appears to be the original cylinder.

 

[flyerdan]

Moved to the Mustang forum in hope that someone has encountered this and has a fix. I've never heard of that on other cylinders, most of the time the problem is stretching them over a piston without breaking.
The only thing I can think of for your issue is to be sure the groove is thoroughly cleaned out, the seal and groove has plenty of hydraulic oil for lube, and maybe heat up the seal in warm water or oil first so it's more pliable.

 

[Tazza]

Moved to the Mustang forum in hope that someone has encountered this and has a fix. I've never heard of that on other cylinders, most of the time the problem is stretching them over a piston without breaking.
The only thing I can think of for your issue is to be sure the groove is thoroughly cleaned out, the seal and groove has plenty of hydraulic oil for lube, and maybe heat up the seal in warm water or oil first so it's more pliable.

I use an oring pick to manipulate the seal to make it snap into the groove correctly, some can be hard to get in place, but if it's the right seal, it should sit in there just fine.
Are you getting it to sit in the groove correctly? Using your finger, you can squish it back into place and it should simply snap in.
The only other option you have is to use inside calipers to measure the diameter if the inner groove and see if the OD of the seal is the same.

 

[JerryIke]

I use an oring pick to manipulate the seal to make it snap into the groove correctly, some can be hard to get in place, but if it's the right seal, it should sit in there just fine.
Are you getting it to sit in the groove correctly? Using your finger, you can squish it back into place and it should simply snap in.
The only other option you have is to use inside calipers to measure the diameter if the inner groove and see if the OD of the seal is the same.

Gentlemen thank you for the hot water trick. I had been using a heat gun to get the seal pliable but the water worked so much better! I couldn't push the seal in with my fingers but after about 20 minutes and using a pair of needle nose without the serrations I was finally able to get it squeezed in properly without any damage to it!!

 

[Tazza]

Gentlemen thank you for the hot water trick. I had been using a heat gun to get the seal pliable but the water worked so much better! I couldn't push the seal in with my fingers but after about 20 minutes and using a pair of needle nose without the serrations I was finally able to get it squeezed in properly without any damage to it!!

Glad you got it installed.
Some can be tough to get in, especially when they have an energizing ring, the smaller the rod, the smaller the seal and the harder it is to install.

 

[farmshop]

Glad you got it installed.
Some can be tough to get in, especially when they have an energizing ring, the smaller the rod, the smaller the seal and the harder it is to install.

If you are doing any number of seals the seal twister type tools work great. They fold the seal in on its self allowing you to drop them in

 

[JerryIke]

If you are doing any number of seals the seal twister type tools work great. They fold the seal in on its self allowing you to drop them in

Ok with the tips from you guys I rebuilt 3 of the 4 cylinders and there are no leaks. Thanks to all!! Now how do I most effectively bleed the air out of them? My tilt especially compress while trying to dig and are almost creating more havoc then help!!

 

[farmshop]

Ok with the tips from you guys I rebuilt 3 of the 4 cylinders and there are no leaks. Thanks to all!! Now how do I most effectively bleed the air out of them? My tilt especially compress while trying to dig and are almost creating more havoc then help!!

The cylinders should self bleed. If your hydraulic tank is full if you slowly run the cylinders in and out they should fill with oil. I wonder if you have a leaky spool valve seal letting oil by

 

[JerryIke]

The cylinders should self bleed. If your hydraulic tank is full if you slowly run the cylinders in and out they should fill with oil. I wonder if you have a leaky spool valve seal letting oil by

I'm guessing I must, for 2 reasons. I replaced 2 hoses on the tilt yesterday. There is a lot of play in the bucket when trying to cut the ground level....the bucket will "push up" when running over a bump or rise in the ground. Also there is a leak from under the machine that I can't locate without digging deep. It's not real bad....probably a 3 inch puddle about an hour after shutting off. I'm sure more while running.

 

[farmshop]

I'm guessing I must, for 2 reasons. I replaced 2 hoses on the tilt yesterday. There is a lot of play in the bucket when trying to cut the ground level....the bucket will "push up" when running over a bump or rise in the ground. Also there is a leak from under the machine that I can't locate without digging deep. It's not real bad....probably a 3 inch puddle about an hour after shutting off. I'm sure more while running.

I would look for the leak first. If it's in the hydraulic circuit for you bucket it may be letting oil out instead of holding pressure to keep the bucket still