My "new" old 5 ton Speeco splitter problem

[Windycity50]

Greetings,

Just looking for some advice if possible.

My uncle bought his 5 ton a couple years ago due to his over zealous ideas of splitting an oak he had taken down from his property. He never even plugged it in.

Fast forward to this weekend, he asked me if I wanted it for our family's property in northern Wisc...absolutely. Took her home, got online to check get the manual (he didn't save anything).

Being cautious, I drained the hydrolic fluid, and refilled to their specs with Dexron auto trans. So far so good. Turned her on and cycled it a few times, and saw it dripping from the front cylinder cover. I first thought maybe I overfilled, nope. After cleaning it off and cycling it again, this time watching it, I found a hairline crack on the face of the cylinder cover. Great...

Emailed / called Speeco today, was told what I thought I might hear, no tickie, no laundry...I called my uncle, he doesn't even remember where he bought it (he's 80), let alone have the receipt.

The Speeco rep, as I'm sure he's programmed to, told me there's absolutely nothing they can do..SOL. When I asked if its possible to order the front cylinder cover, he said its impossible due to them being made in china. Further telling me that its most likely made from pot metal and not weldible.

Having never had one log gone through it, and its never been mishandled or dropped etc...I can't imagine how this could have happened.

Has anyone here ever come across this problem? And if so, is a repair possible? The blowoff attitude from Speeco isn't surprising since I didn't buy it myself, but I'd hate to scrap this thing, its "brand new", sort of. Here's some pics for your amusement.

Thanks for any suggestions, Kevin. View attachment 314448

 

[stepup]

If it were mine I would JB Weld the heck out of it and see what happens. Worst thing that happens is it still leaks and you throw it away. Best case it holds and you have a free splitter. I have saw JB weld do some crazy stuff. I have also saw it fail on some of the craziest easy stuff imaginable so I would try it not expecting much but hoping for the best. By the way with JB Weld the prep work makes all the difference.

 

[Windycity50]

If it were mine I would JB Weld the heck out of it and see what happens. Worst thing that happens is it still leaks and you throw it away. Best case it holds and you have a free splitter. I have saw JB weld do some crazy stuff. I have also saw it fail on some of the craziest easy stuff imaginable so I would try it not expecting much but hoping for the best. By the way with JB Weld the prep work makes all the difference.

I thought about JB Weld, but that's a lot of pressure to put on it. I know it's difficult to weld pot metal, but that also depends on the quality of it and how much temp it can take before failing. Honestly it's got me baffled on how this can happen, and the more I dwell on it, I get more aggravated that this cylinder cover can't be got...

After work today I cleaned up the face again and put it back to horizontal, without turning it on, to see if it would seep out, rather how fast it would without pressure. It was easy to see the slow seepage using the red Dexron. Then wiped it clean and turned it on, and cycled it while watching the front again up close...

....three other leaking spots...on cylinder face, and all close to the round piston opening. Those I never noticed because they are perfectly along the seams.

I'm holding hope that someone might be able to identify how this could happen to a never used splitter...and possibly a solution.

Having been this close to receiving a great gift from uncle Ted, I was excited to put it to use as we have acreage and this would save my back from many advils. And I'm not opposed to shelling out for a good splitter, so perhaps this was a blessing in disguise as what splitter not to buy.

JB Weld would be a cheap solution, a long shot though. We shall see.

 

[rarefish383]

I wouldn't give up on finding the part. I was looking for some clutch parts for one of the Chinese trail bikes. It seems like the names carried by the big box stores change every couple years. Every one said no chance, they don't make that one any more. I was trying every combination of words that I thought might get me some info, and low and behold I hit a company that had a list of every Chinese trail bike and the names they went under and the parts for them. If they made that one for Speeco, they probably made more of them for other people, Joe.

 

[rarefish383]

I just googled Speeco 5 ton log splitter and it came up that Sears carried them. Try calling Sears, Joe.

 

[Windycity50]

I just googled Speeco 5 ton log splitter and it came up that Sears carried them. Try calling Sears, Joe.

Thanks Joe, its worth a shot. I will report back what I find...I'm on a mission to try to save this thing.

 

[MrWhoopee]

The 5-ton electric splitters are pretty much identical under the skin. Here are parts for the Homelite version.
Homelite UT49103 Parts List and Diagram : eReplacementParts.com

Edit: on closer examination, the parts for the cylinder assembly are not available separately.

 

[Fred Wright]

Just some thoughts...

5 tons isn't much for splitting firewood. It'll bust oak but I wouldn't recommend it for some of the tougher stuff. Also, if the cylinder end is made of pot metal, it's not designed for heavy use. You could replace the cylinder with another but you've still got a 5-T unit.

The end could have been defective right out of the box. Or it may have cracked when you started running it. JB Weld is nice stuff... but in this scenario - 5 tons of hydraulic pressure I wouldn't lay any heavy wagers on how long it'd last.

 

[Philbert]

Be careful about improvised repairs on hydraulic parts - they can lead to larger failures, or high pressure leaks (injection or amputation hazard).

I am not familiar with this splitter, and not sure exactly where this part goes. Too bad that the manufacturer does not make parts available, no matter where it is made: other companies import parts from China. Where do they get parts for splitters they repair under warranty?

You might try Northern Tool, as they sell parts/components for a lot of splitters and might have a similar one. You might try to pull the part and take it to a local welder to get their opinion. Would it be possible to 'back this up' with a steel plate?

Good luck.

Let us know what happens.

Philbert

 

[Whitespider]

I thought about JB Weld, but that's a lot of pressure to put on it.

Not as much pressure as you think. I looked up the specs for the Speeco electric... maximum hydraulic pressure is list as 20MPa, that's 2900 pounds per square inch! How much area does one of those cracks encompass?? Maybe 1/50[sup]th[/sup] that at the most?? That would only be around 58 pounds of pressure at any one crack/JB patch (at most). I'd clean it up it real good with alcohol, maybe rough it up with emery, and use the 24 hour cure JB Weld... put plenty on to help spread out the stress.

 

[stepup]

I still vote JB Weld. I'm telling you with good prep work I have saw it take care of some crazy stuff. If you will clean it up really well and then rough it up pretty good with a dremel tool the stuff will really hd some crazy stuff.

 

[Windycity50]

Thanks for all the replies and advice here!

Picked up some degreaser, and got a good deal on the 5 oz. JB Weld.

I'm going to drain completely (not sure if the dremmel would spark up on pot metal), just in case. Clean it completely, make some v grooves with the dremmel, clean her up again, and apply the JB liberally.

I plan to take pics of the project and will post my progress and results.

White spider I'm a little more optimistic after your findings, thanks for the info.

 

[billintx]

I have a 5 ton speeco and an older 5 ton task force splitter.
The end cover just seals the hydraulic reservoir.
There shouldn't be much pressure there unless you forget to open the bleed screw.
The ram is returned by the internal spring.
I would try the JB Weld

 

[Windycity50]

Place your bets....

I'll know in 10-14 hours (JB weld says) if I'm going to be able to save this splitter.

I degreased all areas, and used a small rounded grinder bit with the Dremmel into ALL of the seams. I figured since there were several failures, might as well prep and weld everything.

I used the plunger syringe, mixed the equal parts of the JB in the fat end, and mixed it up good. The syringe really helped get it where I wanted without making too much of a mess.

The honeycomb pattern on the cylinder cover made it a no brainier, just filled up each section about a third of the way. Used a wooded skewer pointed end and made sure there were no air pockets in each section.

The JB weld settled in each section nice and smooth.

I will report back in 14 hours, wish me luck! Thanks again for all the suggestions.

View attachment 315384View attachment 315385View attachment 315386View attachment 315387View attachment 315388

 

[zogger]

Should work. Good luck!

 

[Windycity50]

Im happy to report the splitter works perfectly. No leaks.

JB weld saved the unit and I'm looking forward to putting it to good use.

Thanks again everyone for the help.