Hi all. Here are two pictures of the swing cylinders on my Case 580CK. They both leak, but the one on the tractors left (backhoe's right) leaks much worse. Is it worth trying to change the seals, or am I doomed to having to get new rods first. Anything you'd suggest to try to fix these short of replacing them? Any idea what would cause that in the first picture in the top location? Thanks! left side of tractor right side of tractor
New seals will last about 5 minutes on those rods before starting to leak. Throwing good money after bad IMHO. Replace the rods and the seals at the same time would be my advice. A likely cause of the chrome being rubbed off the rod is if the fibre bush in the head that supports the rod has worn sufficiently to allow metal-on-metal contact between the rod and the head. When you pull that particular cylinder apart be prepared for the fact it may also need a replacement head as well as the rod & the seals.
I think I see cracks in both of those wipers, meaning they're old and brittle. Both of those rods look like they were replaced already by the looks of those welds, that didn't come from the factory. Those could be gouges from stone or steel being pushed into the rod as they're moving. Then somebody sanded it smooth to prolong the seal life. With the labor to take those apart, I think it's worth your money to put new rods in. Or take it to a machinist to make turn new rods and weld the eye on like was done last time. Have you priced a new rod? Coleman equipment maybe? I would have thought Case parts would be cheaper than a machinist making one.
One more saying those rods will wipe out any new seals! They do look like they may be "homebrewed" rams and could be the eyes are not on straight causing the wear. What ever the cause it needs to be determined and corrected before installing new parts or else you are throwing money away.
I have serious gland leaks on my CK swing cylinders and some scoring of the rods. When we pulled them, I found that one of the rods was bent which destroyed the packing and the other was scored enough to replace the rod. My local hydraulics shop replaced both rods, honed the tubes and put all in all new packings and seals. I replaced the bushings and they are like brand new. When I put them back. new hoses and bolts on the bearing plates. My coast for this was less than $1000 for everything a couple of years ago. I hate leaks... You can just pull the rods on the machine but check them with a straight edge before you buy any parts. Those are too worn now to be rechromed but a shop may tell you different once they have a close look. They are a common cylinder and should be available from the usual sources as a good used take off but repair will likely not be much different in cost.
Ok, thanks everyone. I tried my handy-dandy new gland-nut wrench today, expecting to need an 8' cheater bar to break the gland-nuts free. After taking the little lock screws off, I discovered the gland nuts were both only hand-tight! Will try to get them completely pulled off and see if the rods are straight and what is scraping at them. Appreciate all the input! I won't re-seal them without some new rods though as you all suggest. Hoping the cylinders aren't too tough to get off. I think I can pull the rods easy enough on the machine, but sounds like the whole cylinders should probably come off too for inspection and honing.
I'm for aftermarket rod replacement!
No, it's fine to leave them if they're not scored. You'll be able to see the piston up close and if the seals and wear rings on the piston are fine, then the cylinder is probably fine. Same with the gland, if it looks fine, no wear showing in the inner diameter, then it's fine.
ok, will pull silver and see what happens. I appreciate all the advise. You guys know your stuff!
Look at the boom pivot pin closely. The bottom of the pin may be what is cutting into your swing cylinder rod. I have had personal experience with that situation.
Tinkerer - Could you describe more what your personal experience is with this situation? I have noticed that if I set the backhoe bucket flat on the ground, the tower and lean a little to the left or right and seems sloppy. I believe my pins/bushings in the swing tower may be to blame? I'm not sure if this has anything to do with the damage to the swing cylinders or not. I haven't had the machine very long, but guess I need to get off with the boom swung far left and right and see if something is hitting something down there. Any additional thoughts are appreciated.
On my own backhoe that is what gouged the swing cylinder rod. To get the clearance to eliminate the problem I had to install a machine washer on the top of the cylinder rod eye to eliminate the up and down movement of it. I had to put a machine washer under the top of the boom pivot pin. Doing that raised the boom pin about 1/16 of an inch. Only one of the swing cylinder rods was coming in contact with the boom pin. The flat spot on my rod was just about as severe as I see in your photo. I resealed the gland and replaced the wiper seal and the cylinder leaks a very small amount of oil. I may someday have a hydraulic shop make a new rod for it. You could have the bottom of the boom pin hitting your swing cylinder rod. Have someone swing the boom completely left to right and see if it is happening. If it is you will have to determine what is causing it.
There is a dealer that has case aftermarket parts that would have everything you need , and I believe they are ebay.
Anyone have an idea as to what a new rod for his swing cylinder would be a fair price ? I took my bucket rod and the gland to a hydraulic shop about two years ago. They cut and threaded a new rod. They also resealed and put the gland back on it. I was close to $400.00 poorer when I paid for it. The owner of the shop told me that rods with internal threads was why the price was expensive. I have to say though that it looked like an OEM rod, the weld bead on the eye looked that good. Must have been done in a lathe.
This is what mine looks like.
Wow, good catch Tinkerer. Even if his pin didn't do this, time to check it so it doesn't do in the new rod in 20 hours. Just because it was built at the factory doesn't mean that the cylinder doesn't rub, especially with decades of wear.
ok, i'll have to see if I have play in that bottom pin and can fit a washer to two in there. thanks again guys/gals.
Tinkerer, I think $400 is not an unreasonable price for that type of work. I had my swing cylinders done and they were around $1000 Cdn for both with new rods. If that spot on yours isn't a deep gouge, ask the shop if they can re chrome the rod. When looking around for someone to do cylinders for me, I was told to budget about $700 Cdn each for a full re build. That included new rods and when they came back, clean, painted and ready to install again they looked like new. I live in logging country where there are service shops and equipment manufacturers in town that do this every day, so quality is tops. Those cylinders like the swing, stabilizer that are in the dirt will be the worst on old machines if they have not been redone. Once I get back to my 580CK project, I will have a few more done along with all new hoses. I hate leaks... It only $ anyway
Juskatla; That is a deep gouge in my rod. Way deeper than it appears in the photo. It was like that when I purchased the machine. Thanks for the cost info.!
I'm not sure how practical this "Belzona" stuff is for this particular application but they have a range of products for various applications. It's not just JB weld. It's not cheap, either, but it is some interesting stuff. Hydraulic rams is one of their applications. There are a bunch of youtube videos. Here is a link to a general one but there is another specific to hydraulic rams. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1Rd-vJZnPM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zps_dCdKlPM