My left joystick is has a slight leak. Doesn't actively drip but is definitely making wet spots on the floor. Looks like a full replacement from Cat is ~$760. https://parts.cat.com/en/holtcat/176-4986 I don't see options for aftermarket but I think there are options to buy seals and such for a rebuild...just no idea how painful it is to rebuild. The excadigger (that's what my 4yr old son calls it) is used for pulling weeds in central Texas. The video is not the best but you get the idea. I can live with an old soup can sitting under the joystick catching the random drops of oil so I'm not too eager to grab the wrenches but also know leaks only get worse over time. My question is how much of a pain is it to rebuild a joystick? Are these 'throw away' items that can't be rebuilt? What would ya'll do for a ranch machine? PS- Timewise, I'd rather put my energy towards fixing my sloppy coupler and tighten it up. Everything else on it is fairly tight for its age.
They're really rather simple if just going in for a reseal. Biggest issue is oil coming out what your resealing if you don't disconnect the lines, or oil dripping as you disconnect the lines. A vacuum pump on the tank helps control leakage. Mark the orientation of the universal joint before removing it.