Hello, New member here so hopefully I am posting this in the right spot. Long story short, I bought a 1997 Ford/New Holland 675 E, with only 464 hrs. Most of the cylinders are leaking and I am assuming it is from the machine getting extremely little use over the years. My question is because I have heard conflicting reports, do I need to repack or will the seals soften up over time and "re-seal"? The extendahoe cylinder drips pretty steady and others are just very very wet (which I'm not too concerned about).
I'd at least run it a while before you tear into it. I've seen new seals leak at first and seal up in a few hours, but I don't have any experience like yours. Are the rods in like new condition? no big scratches, gouges or pits in the chrome at least? 17 years isn't very old for the rubber to deteriorate, especially if it was inside.
Yes, rods are in excellent condition, no pitting, or defects, the machine looks brand new. Previous owner said that he started it up every few months and worked everything. I have put about 10 hrs on the machine but haven't done any real work with it. Thinking about going out and just hoggin through some dirt to get the fluid nice and hot.
Has it been real cold where you're running. Bitter cold will make them leak sometimes. I've seen alot of seals quit leaking after the weather warms up. Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 2
I bought it when it was cold, a few weeks ago and it hasn't been above 40. Been inside the last 3 days in a heated shop and I took it out today, and it still leaked, granted I know, I should work it in warm weather. But to answer the question, yeah its friggin cold.
I have packed a lot of ford backhoe cylinders and it seems they go to leaking when they don't get used much. I had two that we packed less than six months ago with less than 30 hrs that have started leaking at the rod seals. Several other people I have talked with have the same issues with the fords. I use the oem kits when packing them but may start using some other brands just to see if the service life lasts any better. The cold will make them start leaking at times, this morning we had three that started leaking out the glands on a 220 size trackhoe since this cold snap hit here last week.
I can't believe that 40 degrees is considered cold for a hydraulic seal. If our shop gets to +40 in the winter things are doing good. We often run hydraulics on the rough terrain cranes and the logging equipment at -20 degrees without leaks. I do say they move slow for a while until the oil circulates a few times but have not had cold weather leaks. I think you have dried up seals that no longer seal. The colder the weather, the thicker the oil, so the seal needs a larger gap to leak thru.
Just like driving a new car off the lot, with each passing day, age and hrs of service takes its toll on the new car. Seals are no exception. Even with clean shiny chrome rods, time and service take their toll on seals. Some age more rapidly because of seal design and compound, but there's no magic number for when seals are done. Heat is the biggest contributor to deterioration. Heavy work loads creating hot oil over a period of time causes seals to become hard, lose their ability to be pliable. Once this happens, the seal doesn't have a change of making a good seal in the cold. Use the machine as you wish, leaking seals won't hurt the machine, unless you run it out of oil. But in my experience, they won't get any better, only new seals will fix the problem. And with what oil cost now days, the sooner they are replaced the more economical it will be.
It's not just that the seals aren't warm enough. Have you ever started driving and had flat spots on your tires? It can take a bit to smooth out the ride, especially when it's cold and the tires aren't new and they've been sitting a while. That's my guess as to what happened to your seals. But no guarantees, especially the extendable dipperstick, though that one would get the very least use.
I didn't mean to sound like 40 is cold. I forgot to mention that since I bought the machine the temp has ranged from -15 to 20.