Putting cylinder back together

[MNBobcat]

I'm rebuilding the lift cylinders on a John Deere tractor. I'm running into a problem getting the new seals to slide inside the cylinder housing. Being new, they are a larger diameter than the old seals that came out. I tried compressing them with a piston ring compressor and I also tried a plastic hammer and tapping them down as I worked my way around. Granted, I have a cheap ring compressor.

Just wondering if anyone has any tips?

 

[kennyd]

Try making a "sleeve" or "funnel" out of a cut up soda (or beer) can, and make sure to lube with some hydraulic oil. Once the piston is started pull the can out.

 

[Steave]

What KennyD said and I use vaseline on the seals and gently wobble the shaft around while pushing in. Generaly they are hard to get started and push in and I too use ring squeezers if I have to. When I use ring squeezers I have the cylinder secured in a chain vise and use a hydraulic ram to push the rod in. It's not the force from the ram that is needed but just a helping hand.

 

[aircommuter]

Looks very dry in the pictures, oil the cylinder bore and rings thoroughly. Then try pushing and rotating the rod in a slight circular motion.

 

[wdchyd]

Vee packings are very sensitive on the stack height......you need to recheck the height where they fit on piston, typically the stack needs to be .050 to .090" taller.

If the stack is too tall then too tight squashes out the diameter......you may need to remove one vee ring or machine down a male adapter to achieve a satisfactory fit

We use a scrap piece of honed ID tubing to preassemble and pretighten the piston nut, then remove scrap tubing and insert in barrel.....VIOLA:thumbsup:

 

[wdchyd]

Looks very dry in the pictures, oil the cylinder bore and rings thoroughly. Then try pushing and rotating the rod in a slight circular motion.

x2.......plus clean, grease, clean

 

[Norm W]

Make sure that the inside of the cylinder is is smooth with no burrs from the snap ring. The lubed rings must be able to slip in without any sharp ridges to impede them.

 

[MNBobcat]

I gave up and took it in to a shop and let them put it together. I can fix most things but when it gets to the point where its a huge struggle and nothing works I can't afford that kind of time. I tried some of the suggested tips here but had no luck. Ultimately, I suspect I needed to remove one of the packing seals. But....its all fixed!

Thank you all who helped!

 

[Sberry]

I am facing this now on the crowd cyl I posed about earlier. I have one of these to do this weekend too.

 

[MNBobcat]

I am facing this now on the crowd cyl I posed about earlier. I have one of these to do this weekend too.

I hope that yours goes better than mine. I've rebuilt cylinders before but this one was a bear.