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solo machine
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[email protected] He'll have everything you need. He worked at Hydra Mac and bought all their stock when they shut down.
I had my Hydra-Mac 8B boom cylinders redone locally here in Cedar Rapids Iowa. Cost was about $500. The cylinders needed seals and some scratches polished off on the piston. Shop guy told me they had a bear of a time getting the ends of both cylinders to come off so they could get inside. My luck would have been to ding up the cylinder rod and ruin the cylinder. So glad they did it. I saw the cylinders when they were opened up. Lots of gunk on the inside that needed to be cleaned out. No idea the last time they were apart. Tilt/curl cylinders for the bucket are next up.
In your initial post, you said "I noticed the boom leaks down pretty good...", to be clear, are you cylinders leaking or are you noticing your boom sags down by itself when you have something in the bucket? If the cylinders are not dripping oil and your boom sags down under load, your control valve could need new seals. In my case, my 8B's boom was sagging down and I had to nudge the hydraulics to lift it as I was moving from one point on a job to another. Not bad but annoying. My control valve's o-rings were bad. My hydraulic shop told me the wrong (too small) size o-rings were in my control valve and they were shot. They showed me the seals and they were definitely shot. One last thing, if your 8A's control valve has two black plastic caps about 1-1/2" in diameter on the size towards the back, be careful if you decide to take your valve apart. Those caps are very, very pricey if you screw them up.
If John Bugge ([email protected]) can't help you, let me know. Without looking, I'd bet the 8A and 8B boom cylinders are the same. I probably could get seal info from my hydraulic shop.
In your initial post, you said "I noticed the boom leaks down pretty good...", to be clear, are you cylinders leaking or are you noticing your boom sags down by itself when you have something in the bucket? If the cylinders are not dripping oil and your boom sags down under load, your control valve could need new seals. In my case, my 8B's boom was sagging down and I had to nudge the hydraulics to lift it as I was moving from one point on a job to another. Not bad but annoying. My control valve's o-rings were bad. My hydraulic shop told me the wrong (too small) size o-rings were in my control valve and they were shot. They showed me the seals and they were definitely shot. One last thing, if your 8A's control valve has two black plastic caps about 1-1/2" in diameter on the size towards the back, be careful if you decide to take your valve apart. Those caps are very, very pricey if you screw them up.
If John Bugge ([email protected]) can't help you, let me know. Without looking, I'd bet the 8A and 8B boom cylinders are the same. I probably could get seal info from my hydraulic shop.
cdmccul
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- Jun 18, 2013
- Messages
- 504
Not too bad of a bill, honestly, for what they did.
solo machine
Active member
- Joined
- Jan 14, 2023
- Messages
- 25
I agree, the price wasn't to bad. I worked at a hydraulic shop as a machinist. Sometimes the cylinders were a bear to get apart. Hot wrench and a long pipe.
They had a big one on the stand trying break loose the head gland. It came loose with a bang!!! The guy fell down hard onto the floor and broke his leg! What A day.....
I raise the boom.. And it lowers its self back down to ground real slow but not so slow I can't see it moving..as I can.
To 1816Case:
Based on my experience with my 8B while moving gravel, dirt and stump grinding chips last year, I saw the same problem you are talking about. My bucket was drifting down as I moved from one spot to another. While moving or just before dumping my bucket in the dump trailer, I had to, often more than once, to nudge the boom to raise.
I am in the process of completely refurbishing my 8B from the ground up. New Honda Repower engine, bearings, hydraulics, hoses, etc. My hydraulic shop told me my control valve o-rings were too small, 3/32" vs 1/8". In addition to being too small, they looked like my dog chewed on them. Really sad shape. Further, the hydraulic shop said my boom must have been leaking down (sagging). Spot on.
My money says your control valve needs some refurbishment. Not too bad to get to. Throw down a tarp and put some oil-dry on it. Disconnect your bucket , move your machine over the tarp, remove the seat and then T-handle control box. There are six hoses going to the valve plus two control rods. Hoses 1 and 3 are your boom. Hoses 2 and 4 are your bucket tilt/curl. Hoses 5 and 6 are your pressure/relief hoses. Four bolts hold the valve in place. Ta-Da, you have the valve in your hands.
Now the question is, do the work yourself or send the valve to a shop. Note my comment about the big black plastic covers on the valve in my first post above.
Based on my experience with my 8B while moving gravel, dirt and stump grinding chips last year, I saw the same problem you are talking about. My bucket was drifting down as I moved from one spot to another. While moving or just before dumping my bucket in the dump trailer, I had to, often more than once, to nudge the boom to raise.
I am in the process of completely refurbishing my 8B from the ground up. New Honda Repower engine, bearings, hydraulics, hoses, etc. My hydraulic shop told me my control valve o-rings were too small, 3/32" vs 1/8". In addition to being too small, they looked like my dog chewed on them. Really sad shape. Further, the hydraulic shop said my boom must have been leaking down (sagging). Spot on.
My money says your control valve needs some refurbishment. Not too bad to get to. Throw down a tarp and put some oil-dry on it. Disconnect your bucket , move your machine over the tarp, remove the seat and then T-handle control box. There are six hoses going to the valve plus two control rods. Hoses 1 and 3 are your boom. Hoses 2 and 4 are your bucket tilt/curl. Hoses 5 and 6 are your pressure/relief hoses. Four bolts hold the valve in place. Ta-Da, you have the valve in your hands.
Now the question is, do the work yourself or send the valve to a shop. Note my comment about the big black plastic covers on the valve in my first post above.
Attachments
Thanks!.. Maybe that is issue? skid was rebuilt at one point. stripped and painted. rams have '0' oil residue leaking out of the seals. very unlikely control valve was touched though. I can tell rams were removed when painted. Thanks again. I will look into a seal kit for contol valve ( if such a thing)
On my 8B machine, I have a Gresen control valve. See the attachment. If you can't find seals, maybe a local shop can help you. My control valve was rebuilt by Kevin at Hydra-Fab (319-533-1338 or 319-378-1911) in Hiawatha Iowa. He knew what the valve was immediately when he saw what I had.
