Curious if you guys have found any repair process for minor rod damage in which the chrome has been chipped? Seals currently not leaking but they certainly will if ignored.
Temporary fix I do is to take a fine stone in a die grinder Abe buff it down so the sharp edges are smooth.
A fine flap disc in a die grinder could also smooth out a nick. Fine emery cloth and/or a fine file could work if you don't have a die grinder.
Does this really hold up long term? Chrome is like a razor blade. I thought somewhere I saw a braze type product for touchups. I would rather fill the area. I don't usually get concerned with a small dent where the chrome is still intact but this is where the chrome has lifted. JB weld for the win???? LMAO.....
I have done a few that were small, like 5 to 7 mm chips. I Start with a medium grit flap wheel, and work it down changing grit, till its almost flush and even. And lastly I uses a dollar bill to fine sand it. I have not had any cut seals or leak after that repairs. The repairs are on old tractor front end cylinders. So they don't get used everyday. But 2 of them were repaired over two years ago. Good luck.
Why has the chrome lifted? Was it a poor chrome job that pitted? If the chrome is flaking, better just accept that it needs to be rechromed or replaced. If its "just a ding" where something bumped it, I'd do as others have suggested. Knock down the high spots with a buffer and carry on. That spray chrome garbage, is just that, garbage. It doesn't bond like a proper chrome process would. It can flake off inside the cylinder and migrate, causing so much grief later. Good luck
Exactly. When your piece of whatever you used to fill the hole falls off when the rod is inside the cylinder and migrates to the most awkward part of the hydraulic system and causes thousands of dollars in damage you'll wonder why you even bothered. Only two options I see as workable and suggested by many above. Either stone it down and smooth it off, or pull the cylinder apart and have the rod re-chromed (or Reman it).
Buff it down is the only thing you can do without a rechrome or replacement
Totally agree
Thanks guys, sounds like blending is the only option. It is an older dozer that doesn't see much action so hard to justify the full rechrome so we will touch it up. Just a few spots. Even if the seal seeped just a bit probably won't be an issue. Was just curious if there were any innovative solutions I wasn't aware of.
Jack up the radiator cap and put a new machine under it .
On small nicks, or stuff that gets used once and a while I just de-bur. Yeah it'll seep maybe at that spot a little but that's better then ripping a seal up. On really bad stuff we send it out to get redone or have a new rod made, depending on lead time at the chrome shop. I don't mess with the epoxy, spray or braze mess. Don't need the chance of that coming off, ending up in a spool and causing a warranty call back.
Most of the time its pretty quick for machine shop to turn out a new rod out a piece of induction hardened chrome rod.
Well pardon my ignorance but I guess I was not aware that they must provide ground and plated rod stock to be chopped and turned as needed? I guess I never gave it thought.
yes, that's what I've had done. The machinist says nobody re chromes rods around here anymore. If it's flaked, smooth it off. If it's gouged, you could tig it with SS and file it then sand smooth.