Tips For Hydraulic Cylinder Repair

Hydraulic systems can be found in all types of applications from vehicle auto-steering systems, marine applications heavy earth moving equipment to industrial and agricultural machines. The most common applications for all these devices are picking, lifting, and gripping.

Usually, before making a hydraulics restoration service, it is wise to find out the cause of the failure, this could be a number of things such as:

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  • Damaged seals
  • This can happen as a result of incorrect fitting
  • Corrosion
  • Having an inappropriate metal work clearance
  • It's important to clean the whole area before you start working to avoid contamination. Disconnect all the pipework, remove any plugs and drain all the fluid for the cylinder and associated parts of the system.

While working on the repair consider the following tips;

  • When you disassemble the hydraulic cylinder make a thorough inspection of all associated components to ensure there are no other problems.
  • Ensure you fit the guide ring (sometimes called the worn brush or wear bands) as this helps to reduce the metal-to-metal contact.
  • Inspect the rod for bends as a premature seal failure can indicate there is a bend in the rod. When replacing seals don't measure the existing seal size as they can compress or expand depending on the environmental conditions.
  • Always use the correct fitting tools as metal tools can scratch the cylinder's surface which can create corrosion problems.