Weld broken hydraulic cylinder stanchion rod

[Sebculb]

Hola everyone,

Today I dropped a big rock on the chromed stanchion rod of the stabilizer foot on my backhoe and it broke. Sheared right off. Really should be more careful.

Can I Weld this with satisfactory results? My backhoe mechanic (who has repeatedly made it clear that I should always take his advice unquestioningly with the credibility of a cult leader) says it's not a good idea. I'm stubborn and a pretty decent welder so I'm inclined to try it anyway.

It's broken pretty close to the end of the rod's run, next to the cylinder and where all the seals are. I'd have to disassemble it and remove the seals to keep them from getting cooked.

I'd bevel top and bottom sides of both pieces to the center. Perhaps even do it with a chop saw at 45'.. Then clamp it in a piece of angle iron and start filling it in with metal. 7018? Stainless? Thin 6013 in the center for the first pass just to get it stuck? Let it cool completely between passes? This is just my idle conjecture. Then I'd take it to a shop to have it turned round again

Reading online I saw someone else who was a machinist say they usually bore out both pieces 3/4 of the thickness, thread it, insert a hardened threaded stud and Weld the last bit around. This sounds good except that 3/4 of the rod is hollow where the internal stud starts and finishes. Seems like it could shear off. If a Weld turns out "good", it seems like it'd be sturdier to me.

But I'm just a jackass with a stick welder, what do I know.

It's an 8 ton 4wd deere backhoe that works stupid hard so it's gotta be good. My mechanic says if the fix breaks inside the cylinder I'll have an even more expensive problem.

Any advice? Anyone think this is feasible? Thanks!

 

[GeneV]

So is that the piston rod, then? If yeh, I might try it just for fun, but hmm, I dunno man. That rod is riding on seals, it's needs a smooth, uniform surface, and it needs to be true. You're gonna need to re-chrome it as well. If you need to rebuilt, maybe hit up a metal supplier for a chromed rod of same diameter, take it to the machine shop, have them turn it to spec.

 

[Sebculb]

Piston rod then ? Not stanchion? New to this vocabulary in English everything I do for work is in spanish usually.

Getting a new piece of chromed rod iswhat my mechanic says but it'll probably cost $400-500 real easily and I'd like to avoid paying that.

I'd take it to be turned smooth at a machine shop so it'd be at least as smooth as all the other nicked and abraded rods I have that have been sanded smooth and keep working. I've also seen plenty of mildly bent rods that work fine. (none of mine are bent)

My main concern is the strength of the Weld. Do you think you could get a strong enough piece of metal to keep working? Thanks.

 

[GeneV]

Piston rod then ? Not stanchion? New to this vocabulary in English everything I do for work is in spanish usually.

Getting a new piece of chromed rod iswhat my mechanic says but it'll probably cost $400-500 real easily and I'd like to avoid paying that.

I'd take it to be turned smooth at a machine shop so it'd be at least as smooth as all the other nicked and abraded rods I have that have been sanded smooth and keep working. I've also seen plenty of mildly bent rods that work fine.

My main concern is the strength of the Weld. Do you think you could get a strong enough piece of metal to keep working? Thanks.

"I'm stubborn and a pretty decent welder..."

I'm only one of those things haha, guess which one? Well look here, ships and skyrises get welded together, why not piston rods?

You in Costa Rica, huh? Curious you're choosing 6013 for root pass, is that common there? I heard that's real common in Europe and Asia as well. Here, everybody preaches 6010 or 6011 for root passes.

 

[Sebculb]

I dunno really, that's why I was asking. 6011 and 6010 are very difficult to come by here. 6013 3/32 is everywhere for construction purposes . Figured I'd just tack it in the center with that cuz a 1/8 7018 would blow right through probably.

7018? Is that what to use? How about stainless steel rod, to keep the welded portion from rusting?

Will this stick properly or will it be like the time I tried to Weld the handle back on a cast iron frying pan with 6013? That was pretty early on I've learned some since then

 

[ptsg]

I built the cylinders for my homemade loader from scratch and used 6013 on everything. Worked very well and haven't any problems so far.

 

[GeneV]

I built the cylinders for my homemade loader from scratch and used 6013 on everything. Worked very well and haven't any problems so far.

View attachment 670759View attachment 670758

Oh those are real nice welds man, very nice! I'm new to stick, actually I'm fairly new to all welding actually, but I sure do like welding with 6013 as well.

Sebculb, I guess outside of the US, everybody using 6013 for root and then 7018 on top of that, at least that's what I been hearing.

 

[LouNY]

Piston rod then ? Not stanchion? New to this vocabulary in English everything I do for work is in spanish usually.

Getting a new piece of chromed rod iswhat my mechanic says but it'll probably cost $400-500 real easily and I'd like to avoid paying that.

I'd take it to be turned smooth at a machine shop so it'd be at least as smooth as all the other nicked and abraded rods I have that have been sanded smooth and keep working. I've also seen plenty of mildly bent rods that work fine. (none of mine are bent)

My main concern is the strength of the Weld. Do you think you could get a strong enough piece of metal to keep working? Thanks.

Check Bailey Hydraulics,
a 48 inch long 2 inch diameter chromed rod is $160.
Product Type: Hydraulic Cylinder Components

Also in their paper catalog they have/had a section for making the pistons and rods.

 

[grsthegreat]

I wouldnt think the whole cylinder would cost $400.00. My 2.5” x 24” log splitter cylinder ran $240.00, and its larger and has more power than a stabilizer cylinder. Have you measured it and checked online for retrofit unit?

 

[Sebculb]

Ptsg - that's pretty cool that you made your own cylinders. They look great!

Lou NY and Grsthegreat - both of those look like good options except that here in Costa Rica it's very difficult to obtain things from abroad. High import taxes and it takes forever, especially in covid world. 1/2 kilo of 7018 is available at the corner hw store for about $6 and I can handle it over the weekend. Makes the country butcher option more attractive.