Good afternoon all! I've been working my way through rebuilding the cylinders on my Case 580C. I've done all four on the loader, the stabilizers, both swing cylinders, and the curl cylinder for the hoe bucket. I need to tackle the dipper cylinder next. Any ideas on the best way to orient everything for removal? My plan would be to leave the cylinder on the machine and just pull the rod/piston. The geometry for how to position the boom and dipper is leaving me scratching my head. Laying the boom, dipper, and bucket all straight out on the ground doesn't leave me enough clearance to get the cylinder disconnected and the rod up and out (at least I don't think so). Having it up like it is in the picture gives me some room, doesn't look stable. How have you guys handled one of these cylinders? Thanks, Jd40
curl the bucket and set it on the ground. turn the engine off and then cycle the dipper valve both ways until it quits moving. It will stabilize at a point with no pressure on the cylinder.
Thank you sir. I'll get on it tomorrow.
I would also stand it up straighter than that.
I set the dipper almost vertical, just slightly open. Chained the bottom of the dipper to the bottom of the boom so it wouldn't open unexpectedly. I did have to call the neighbor over to pull the whole cylinder out.
Takes me 4.5 hrs to do this job that incudes getting new hoses made up.
Hope this helps.
Once in position, remove the upper pin from the piston/dipper and start machine to retract the piston completely before unhooking the hydraulic lines. Makes pulling the whole thing easier.
Page 1 and page 4 of this thread has some good info and pictures. Dig a hole in the ground about 4-5 feet and get the dipper horizontal to the ground. Makes things much easier to work on. HeavyEquipmentForums
I was going to say, the more vertical the cylinder is, the harder it is to reach and work on it. I stretched mine out as flat as I could, and still be able to get the cylinder loose. That gave me a flatter angle to hook the come-a-long to the end of the cylinder rod and pull it out. Usually hooked the other end of the come-a-long to my little truck. Whatever you do, make sure it's relaxed before driving the pin out. You can stack wooden blocks under the boom arm if you think you need to.
I agree with getting it low - best to remove the bucket. If you don't have lifting equipment, you can stand on the back of a ute/truck tray - they are not too heavy to deal with. Block of hardwood under the cylinder, & fully extend it - & then back it off a touch. (That fanbelt is certified to lift that rod out, as it has lifted heavier ones before..... )
Biggest issue you will have is, it needs to come straight out as it will bind on the threads at the end. Same with putting together. I got mine low enough, I could use those aluminum stands to work on. Being over the center of the boom is a challenge.
Thanks for all the advice. I ended up bringing the dipper in a little closer and rested the bucket flat on the ground (curled with teeth pointing towards the machine with the bottom of the bucket on the ground). With the machine shut off, I worked the backhoe controls levers to get all the pressure off the lines. That arrangement left no load on the dipper cylinder - it was kind of floating on the pins so they could be removed easily. Long story short - I got it done. Next time, I think I'll try to get it down lower, but I got it done all the same. Thanks again for the help!