Hydraulic Cylinders Are Awesome! But Are These Fixable?

A hydraulic cylinder on my tractor backhoe blew out, and the dealer said to just buy a new one. No way. I'll fix that thing for $25 instead. While I'm at it, I patch another cylinder with a scratched rod in a way that you just aren't supposed to: welding it. With some care and patience, I think it came out really well. Will it last?

I also explain how hydraulics work, the physics behind them, and have a discussion on just how friggin awesome hydraulics really are!

***UPDATE: The dealer really did a disservice telling me to buy a new cylinder. It turns out that the backhoe on this machine is AMERICAN MADE, by a company called Bradco in Texas. If you contact Bradco, they do indeed sell seal kits for these cylinders. I don't think Mahindra is at fault for this, but rather the dealer who should have just said: "Hey, that backhoe is made by Bradco. Call them." I think the person I spoke with couldn't find info on the backhoe and so just gave me the easy answer: "Buy a new one."

MERCH STORE!:
Patreon:
My Amazon Affiliate Storefront:
Buy me a coffee:
Etsy Store:
Facebook:

[davidjones]

Im a hard chrome electro plater, only job ive had since leaving school 49 years ago. I get to plate new and also repair and refurb a lot of old shafts. Very few of the refurb shafts i get in are straight and true, especially so of excavation plant. They are often bent in several planes and need straightening before having al the old chrome ground off and replaced with new. I have seen alsorts of adhoc repairs done to shafts over the years just to keep them going, from soldering, brazing, mig or arc welding and modern epoxy, but the cheapest and simplest i think i have ever seen was a guy who filled the pitting and small damage in his rod with nail varnish. It apparently it held up good and healthy for many years, and he only bothered to get it rechromed when the seals finally failed.
David in the U.K.

[kiesh.]

For seal ID use the 'james walker' catalogue, it has sections where seal types are identified by cross section geometry, then table where you can match the other dimensions to either the seal or the housing. Also describes how to design the grooves for machining the correct grooves for a given fit for piston or face seals etc. It's the seal bible, and easy to follow.

[Blizake]

Well done! Clear speech, good lighting, sharp focus, and no stupid sound track. GREAT JOB.

[robkoons]

I know this is a older video but watched it first time today and as you was draining the cylinder and most the fluid was going on the ground and then the bucket dumped over i laughed so damn hard because it was almost an identical replay of last time I did this! Thank you for brightening my day!

[TrailRat]

When I drove forklifts for a living, the guy who serviced them would roll up in a transit van that served as a mobile workshop. In the back of the van one side of it was just drawers and drawers of o-rings, seals and all manor of bits and bobs. Without fail the guy would always be able to find the right part first time for whatever he worked on. It was impressive!

[athhud]

Looks like that’ll do. I’ve always stuck with brass or silicon bronze for rod repair. A torch does the trick, but TIG is a lot less work. I like the soft metals since they are easier to file/sand down and it won’t rust. Since I don’t yet have a metal lathe, the final finishing is a lot more work and anything that requires fewer file strokes is the way to go. I’ve always steered away from MIG because of spatter and potential for undercut. Of course when you have one of those magical horizontally spinning metal remover machines, having to go back and fill some undercut isn’t nearly as big of a deal.

I prefer the green and yellow variety of machinery, but am certainly jealous of the lesser breeds when it is time to purchase hydraulic seals. That seal kit from JD would be $100 minimum and that’s IF they even have it. I’ve finally found a local parts supplier that has an ample supply of seals for pennies on the dollar, but it took me years to find them. The first shop I was using is in the business of repairing cylinders at $85/hr and didn’t seem to care for me disturbing them to buy a $5 seal... Many times it would require 2 trips to their shop because they wouldn’t take the time to carefully measure the gland and would end up selling me the wrong size o-rings and seals. Not to mention their prices seemed to reflect the mood of whoever I talked to. One of the guys would give them to me for nothing and I would toss him $10-$20 in appreciation. The other guy might charge me $15 for a gland kit if he was in a good mood or $40 for the same parts if I was “disturbing” him. That just rubbed me the wrong way, so I just found a shop that is happy to sell parts at a reasonable price.

[pmdoit]

For someone who is not in the hydraulics business you have a very good understanding of how it works and I was impressed by your repairs. So many people totally screw things up and then call in the professional to fix their screw up. After resealing thousand of cylinders in my life I will say that I have forgotten to install the gland nut more times than I'm willing to admit. 😆

[BK-qnbp]

The genuineness of your video, 👌🏼love it.

Misktakes and all included. In my opinion this is a better instruction video than a “laboratory version” where all is going smoothly. Real life is hard😂👌🏼

[FarmCraft]

Caution! Maniacal laughing at 4:00! SMH. (That's a little embarrassing, but I didn't edit it out just for you, my awesome viewers!) I hope you all find the video entertaining and informative, and maybe even develop an appreciation of hydraulics. Cheers everybody, and have a great weekend! ***UPDATE: The dealer really did a disservice telling me to buy a new cylinder. It turns out that the backhoe on this machine is AMERICAN MADE, by a company called Bradco in Texas. If you contact Bradco, they do indeed sell seal kits for these cylinders. I don't think Mahindra is at fault for this, but rather the dealer who should have just said: "Hey, that backhoe is made by Bradco. Call them." I think the person I spoke with couldn't find info on the backhoe and so just gave me the easy answer: "Buy a new one."

[edwardnicoletti]

You can fill scratches in a rod with a low melting point silver solder that usually has a pretty good PSI tensile strength and is easy to sand with some screen back abrasive material. Lawson Products sells the solder called 92C (get the acid core version not the resin core version) and the screen back. The material that you were using as an abrasive earlier in this video is Screen Back, not Emory cloth. You can sand using both sides of the sheet or roll with screen back. Emory cloth only has abrasive material on one side.

[littles]

You should lubricate all the seals with hydraulic fluid before assembly. 1) Makes assembly easier, 2) Pre-lubes the seals so they aren't damaged at start up.

[jpop]

Thank you for documenting this repair. I have often wondered how difficult it would be to repair the hydraulic cylinder. While I'm very mechanically adept, I've never taken one apart. I found your video very interesting and informative and very much appreciate your efforts.

[richardblom]

As someone who does exactly this for a living, the gland and rod jokes never stop.

[tonyr]

I used to hate centring up in a four jaw independent chuck when I started an apprenticeship as a toolmaker. Three jaw self centring chucks were just so much easier and quicker to use. But if you want something perfectly aligned, a four jaw independent is the only chuck to use. Love your videos and your resourcefulness. I’m never going to tackle the things that you’re doing but really enjoy watching you solve problems. Along with ‘Watch Wes Work’ and ‘Diesel Creek’ your channel is in my top three YouTube channels. Thank you

[CordCrenshaw]

The fact that you can laugh at yourself tells me all I need to know about your character. 👏

[kurbads]

You are an amazing director, script writer and editor. And sense of humor. I was in tears watching it.

[KAINARTZ]

The fact that you were able to repair something under 100$ while giving it to someone for repairs or replacing it would cost possibly over a thousand dollars is quite commendable.
I learn a lot from this channel, I may not use this knowledge in the future but it is good to have.
Hats off to you.

[davidhackney]

I really think standardization and part number identification is another key thing that differentiates the USA. I rarely have and issue identifying parts needed on USA manufactured units as the model is stamped on the neck and parts are listed in an IPB. Good videos, very fun to watch.

[lucasdog]

Age is a bigger factor with seal failure than cycles.
I bought a 1988 case 580D with 42 hrs. on it, that sat in storage forever. Started popping seals all over when I put it to use. The materials in the seals harden over time.

[danshepler]

I am glad to see that I'm not the only 77 yr old man who use to make tools as needed and build or repair things. So many these days just buy new parts, or have someone else do the work. Proud of the work you did.