Splitter cylinder leaking

[Polish hammer]

Are these marks the cause of my leak I rebuilt this cylinder 6 months ago.. all was good now within the last 2 weeks of use it keeps getting worse.. is the ram shot or should I weld a stop to short stroke it or just scrap it and get a new one

 

[FlyingDutchman]

Do the marks catch your fingernail? you can sand them down and buy time, keep them from damaging the seals more. But once the chrome rod is dingered, thats all you can do is buy time. It will still leak some around the dings, even with new seals (it won't be perfect). But if they are abrasive, damage has been done.

IMO, they don't look extremely rough/abrasive or deep. You should see my splitter's rods! It looks serviceable to me. Its the lengthwise scratches that really leak, anyway, the shortways ones that can be seal rippers.

Is your head gland tight? Did you install the seals the proper direction? Sometimes seals get dinged on install.

If its coming out of there "pretty good" and everything is installed right, its likely that one of the high pressure seals in the head gland has failed. Sometimes, they can put in a different seal type to help overcome sealing issues especially if your fluid gets particularly hot. The seal OEM might have been Viton and your new seal kit might have had regular seals and they are already cooked. I'm sure a hydraulic shop would love to put a rod in it for you, too! Lol.

Any more info you can provide about the system, such as the operating temperature, pressure, the seal kit source (IE... reputable hydraulic shop, China Ebay kit) type of cylinder...

 

[Polish hammer]

Yes all marks catch finger nail easy I don’t have any length wise scratches but since new seals have been installed I’d bet I did between 6-8 full cords of wood now when you cycle it it puts out.. it’s a homemade joby that someone else built no pressure gauge seal kit came from a reputable hydraulic shop that deals with only hydraulic stuff.. cylinder I have no idea it has a 2.5” rod head gland is tight

 

[FlyingDutchman]

Sand it down like car paint, start rough, work down 200 or so. Get it smooth so it doesn't keep catching and damaging the seals. If you don't think it would cut your finger it likely won't damage seals. Just gotta get it smooth and ripply so the seals can ride on it

You'll want to replace anything that rod slid through if it was rough.

 

[muddstopper]

Sanding the nicks out will help, but wont stop the leaking, especially if the seals are already damaged. Replacing the rod is expensive. At best you are only going to find a temporary fix. One option is to fill the nicks with another material. Any process that involves welding and heat is going to ruin the chrome coating on the rod and could cause possible separation between plating and rod. Two options I can think of to fill the voids. One is to use a oil resistant epoxy and then sanding. The second is a oil resistant paint. POR15 comes to mind as it is a epoxy paint. It is very wear resistant and isn't effected by oil. Its also very expensive buying in quart cans. If the rod is cleaned and then ruffed up with sandpaper, the por15 should stick. Don't get it on you or you will have to wear it off. Once the por15 is dry, you can finish sand it down to the surface level of the rod. Warning, it is very hard to sand so try to get just enough on the rod to fill the nicks. A flat file instead of sandpaper might work better. I haven't used POR15 for this type of repair, but believe it will work if applied and finished properly. I have used POR 15 when exposed to harsh abrasive chemicals and the stuff just doesn't wear out and it about takes a grinder to get it off of surfaces you didn't intend to paint. Doesn't come out of hair either, don't ask me how I know.

 

[JeffHK454]

Polish the nicks and fill with epoxy .. Belzona 1221 is what we used at the shop I worked at..blend the epoxy the same way you prepped the ram making sure you don't have any high areas.

Then rotate the ram 180⁰ so you got the nicked area passing over a different portion of the gland/wiper..it will still leak but it might better...depends how messed up the gland packing is.

 

[kevin j]

Sand and stone down, to very fine like 3000 grit or finer. Then clean thoroughly with ether or alcohol let it dry and apply super glue light coat. sand or stone it between superglue coats. use a thin strip of sandpaper wrapped around the shaft and rock back-and-forth like is done polishing up a shaft. . it might take five or 10 Super glue applications but I’ve used it on low pressure hydraulics 1500 psi or do. Seal is probably damaged though and needs to be replaced. if all of that fails then you’ll have to replace the cylinder. It’s cheaper than having a new rod built

 

[Polish hammer]

Thanks for the replies I checked into just a new rod and turning the ends how I need them(I’m a machinist) but cuz it’s a 2.5” rod the best price I found was 76$ a foot plus my time and labor decided against that.. I may try sanding it or filling it in won’t hurt if I screw up thanks

 

[Jhenderson]

Don’t sand. Stone only. A fine one at that. Sanding will spoil the chrome away from the damaged area. All you need do is remove the raised area. Don’t try to get the vee out. It will leak for sure then.

 

[JeffHK454]

Don’t sand. Stone only. A fine one at that. Sanding will spoil the chrome away from the damaged area. All you need do is remove the raised area. Don’t try to get the vee out. It will leak for sure then.

You’re actually backwards on that ..the stone puts way more isolated pressure on a specific area where emery cloth is much less likely to leave a low spot. The chrome on a hyd. rod is super hard and would take a lot sanding to change the dia. more than .0005.

The hyd. shop I worked at use to have rods chemical stripped and re-chromed and we refinished the O.D using a variety of emery cloth on a gravity polisher mounted in a lathe.

 

[Jhenderson]

Isolated pressure is the idea. Only on the raised burr and not on the digger or surrounding area. As for chrome? I never use it. I prefer to use ground and polished. Pitted or scratched chrome is far more likely to tear a seal than a dent in ground and polished.