Hydraulic Cylinder Seals Questions

[lincmercguy]

I'm rebuilding the lift cylinders on my JD 521 loader mounted to a 5105 (2001 model). The parts book shows many more seals than are actually on the cylinder, so the parts kits include several different extra seals, which is expected. However, I'm not finding replacements for two of the seals in the kit.

On the rod guide inner seals, there isn't one to match the seal towards the piston nut (towards the cylinder). The original seal is on the bottom of this picture, and the other seals are what are remaining. It's a 40x48x6 seal according to the number on it. The bottom seal on the right is the same style, but slightly larger, so it won't fit.

There's a drawing with the parts kit that has a section on older style ag loaders that says to omit this seal as kit doesn't include it. I don't believe it will stay sealed if I don't install one.

On the rod guide outer seals, there is an o-ring that doesn't seem to have a replacement (black ring on the left). The clear ring is pretty close, but slightly larger in size and diameter. The two seals on the right were in the kit, but smaller diameter.

The parts book isn't a lot of help on this one.

 

[JimRB]

Did you get a 17 and 19 kit? When I fixed my curl cylinders for a different model loader it had all the seals, o-rings, backers, and wear guides in the kit.

 

[lincmercguy]

Did you get a 17 and 19 kit? When I fixed my curl cylinders for a different model loader it had all the seals, o-rings, backers, and wear guides in the kit.

20 and 23 from this page

https://partscatalog.deere.com/jdrc/sidebyside/equipment/77758/referrer/navigation/pgId/2371832

Yeah, strange that it didn't have them, I expected some extras for different styles.

 

[MTGreen]

I ended up taking both seal kits and the cylinder in to a hydraulic shop on my 541 loader and they told me it wasn't complete and they charged me for a seal off the shelf. Sounds like your related 521 has a similar issue

 

[lilranch2001]

I think most people would do well, and taking their cylinders to a shop, rather than trying to do it themselves.
Shop guys have a lot of experience with it and if you’re shop is a good shop you’re going to get a much better job than trying to do it on your own bench

 

[lincmercguy]

I ended up taking both seal kits and the cylinder in to a hydraulic shop on my 541 loader and they told me it wasn't complete and they charged me for a seal off the shelf. Sounds like your related 521 has a similar issue

That's probably what it is. There are some differences between the two, but the seal kits are the same P/N.

 

[lincmercguy]

Dealer wasn't a ton of help. They're going to order the #24 kit to see if it has what's needed. I'll see how it turns out.

Usually, JD is pretty good about these things, so it's a bit annoying.

 

[jyoutz]

The hydraulic shops don’t really order parts kits. They just measure and match the seals on your cylinders. They usually stock about any sizes needed.

 

[lincmercguy]

The hydraulic shops don’t really order parts kits. They just measure and match the seals on your cylinders. They usually stock about any sizes needed.

That's what I would expect. I'm not sure if there's one in town. It's smaller, but a lot of agriculture in the area.

 

[rScotty]

That's what I would expect. I'm not sure if there's one in town. It's smaller, but a lot of agriculture in the area.

In the rural communities there is usually a hydraulic shop in any ag or construction area. The one we use doesn't advertise and doesn't have an office or staff. All the industrial and mechanical shops know where they are, and that is who they mostly serve.
rScotty

 

[lincmercguy]

Doing some research, the outer o-ring is correct, so I'm good there. Now to wait for the buffer seal to arrive and see if it fits.

 

[lincmercguy]

Well, the kit with #24 in the drawing had the right seal. Notice there are three parts in there and only two with part numbers.

Now to get it all together and see if it all works.

 

[EddieWalker]

I haven't had to rebuild any cylinders on my 5065E, but I have had to rebuild them on my NH Backhoe and Case Dozer. I did them myself at first, but for whatever reason, they didn't seem to last very long. I'm sure I kinked one, or twisted it trying to get it all back together again.

My NH Parts Guy told me that they send all their cylinders to a rebuild shop that was just up the road from there. NH is really wacky on their parts kits. They also updated the piston on a lot of their cylinders, so you have to buy a new piston for $100 to $150 and the parts kit for that piston, and probably a dozen other pistons for another $100 to $150. After spending almost $300 for all of that stuff, and only using a small part of the kit, I still had to do all the work.

The rebuild shop just orders the exact parts that it needs to do your cylinder. It's usually less then $10 in parts, and labor can run anywhere from $80 to $120. I've never had to wait more then three days for them to call me and tell me that it's done. So far, they have been perfect. I've never had to rebuild one a second time since paying them to do it. I'm sure I'll wear them out and need another rebuild, but that happens with a lot of use. I use my backhoe more then my other tractors combined!!!

If the kit you bought for your cylinder is missing parts, could it be that you also have to buy a new piston to upgrade your cylinder? It could be that Deere is as wacky as NH with doing all they can to make a buck off of their parts departments!!!

 

[MTGreen]

I haven't had to rebuild any cylinders on my 5065E, but I have had to rebuild them on my NH Backhoe and Case Dozer. I did them myself at first, but for whatever reason, they didn't seem to last very long. I'm sure I kinked one, or twisted it trying to get it all back together again.

My NH Parts Guy told me that they send all their cylinders to a rebuild shop that was just up the road from there. NH is really wacky on their parts kits. They also updated the piston on a lot of their cylinders, so you have to buy a new piston for $100 to $150 and the parts kit for that piston, and probably a dozen other pistons for another $100 to $150. After spending almost $300 for all of that stuff, and only using a small part of the kit, I still had to do all the work.

The rebuild shop just orders the exact parts that it needs to do your cylinder. It's usually less then $10 in parts, and labor can run anywhere from $80 to $120. I've never had to wait more then three days for them to call me and tell me that it's done. So far, they have been perfect. I've never had to rebuild one a second time since paying them to do it. I'm sure I'll wear them out and need another rebuild, but that happens with a lot of use. I use my backhoe more then my other tractors combined!!!

If the kit you bought for your cylinder is missing parts, could it be that you also have to buy a new piston to upgrade your cylinder? It could be that Deere is as wacky as NH with doing all they can to make a buck off of their parts departments!!!

Absolutely agree after doing several: $100-200 in parts and it's invariably a PITA requiring several hours and even more if you do the polishing job too. If you live within driving distance of a decent hydraulic shop it's totally worth it IMO. My shop even spray paints the outside and provides me with the oddball size line o-rings -all for about $200 up to about a 2.5" cylinder. How much is your time and aggravation worth?

 

[lincmercguy]

Got the first cylinder back together last night. No issues running the loader and no drips from the seals overnight. I'll run it outside for a while today to get the hydraulic fluid nice and warm and run it just to make sure everything is good. I'll tackle the second if everything goes right with the first.

 

[lincmercguy]

So far, so good.

 

[lincmercguy]

I got the other cylinder fixed a couple of weeks ago. It was much faster since I knew a little more of what I was doing. So far, they seem good.

 

[RandyT]

In the rural communities there is usually a hydraulic shop in any ag or construction area. The one we use doesn't advertise and doesn't have an office or staff. All the industrial and mechanical shops know where they are, and that is who they mostly serve.
rScotty

You are correct about local hydraulic shops are not well advertised. My local cylinder repair place is actually part of a welding shop.