Beat up my Woods 6500 backhoe

[chrisjbell]

I pulled a pretty good one the other day, cleaning out the edges of my pond with my backhoe on the tractor. As I was digging along I heard this weird metallic POP - and after a couple bucket loads noticed it happened as I swung the boom. Then I noticed that the boom was at a pretty steep angle side to side and thought, "I didn't think I'm tilted that much"... and I wasn't. The boom was angled maybe 20 degrees off vertical.

Checked it out and noticed that the bottom pin on the boom had come out on one side and the bottom bracket was bent. It still worked so I tried to get the pin realigned... didn't take long before I realized that wasn't happening and said to myself, "Self, this is going to be kind of expensive."

Other than posting pictures for your general amusement and the opportunity to think, "man, I'm sure glad I didn't do something that boneheaded" I've got a question. The piston in the boom's hydraulic cylinder is nicely bent (amazingly, it does still work but I doubt that will last long).

Rather than try to fix it I'm going to replace the whole thing. I know I can replace just the piston, but then I'd also have to (rather, would want to) replace the seals and by then I'm looking at most of the cost of a new one. I don't enjoy taking it out all that much so I want to make sure that it gets fixed but good.

Anyone have a good place to get a cylinder for it? It's a Woods 6500 hoe and the cylinder is a 2.5x16.75 double action - I can get one from my dealer but it'll be about $350 and I have to wait for it anyway... Anyone have an equivilent replacement recommendation? I see that Amazon has them for a couple hundred bucks and there are a few dealers that are competitive. I'd probably prefer a hydraulic dealer - that way I'll be more sure that it will be plug n' play.

Figured I'd see what kind of feedback I got here. I'm torn between being cheap (not wanting to pay dealer prices) and being lazy (making sure I won't have any trouble putting it back in). I do need to save a few bucks because if I can't get that bracket bent back into shape I'm sure that sucker is going to be pretty pricey... if I can even get one.

What all y'all think?

 

[srs]

Chris, would it be possible to have the cylinder repaired? You said you prefer to replace then to fix it but maybe you ought to check out a hydraulic dealer to get their opinion. If your lucky they might say oh it's not that bad we can fix it good as new for X amount of money or they might say it would be better to replace then repair. Just a thought. Stanley

 

[SSdoxie]

I've seen worse than that fixed with no problem. The frame bracket will bend back, use a little heat and take your time. Make sure the pin fits & slides smoothly into both pin holes.
The cylinder barrel looks OK and that is major cost of cylinder. New rod, piston, and seal kit should do it depends on if the head gland got elongated from the bent rod. If seen a large number of bent cylinder rods over the years and very few needed a new gland. I'd get a quote on the cylinder before investing in complete new one.

 

[5030]

+1 on the above post. I've had (at work) rods straightened. You need to check your cross keepers ocassionally......

An equipment walk around pays in spades....

 

[chrisjbell]

+1 on the above post. I've had (at work) rods straightened. You need to check your cross keepers ocassionally......

An equipment walk around pays in spades....

I'd just put the hoe back on the tractor that same day (its a removable subframe mount) and the pins were all good, with keepers. Dang thing came out while I was digging... what was boneheaded was when I heard the first couple of "pops" - it was a "STOP RIGHT NOW" noise that I decided to ignore.

Thanks for the suggestions. I've rebuilt a few cylinders and have learned that having the right (expensive) tools is key so I take mine to a local hydraulic shop that I would highly recommend. They're great and they actually have another cylinder of mine right now for seal replacement. With labor, that will run around $150 (the seal kit is about 50 bucks).

Ironically, I had this cylinder rebuilt less than a year ago ...

Cost to rebuild it will be equivalent to replacing the seals - actually a bit easier to do since they wouldn't have to worry about polishing the piston - plus the cost of the piston, which is about $150. That would take my cost to rebuild to the $250 - $300 range.

I can get a new cylinder for about $300 for sure... Like I said, I can get it from my local dealer for $350ish and I've found two places online for about $300. Amazon carries a Prince cylinder that I think will pop right in for $200 - my only concern about it is that its a tie rod cylinder rather than a welded one and might be a bit larger. There's some room in there, though...

So either the rebuild or my local equipment dealer is going to be something like $350. I was hoping someone had experience with using "like" replacements that I could do for less and / or faster.

I did a gig a few years ago as an equipment mechanic - if I still worked there I'd have the stuff to bend that bracket back. Did a lot of that kind of work - its amazing what operators will do to equipment they don't own. I keep trying to convince my wife that I NEED a good torch... and the gas... and a good wirefeed welder... and a hydraulic press... and... a place to put everything! (Larger barn has been on the list for 15 years, still not there...)

 

[chrisjbell]

You said you prefer to replace then to fix it

Sorry - I was probably babbling... I do that. I usually do repair things rather than replace - if its just seals, repair for sure. I'm only considering replacement because A) I'm impatient and B) this is going to need either complete piston and internals replacement or an extra hour of labor... which is nearly the same cost.

And hey, then I'll have some more spare parts sitting around. Can't have too many spares...

 

[Kernopelli]

Surplus Center has a replacement cylinder for $85. Surplus Center - 2.5X16.75X1.58 HYD CYL I would personally try to straighten the existing cylinder rod first and see if seals,piston etc work OK/are undamaged....not much to lose by trying.

The bracket shouldn't be much of an issue. As was mentioned, a little slow heat and controlled pressure should bring it back in alignment and you're back in business. I think worst case scenario, you're out $100 and a little time, provided you have the other tools necessary to straighten the frame.

 

[SSdoxie]

Surplus Center has a replacement cylinder for $85. Surplus Center - 2.5X16.75X1.58 HYD CYL I would personally try to straighten the existing cylinder rod first and see if seals,piston etc work OK/are undamaged....not much to lose by trying.

The bracket shouldn't be much of an issue. As was mentioned, a little slow heat and controlled pressure should bring it back in alignment and you're back in business. I think worst case scenario, you're out $100 and a little time, provided you have the other tools necessary to straighten the frame.

There's the cylinder for you, now you can take the $200 savings and put towards that torch kit you've been wanting so you heat up the frame.:laughing:

 

[NOTV8]

Now I feel better that I'm not alone.... It did happened to me too although on a BH7500 and it can't be fixed so I end up replacing it... $$$. Like you I heard something but kept on going :ashamed:.

even bought the press to try to put it back with no luck

 

[KubotaSam]

I decided to replace rather than repair the cylinders on the outriggers of my Woods BH 750. The cylinders are inside the outriggers. I bought cylinders from Surplus center. I ran into clearance problems that I never thought of. The oil ports were slightly different. They stuck out of the cylinder slightly more than the originals. The fittings on the hose ends would have jammed against the inside of the outriggers. I needed to extensively modify the outriggers to use the cylinders that were "almost the same". If I had to do this over, I would have the originals rebuilt or purchase the correct cylinder. I am pretty sure your cylinder is inside the boom. If you decide to replace with not OEM cylinders check for clearance problems very carefully.