pretendfarmer
Silver Member
I had talked about this on another thread, but wanted to create a thread about it. As the title says, the cylinder at the bucket is leaking - "passenger" side, hehe. Initially I called a local hydraulics shop and they were backed up and told me they didn't have a seal kit for it. I went ahead and found the seal kit through JD parts website online, then bought it from the dealer. $135 and it was supposed to come with the tool (small orange plastic piece) to remove the rod. It didn't have that and I had already paid for it. The price of this seal kit really rubbed me wrong. Even worse is the fact that John Deere is quoting a price of $1,400 for a replacement cylinder (1.75" bore). It's so obscene that it's gross, IMO.
I started searching for aftermarket cylinders but found out that JD made it to special specs. The bore is 1.75", and the rod is 1 1/8". When I look at aftermarket cylinders, those with a 1.75" bore only have 1" rods, and if I want a 1 1/8" rod I have to go with a 2" bore. The problem with the 2" bore aftermarket cylinders is that they won't fit into the loader frame, they are too wide. So, my question is if a 1" rod will be significantly weaker than 1 1/8" and maybe bend?
You may be asking why I am even talking about new aftermarket cylinders. Well that's because the hydraulic shop wants $400 labor to rebuild mine, which I think is outrageous as well. I can buy 2 brand new cylinders for less, they are just not the exact specs. After installing those, I will rebuild the leaking one and probably just sell the JD ones off, or keep them as backup. What I won't ever be doing is paying that much to a shop or paying that much for a seal kit again. I asked the aftermarket hydraulic shop about their seal kits and they are $25. JD seems to be way out of my price range for parts on this tractor.
I started searching for aftermarket cylinders but found out that JD made it to special specs. The bore is 1.75", and the rod is 1 1/8". When I look at aftermarket cylinders, those with a 1.75" bore only have 1" rods, and if I want a 1 1/8" rod I have to go with a 2" bore. The problem with the 2" bore aftermarket cylinders is that they won't fit into the loader frame, they are too wide. So, my question is if a 1" rod will be significantly weaker than 1 1/8" and maybe bend?
You may be asking why I am even talking about new aftermarket cylinders. Well that's because the hydraulic shop wants $400 labor to rebuild mine, which I think is outrageous as well. I can buy 2 brand new cylinders for less, they are just not the exact specs. After installing those, I will rebuild the leaking one and probably just sell the JD ones off, or keep them as backup. What I won't ever be doing is paying that much to a shop or paying that much for a seal kit again. I asked the aftermarket hydraulic shop about their seal kits and they are $25. JD seems to be way out of my price range for parts on this tractor.