Leaking front end loader cylinder

[Kenneth in Texas]

kubota L2800, almost 10 years old. Tell me please where is the best place to get a seal kit AND how big a job to install it? Never worked on one before but looks straight forward

 

[LD1]

Local hydraulic shop would be where I start. Should be able to match up by size.
Assuming this is a gland seal leak that is causing oil to leak on the ground??

 

[Kenneth in Texas]

Local hydraulic shop would be where I start. Should be able to match up by size.
Assuming this is a gland seal leak that is causing oil to leak on the ground??

yes right around the shaft, seal looks damaged

 

[Kenneth in Texas]

 

[JRobyn]

I had my local hydraulic repair shop do mine. Vetted them first with a local grading contractor. They constantly need some sort of hydraulic repairs and know who is good. Many advantages IMHO - they have tons of experience, all the right special tools, equipped to do piston/rod straightening and polishing if needed, know sources for high-quality aftermarket seals and bushings, TEST the finished repair, and WARRANTY it. And all at a cost about the same as just getting the parts from the OEM.

 

[LD1]

I'd start by taking it apart And going to a hydraulic shop.

There is more there than meets the eye. What you see that looks damaged isn't the seal that keeps the oil in. That's just a dust seal to keep debris and water out.

Take it apart. Could be a "packing", or could be some o-rings. Never had a Kubota cylinder apart so I don't know

 

[Kenneth in Texas]

I'd start by taking it apart And going to a hydraulic shop.

There is more there than meets the eye. What you see that looks damaged isn't the seal that keeps the oil in. That's just a dust seal to keep debris and water out.

Take it apart. Could be a "packing", or could be some o-rings. Never had a Kubota cylinder apart so I don't know

a good 60 miles from one plus the aftermath from the hurricane has everything hopping so i will more than likely attempt this fix myself any suggestions of where to get the seals online at?

UPDATE NOW when i say "it leaks" we are talking 3 drops oil oil in 60 seconds ONLY when the shaft is not extended, not when the shaft is all the way out.

 

[LD1]

a good 60 miles from one plus the aftermath from the hurricane has everything hopping so i will more than likely attempt this fix myself any suggestions of where to get the seals online at?

UPDATE NOW when i say "it leaks" we are talking 3 drops oil oil in 60 seconds ONLY when the shaft is not extended, not when the shaft is all the way out.

Your local dealer will probably have parts as cheap as any kubota parts dealer online.

Messicks is a good source for parts and diagrams. But my dealer is usually similar in price. And tax is cheaper than shipping usually unless its a really expensive part

 

[deminin]

I had a similar leak on one of the cylinders on my 15 yr. old B2910/LA402 loader, this past Winter. I ordered a seal kit from my Kubota dealer, with the idea of rebuilding the cylinder when warmer weather arrived. In the interim, I added about 6 ounces of "Lucas Oil Hydraulic oil booster and sealer", which I bought from a local auto parts store. Within a couple of hours use, the leak stopped, and I haven't lost a drop of fluid since. I have the seal kit, and may need it some day, but for now, there aren't any more "spots" on the workshop floor, and the fluid level is staying full.

 

[Kenneth in Texas]

Re: Leaking front end loader cylinder-UPDATE

well the seal kit finally arrived, mine was a whopping $80 for what amounted to some rubber and nylon looking seals, now thats how you make money, you sell $2 worth of stuff for idiots like me for $80 but oh well what can one do.

Anyway, got the seals, read a bunch about it and watched some videos, didnt appear too tough and had read on some forums that it was a bear and take it to a shop etc etc etc. almost had me spooked since Ive never in 60 years put on a seal kit on a hydraulic cylinder before but nevertheless figured I would give it a try.

One of the most easiest things Ive really ever done, i was amazed how simple and straightforward it was, messy but very easy to do, took longer to round up the tools than it did to take the cylinder apart and re-seal it. Probably 30 minutes I was done taking it off, taking it apart and then putting it back together.

I did learn that my loader, the kubota La463 has a possible 3 kits that fit depending on what cylinders kubota put on it, of course my kit wasnt the cheapest one which didnt surprise me since nothing works out perfectly for me but anyway it came, its installed, it doesnt leak anymore

I must have damaged the wiper and the gland seal earlier in the week pushing some brush around. Had to be a small but very hard small stick that hit the wiper just right and pushed past that and into the gland seal, tearing both up pretty good. Amazing that the angle was just right that the stick hit the cylinder just right to go up into my cylinder a good inch or so and fit in an area the width of a dime

Here's some pics of the damaged seals in case some havent seen whats up in your hydraulic cylinders. The kit came with all the O rings and other seals and although the existing ones looked good (only 500 hours on tractor) I went ahead and replaced all them while I was in there.