While inspecting the old leaky seals on my stabilizer cylinder, I noticed there are 3 or 4 knicks on the ram. The Knicks are about the size of a house fly. I suppose I have 3 options for dealing with the ram while changing seals: a) have shop change the ram shaft, b) smooth the high spots only and ignore the low, c) epoxy or weld the low spots and smooth them.
Are you asking for advise in regards to your options ? Personally I would have a new rod made for it at a competent machine/ hydraulic shop. New seals will cost about $35.00 for it. So, if you destroy a couple of sets of seals and consider the oil loss with the damaged rod, the new rod option is a good investment.
Another good option is to recrome its usually a little cheaper than replacing the rod I did both rams on my 446 last year it was 450 bucks to have both chromed
Have rod ground and rechrome...we get it done all the time...way cheaper
So, I ended up grinding the knicks clean, wiping with alcohol to degrease, and applying epoxy. I sanded them down smooth and have been using it for about 30 hours. The knicked ram is a stabilizer so it doesn't get nearly as much travel as a Boom, Stick or Bucket cylinder. So far so good.
If I made money with a machine I would repair or replace the rod. For a home owner or someone using it and trying to stay in a budget I would clean the damage real good and fill with JB Weld, then file and polish with some ultra fine sandpaper. You have nothing to lose but a small amount of time and less than $10 for the JB Weld. If it eventually has an issue you can pull it apart and get a new rod or have that one ground and rechromed.
The problem with using epoxy or any filler is there is the chance of it coming loose and getting in the system where there are lots of things with close tolerances that don’t take kindly to such things.
The only downfall to repairing any rod with epoxy is the chance it will dislodge and get in the hydraulic system. Getting it in a control valve spool would be a nightmare. I would prefer to let it leak until I could get a new rod. But, that is just my preference.
New rod is better than rechrome. Induction hard chrome is the best, Have not had much luck with rechroming any rods. We have mig welded big gauges and sand them smooth with blending disc. That works till you can replace it.
You can MIG or TIG weld with silicon bronze brazing filler material(no flux). Since you are not melting the base metal the low heat causes less warping. The other benefit is the alloy doesn't rust. Since it is bonded to the base metal by molecular attraction, it will not fall off like epoxy long term. Another option is to weld using a stainless steel filler rod(TIG)or wire(MIG). Steve