On my 88 JD 310c backhoe one of the boom swing cylinders just started to slow leak two days ago, and just today started to make that bird chirping squealing noise after using it all day.... Just wondering if I'm getting metal and debre in the hyd fluid. Everything still works fine but I'm wondering if I should keep using it until I replace it... maybe its a good idea if I stop. Also, where are this cylinder being purchased these days?
IMO, a leak is good enough reason to fix it. If oil is getting out, dirt is getting in.
Depending on how bad he cylinder is damaged, you can most likely repair it much cheaper than you can replace it... Surely there must be a machine shop near you that can handle such a task.
thanks, I'll hit the streets and see where they are getting rebuilt... I found someone local, maybe I should have both swing cylinders done at the same time being when I got the machine both cylinders were glossy wet sweating with oil, and now the one is leaking I'm sure the other one will follow sooner than later.
thanks, never thought of it like that, I'll play it safe and shut down and fix it, how stupid would I be if I kept running it and caused further damage in line.
OUCH! the dealer said each swing cylinder comes in a two part kit, the 1st one is $114.45 and the 2nd $53.14 which comes to $180.00 with tax. Is there an after market that just as good as the JD product? It makes sense to do both swing cylinders, the other one is sweaty with oil and the outer seal is all dried up, brittle and missing parts from cracking away...
If you are going to take the time to pull one cylinder out, you may as well pull them both. You will thank yourself later... It will also give you a good chance to inspect the condition of the pins/bushings. Clean out the grease passage, etc...
Sounds like an absolute bargain to me .
I'm going to see if I can rebuild them swing cylinders my self, if I'm correct the hardest part will be removing the collar nut? ... I seen on line there are some nice machines made just to loosen them collar nuts.... The guy that I talked with that is in the business rebuilding these cylinders said if the collar comes off easy he should not have to charge me a lot, it depends how much time he spends to loosen them collars, now I would think he don't have any kind of fancy equipment? so I might as well try it... unless even with a fancy machine they can still give you problems to remove them collars... If I have them rebuilt both will cost about $750 to $800 parts and labor...
If your wiper seals are getting brittle and falling apart, as you described, your seals are deteriorated as well, replacing seals is easy enough and will fix your leak problem. I don't know about your area in CT, I'm lucky enough to have an aftermarket seal distributor in my town. You could go to there website and inquire with them, they can look up seals like this by application, i.e., Deere 310C. It's worth a shot, ( www.signalproducts.com ). Talk to Chris or Richard. I'm more concerned about your bird chirpping. Cylinders normally don't make noises that you can hear. It sounds to me you might have a dry pivot joint, either swing cylinder pivots or the backhoe kingpost pivots. Is everything taking grease without difficulty?
You bring up a good point about the noise, I kind of assumed that it was coming from the cylinder that was leaking, I'm having 2nd thoughts about it, the sound is an intermittent noise, mainly after a few hours of use, it does sound like a squeaky metal wheel chirp, and its only when I swing left or right... I still hear it even tho I just greased it figuring it might have been a pin? but have them pins ever still made noise even after greasing? I'm going to need to listen with a mechanics stethoscope on where this noise is coming from... it just might be coming from a valve body, or some type of hydraulic bypass valve or what ever them valves are... I do keep these pins lubed all the time.. but to answer your question there is one grease fitting that has not been taking grease, its the one that the boom pivots up and down on, its not a left to right pivot point, so this is why I didn't think it can be that, but now that you mention it maybe its the shaking of the boom arm thats making that pivot point squeak and chirp even tho the boom is not moving??
A boom is a really big sound amplifier! And this is for all you equipment guys out there; if it ain't taken' grease, fix it, rapid pin/bushing destruction is on the way. And I'd give Signal Prod a call. Even though they're not in your area, it would give you a price comparison. And if the price is attractive, might be worth getting the seals from them even with UPS shipping cost. And they don't sell "cheap" seals, they are a Parker-Hannifin supplier. Send us some pics of your swing cylinders.
I don't know how many hours of use before the pins should be greased, but I was greasing it every 2nd 3rd and sometimes 4th time I used it, all depending how long I used it each time. So this boom pin thats at the bottom just started to stop taking grease about 3 or 4 greasing ago, I was hitting it with lots of oil the first few times until I get the time to fix it, I figured oil would at least get in there because it is moderately worn, I can see the slop play when the boom moves/bounces... but now that you mention is there any clogged grease fittings I feel good thats got to be the noise ( I can't thank you enough on bringing that up)... Dam what an idiot I am because thats not like me to let it go that long with out it taking grease, I'm forgetting to do a lot of things as I'm reaching my 50's ...... oh great now the main cylinder pin on the loader just clogged.... I'll fix them two grease fittings and post back... pic's will come soon...
Pictures before I take them apart.... the one photo shows the boom pin that stopped taking grease a few weeks ago... the close up is the one thats just starting to drip slowly from a long time sweating type seepage....
Yep, that wiper ring has pretty much had it. When they get that bad, they aren't scraping the dirt off of the rod as it retracts, the dirt gets packed in the u-cup seal. Also, if your wiper's that deteriorated, your u-cup can't be much better. Throw a little dirt in the mix and you get leakage. I see a few pits on the rod chrome also. Let us know how the repair goes.
Oh yeah, what looked like pits in the chrome is just dirt.... all the chrome look great... too bad I didn't figure out some kind of home made wiper to put on there before it got a little worse by leaking a bit more since I got it. Well I fixed the boom pin to take grease, so now I don't hear that noise after using it for a good part of the day.... I still need to run it for a longer full day to make sure, but I believe its fixed... I have to say I can't thank you enough ATCOEQUIP !!! thank god you told me to look for a dry pin.... I would never have figured that out in a million years that a dry pin can make that kind of noise, I was totally blindsided and was thinking because the cylinder has recently just started to slowly drip it has to be the problem.... I figured when a pin/bushing goes dry from no grease the bushing/pin just start quietly destroying it self.... You saved me from running out and rushing into repairs I don't need to do right now... I don't see why I can't get thru the summer with the way it is now, then in the Winter I'll fix it... And thanks for the web site on the seals...
It's good to hear your chrome is in good shape. As for the pin making the noise, it wasn't hard for me to come up with the suggestion. Like I said, a boom is a really big amplifier of sound. Your thanks is appreciated, but really not necessary. You know the old saying "two heads are better than one", I'm just happy I was head #2 this time around. Now, stick that hoe in the dirt and keep her greased.
Yeah I was excited to have gotten the huge 2 inch file on the work/repair history of my backhoe when I got it... I bought it from someone who buys from auctions, paints then sells, not a nickel more are put into the machines he sells. So the file shows back 4K hours ago the cylinders went out to be re-chromed, It looks like all cylinders, not sure tho, it was like a $5400.00 bill.
I recently acquired a CAT E120B excavator and realized I had a leaking piston. Would like to know what it would cost to bring it to a shop for repair, and secondly, what special tools I would need to repack the piston myself. I had not previously owned heavy equipment. Thanks
What I was quoted here in CT was about $150 TO $200 for each cylinder, the guy said it depends how much time is spent with that collar nut being hard to come off... so I guess this guy don't have one of them huge expensive machines where you mount the cylinder and let the machine do the work loosening that collar nut (not sure what its called) I guess some guys have the manual tool which can be time consuming its its hard coming off.... then as I posted before you can call the dealer and ask what the cost is for parts, thats if you don't go after martket.... good luck...
For applications like pins/bushings on excavators, loader/hoes, etc. I use a grease that has molybdenum disulfide additive in the grease base. Unlike bearings which have ample room for grease, pins and bushings have very close tolerances (just thousandths of an inch) and not much room for "extra" grease. The moly additive keeps a good lubricating film in these close tolerances.