Bucket curl cylinder leaking

[Hughman]

After 20 years of use and abuse, one of my bucket curl cylinders is leaking hydro fluid around the shaft. (I guess even tractors aren't immune from leaking shafts as they get older.)

Is replacing the seals a DIY task of should I just take it to the dealer? If I do take it to the dealer, I'd probably still need to remove the cylinder from the loader since I don't have any way to haul the entire tractor 40+ miles into town.

Should I just fix the one cylinder that is leaking or do all four curl/lift cylinders at the same time? It's the 14A loader if that makes any difference.

 

[oldnslo]

It depends on you comfort level and tools on whether you rebuild a cylinder yourself or take them to a shop.

I would rebuild both curl cylinders since similar wear and age.

 

[caver]

I do my own but bought a couple tools needed. case has a gland nut wrench. I would ask around. there's always some guy who rebuilds cylinders. I started out going that route but to me the rebuilding is the easy part. Removing cylinder is the pain so i went that far might as well DIY from there on.

 

[dieselscout80]

When I rebuilt one of my boom lift cylinders someone here to not dismount the whole cylinder. I wonder if it would work and so I tried it and it worked great.

 

[Hughman]

I watched a YT video and it looks doable. I'm sure after I get a quote from the dealer that will probably seal the deal which way I go. I'm always willing to try any job at least once myself.

 

[Redbug]

It depends on you comfort level and tools on whether you rebuild a cylinder yourself or take them to a shop.

I would rebuild both curl cylinders since similar wear and age.

I agree with rebuilding both cylinders. That's because when they get age on them from use...the non-rebuilt cylinder will be weaker than the rebuilt cylinder. Keep an eye on it.

 

[Roadworthy]

A local hydraulic shop may be the way to go. They may do the job including seals and labor for only a bit more than the dealer would want for parts. You could probably call for an estimate.

 

[sd455dan]

It is physical work, Do you have strong hands and a well mounted vice?

I would go for it. I have done several. Get the seal kits first if you have the parts manual.
Some gland nuts are easier than others, break them free on the machine then drain, remove and go through in the shop.

If it is an older machine I would pressure wash the cylinder and use degreaser with a brush, Was amazed with the crud in a couple of them. Blow dry and spray some wd 40 inside. I mounted the rod end in the vice and air impact to get the nut off. A sonic bath cleaner with heat and filled with hydraulic oil works well to soften the seals and a gland seal tool helps with inserting inside seals.

 

[flyerdan]

I did my lift cylinders on the Bobcat a while back, the seals were just under $30 on ebay and amazon had the gland nut wrenches and seal install tools for just under $30. Pretty easy project and I've got tools for hydraulics now.

 

[DJ54]

I tried to search Ford New Holland for a 14A loader, and nothing showed up. Did find a similar newer loader so went with that. Seal kit is $172.00 at FNH, aftermarket kits range from $19.95 to around $40.00 just as an example.
OEM part number is needed to find the right seals and even searching for aftermarket seals. I bought aftermarket seals for my Case backhoe 5-6 years ago and rebuilt myself, no leaks to date.

I left the cylinder on the hoe, just unpinned it from the bucket. Blocked it up a bit so as to make it easier to work on. If it has a hex gland nut, it would make it a lot easier to work. Depending on how particular you are, a pipe wrench, or a flat jaw monkey wrench with cheater will remove the gland nut. Loosen the far end hose so as to let air in to remove the rod, you're going to lose some oil, so do it where you don't mind some oil on the ground/floor. You can then take the rod to the shop to re-seal.

Getting the piston nut off will require some umph. I have an impact wrench that will put out 750 ft. lbs of torque I used to remove that nut. Also used it to install it. Clean it very well with carb. cleaner or something similar. When installing it, I used Orange Lock-Tite on the threads. I have no idea what you would torque the piston not too, but seriously doubt it is anywhere near what it is on my hoe, which is around 450 ft. lbs.

If you do decide to tackle it, do yourself a favor and get a set of these to install the gland nut seal, you'll be glad you did and worth every penny. I got mine from Amazon. Makes it a 30 second job to install the internal seal.

 

[dieselscout80]

I tried to search Ford New Holland for a 14A loader, and nothing showed up. Did find a similar newer loader so went with that. Seal kit is $172.00 at FNH, aftermarket kits range from $19.95 to around $40.00 just as an example.
OEM part number is needed to find the right seals and even searching for aftermarket seals. I bought aftermarket seals for my Case backhoe 5-6 years ago and rebuilt myself, no leaks to date.

I left the cylinder on the hoe, just unpinned it from the bucket. Blocked it up a bit so as to make it easier to work on. If it has a hex gland nut, it would make it a lot easier to work. Depending on how particular you are, a pipe wrench, or a flat jaw monkey wrench with cheater will remove the gland nut. Loosen the far end hose so as to let air in to remove the rod, you're going to lose some oil, so do it where you don't mind some oil on the ground/floor. You can then take the rod to the shop to re-seal.

Getting the piston nut off will require some umph. I have an impact wrench that will put out 750 ft. lbs of torque I used to remove that nut. Also used it to install it. Clean it very well with carb. cleaner or something similar. When installing it, I used Orange Lock-Tite on the threads. I have no idea what you would torque the piston not too, but seriously doubt it is anywhere near what it is on my hoe, which is around 450 ft. lbs.

If you do decide to tackle it, do yourself a favor and get a set of these to install the gland nut seal, you'll be glad you did and worth every penny. I got mine from Amazon. Makes it a 30 second job to install the internal seal. View attachment 5017741

I didn’t know about those tools for installing the internal seal thanks!!

https://a.co/d/0dKQPQps

 

[DJ54]

You'll love them..!!

 

[CH4Ohio]

I watched a YT video and it looks doable. I'm sure after I get a quote from the dealer that will probably seal the deal which way I go. I'm always willing to try any job at least once myself.

It's actually a pretty easy job. I rebuilt four cylinders on my small Kubota last year. All of the o-rings and seals were simple to replace EXCEPT for the center wiper seal that drives the piston back and forth inside the cylinder. That one is a pretty rigid material and it takes a lot of manipulation and cussing to get it into place. It isn't a split ring like some of the others and it doesn't want to stretch at all.

I compared the old center wiper seal to the new one, and really couldn't tell the difference. Had to put it in boiling water for several minutes before I was finally able to get it to stretch enough to get it into the notch. And then it seemed a little loose due to all the stretching.

I only changed it on the first cylinder that I rebuilt. On the other 3, I left that center pain-in-the-butt seal in place and just replaced all the others. My cylinders were all moving fine and weren't leaking down anyway. The center seal doesn't have anything to do with the leaking around the chrome shaft either. I rebuilt the last 3 cylinders in less time than it took to do just the first one due to fighting with that impossible center wiper seal.

Break the gland nut loose while you still have the cylinder mounted on the tractor. As others mentioned, impact wrench gets the internals apart. Other than that, I only used a cheap $2 hook and pick set and hemostats to push and pull the seals and o-rings into place.

Also, bought seal parts kits from eparts.com. Each kit was $28 so 4 cylinders cost $125 after tax. Not sure if they carry kits for all brands or not.

 

[WM75Guy]

Check around to see who rebuilds cylinders. Last cylinder I had rebuilt for a grapple a local hydraulics shop rebuilt it for $100. I had one cylinder start leaking on my TC40DA 16LA loader some years back. Took the tractor to the dealer and they rebuilt it for $150. A year later I took it in for service, while it was there I had the other 3 rebuilt just to avoid the hassle of doing them one by one. I also had one hose start leaking so I replaced all of them. Local hydraulic hose shop built them for me.

 

[Hughman]

I didn’t know about those tools for installing the internal seal thanks!!

https://a.co/d/0dKQPQps

Kewl beans... New tool.

Luckily my gland nut has a hex head.

 

[sd455dan]

Kewl beans... New tool.

Luckily my gland nut has a hex head.

That is good news. the koyker cylinders use Aluminum gland nuts. I got all but one off without damage but one was a bit more stubborn, Luckily new OEMs were available.

 

[Hughman]

Wow, cnh wants $240 for one seal kit (part #87041804).

 

[Engineer42]

As has been said, get pricing from a hyd shop. They will probably be cheaper than the dealer, and sometimes, they are cheaper than doing it yourself.

But it's not a difficult task with tools and patience.

 

[sd455dan]

Wow, cnh wants $240 for one seal kit (part #87041804).

In that case it may save money to take it to a hydraulic shop and let them use what they stock.

That is outrageous pricing.

I paid $146 for "four" complete factory seal kits plus $71 for the one new gland nut with the seals installed.

They are price gouging.