Hello, I touched overhead powerlines with my Jcb causing a mass of sparks and a sovereign of the lines. As I had noticed a piece of powerline stuck to the boom I thought this was the point of impact. I eventually continued to work once lines were repaired but after an hour or so of my employee operating I noticed hydraulic fluid pouring out of top cyclinder. After examining more closely we discovered the ram rod had been scored in 5 different places and the sharp edges had torn the seal. It is currently losing 20 litres of hydraulic fluid a day and I cannot go on at this rate and must repair. I have priced a seal kit at $150 and we have smooth ended the rod as much as possible. Can anyone lend experience in the matter of replacing a seal on JCB 240, can I get away with silver soldering the rod? any ideas on cost if I go through a hydraulic specialist? Thanks and regards Andy
Sorry you've had hard luck. You're just wasting work and money if you put new seals on that rod, don't care what you do to try and smooth it up. It just won't be smooth enough. Modern machines run tight tolerances and high pressures, it doesn't take much to ruin a seal in short order. Might be able to have it ground, rechromed up and ground again to finished size at a good hydraulic repair shop, but those damaged spots look pretty ugly even for that. Good luck.
Id get the rod rechromed if its not deep, if its deep replace the rod. Our machinist makes our rods for us. We have a place locally that can rechrome rods for us. From your description Id be leaning towards replacing the rod. If the chrome starts peeling it can go through your hydraulic system and take out components such as control valves and pumps
From talk on other threads, my guess is you aren't going to be able to get that apart to reseal it anyway. My uneducated guess is the nut holding the piston on will have around 3000 ft-lbs of torque on it. Good luck and find a new rod.
Typically the JCB/Link Belt/Case/etc have a set screw and the piston retaining nuts will turn off with a 1" impact. Of course only on machines to 30 ton or so. If you need to get by you can spot weld the rod just like the chrome shops do. Polisher smoooth and true and keep the rod retracted when not used and you will be able to get by. With those gouges you will have to worry about the bearing being bad. The easiest way is to weld on the inner diameter then they are much easier to remove. Not sure if you have a aftermarket seal company but SealSource of Hercules could certainly take care of you.
Thank you for replies. I did worry that I might not be able to remove ram due to high torque settings but I figured I could use an extension bar to add leverage. I have heard stories on both sides that 1) the rod is ****ed and cannot be fixed &. 2) if you are careful you can silver solder it and polish it and it will get you by. Personally a small leak would not bother me at all, I just can't afford to be losing 20 litres a day. I really don't want to be a tight wad, but I also don't have the endless certain contracts to warrant buying a new ram, Even machining a new one sounds awfully expensive. If I could get it fixed for around $1500 I would be a happy man, but something tells me it will be much more. I will get some quotes and repost for informative purposes in a day or 2.
A couple of years ago I had two 2 inch or so rods replaced by a local machinist for around $400, re using the eye and cutting the threads. Not too bad at all. The hardened chrome rod comes in common sizes and he said that's the best and easiest way to do it cheaply. And you'll find a way to get the nut loose. Look at Nige's picture in the other cylinder thread that's active. Or there's an old thread from Kodiak island that will give you the confidence to tear into it.
Hmm, interesting, it seems that I have little choice than to have new rod machined. I have decided on temporary measure however until I finish last 2 contracts. I have decided to purchase the highest grade filtered hydraulic oil I could find. Cost $345 for 200litres. I am also sure now after watching countless you tube clips that I could not possibly have damaged seals on the piston, the damaged seals must be in the head section or "gland" I think it is called. Nonetheless, it also seems that the whole thing has to be pulled apart anyway in order to replace those head seals. Arrghhh!
I worked for a JCB dealer in the uk and we had a Big A frame with a hydraulic ram with a pressure gauge on it so as we could undo or do up the nuts we had spanners made with a hole in for the aux ram and a hex the size of the nut which fitted the piston nut .I did manage to do a few on site but were very tight though.Good luck as it looks like you need a new rod a seal kit careful putting the piston seals/packing seals on without stretching them to far .
Good day Antpoo I would endorse previous suggestions to replace or repair the cylinder, not wishing to compound your accident I would suggest that you take precautions to avoid fluid contamination this may have an adverse effect on the main valve chest. It has been known that such accidents can weld the swing bearing together adding to the costs. Kind regards Uffex
sand the rod and fit a new seal kit and try your luck , although you may want to think about preserving your life as well , simple chain to limit height when working under power lines
That rod's fcuked ........... it needs either replacement or reworking (re-rod, rechrome, or whatever) otherwise your new seals are going to last about 5 minutes - maybe less. Buy 2 seal kits is my suggestion, you'll need them. When you have the cylinder apart, cast your eyes up the inside of the barrel. The current from that power line had to go somewhere and could have jumped from the rod to the inside of the barrel via the piston. You may find similar marks inside the barrel to the ones on the rod.
For a cheap try & fix you will need to fill that rod where it arcked and pitted. possibly chem metal weld and wet and dry emery paper to as even as possible surface as the rest of the rod. problem being the pitted areas are virtually in a straight line through the ram and will want to spill out under pressure in the same place on your main & wiper seals every time they pass, if leaking at all the pressure will eventually cut a passage through the seals eventually, could work and probably your only other choice before pulling the ram and replacing when the doe-ray-me in the wallet is better. either way best of luck.
At the end of the day, if your toast is burnt, its burnt, no amount of scraping or butter is going to fix it:drinkup
lol, once again I believe you are spot on. My worker actually suggested the same thing about the exit point for the current. I have quoted the re chrome and re seal at $3000 from 2 separate companies. Once I take it off machine and take it to the third company I will try to negotiate better price, but overall I must cop it sweet.
antpoo,hope it all turns out well for you. as you say,cop it sweet,there is no other choice, this is a challenge you have been thrown,i have no doubt you will be the victor,remember there are no prizes for second,fortune favours the brave......and the whole thing is character building..................Forward.