Gland nut removal

[ZackN]

All,
Thanks for the reassurance to give it a good hit. That was all it needed. First I tried a piece of PVC drainage that fit pretty good but it just started buckling. We all know that I need something stronger than PVC, and probably a bigger hammer too.
Then I dropped an old bearing race on it and used a high grade bolt to up above the end of the piston.
It took about 5-8 medium blows with a 3lb hammer to drop it down about 1/4inch.
Retaining ring came out easy with a small flat blade screwdriver and an automotive pick.
Because I have no idea what make this cylinder is I don't have a rebuild kit, so no plastic piece to slip in the groove to aid in the removal and eventual installation of the gland and piston.
To hopefully help with this I filled the groove with silicone, its drying at the moment, Ill probably try pulling it apart tomorrow afternoon if it stops raining.
Thanks again for all the help!

 

[ZackN]

Put the retaining pin back in the body, pulled the piston, ram and gland nut out by hand. Took a little tapping on the gland to get it out but it came out easy.
Piston nut was pinned on.
The piston was able to rotate freely, Im assuming that it is designed that way, I may put a slightly thicker oring on the piston to rod surface, the current one sits slightly below the surface of the piston.
Large crack in the piston to body seal, thus the reason for needing a rebuild. The rest of the seals look to be in OK condition, but they are all going to get replaced. Hopefully my local hydraulic shop is still open with all that is going on right now (COVID-19)
Thanks all for the help, this went much smoother than I had predicted!

 

[ZackN]

The new seals were a bit difficult to get in to the body, but with liberal amounts of hydraulic oil and some careful persuasion, they went in!
I tested it out yesterday and its splitting really well.
Thanks all for all the help, I really appreciate it!
Zack

 

[RickB]

Excellent!