2003 Bobcat 863 skidsteer lift cylinder piston inspection

Dirty Harry · Sep 8, 2024

Newbie. No service manual. Left lift cylinder started squirting oil after lifting loader bucket full height. Purchased seal kit from dealer to rebuild cylinder. Removed gland nut and rod from cylinder barrel. 1.5" socket, 1" drive 40" breaker bar with 36" steel pipe extension was able to break loose and remove rod nut. Upon inspection I noticed that one of the wear sleeves on the piston is cracked. It was the side closest to the rod nut end if it matters it can go either way on rod. Parts manual says they are not replaceable. I got to buy the complete piston. $147 or so. My question is can I use as is and if I do what are the consequences. Are there tolerences the wear sleeves have to meet? Images posted to evaluate the wear sleeve crack. Any advice appreciated.

ptsg · Sep 8, 2024

That's not a crack. Those are wear bands and are split that way so you can put them on the piston.

The yellow ring, that's the actual piston seal. The piston seal can be tricky to put back on. Often, people heat them in oil or water, put them on the piston, then use a zip tie around the seal to compress it back into the right shape.

Inspect the barrel for any scratches. It should be a smooth bore all the way down to the bottom with no scratches or dings.

Dirty Harry · Sep 8, 2024

Thanks for your response and advice. What makes me hesitant is that Bobcat list these wear sleeves as non serviceable and the opposite side wear sleeve does not have a split so it could not be removed easily without damaging it. The split wear sleeve also sits looser on the piston than the other. This may be overcome once reinstalled in the barrel. Without a service manual I do not know if there is a tolerance for them. My seal kit came with a black o-ring that goes under the yellow seal that was also included for the piston. Your not able to see it as it is covered by the seal. Also more o-rings and seals for the gland nut were in the kit. I planned on warming these up as you suggested to stretch them over the piston after removing the old ones. Good suggestion with the zip tie also. I already purchased a small clamp similar to a engine piston ring compressor for seating the piston seal and o-ring to slide in the cylinder barrel. My worry is if the split wear sleeve breaks down further causing loose material to mix in the hydraulic fluid causing damage to components within. I inspected the cylinder barrel and it is smooth and clean. So other than that does the split affect operation in any way. Should the piston be replaced? Am I overthinking this. Seal and o-ring replacement tools and new piston below.

Harry in Ky · Sep 8, 2024

I don't think you have anything to worry about with the wear sleeves, split or no split. I've done hundreds of cylinders, some have sleeves, some don't. It won't make a nickel's worth of difference one way or the other.

As for the piston seal, I don't bother heating them unless it's freezing cold where I'm working. Just stretch it over the piston carefully with a small screwdriver, then wrap it with a strip of emery paper turned backwards. Tighten a standard hose clamp around it as tight as I can get it. I do the piston seal first. Let it sit that way as long as possible while cleaning up and dealing with the other seals, O rings, and such. I've yet to have a problem doing it that way.