i know its cracked, it leaks. i just can't find it. any suggestions? kiko, bush mechanic?
What I would do is dry it off good then spray it with brake cleaner. Then bottom the cylinder in both directions and you should see it peezing out through where the crack is. If you find it then when you go to weld it make sure there is no oil to contaminate the weld or it won't work. I drain the oil out and then I use the torch to heat and burn off any left over oil before welding it. Oh and when you suspect you know where the crack is if you grind it then you will see the crack good because the grinder dust will stick the oil coming from the crack. Good luck.
i couldn't see any thing but oil running on the ground, so i removed it, cleaned it, disassembled it, can't find it. put it back together, put 20psi air to it and soap, still no leak. yet on the machine it leaked badly. maybe it only leaks hot?
Youre certain it wasnt the hoses in a tight spot? Bad swivels or cracked seat inside the swivel ?
Fill ram with fluid, cap the ports with pressure gauges and put it in a press or woodsplitter. Chain to tree and winch it back open. Look real hard at welds for porosity or poor adhesion around the edges.
Be careful. Not to bend the rod or break your face.
We follow the same procedure as Bushmechanic. Make sure you don't have a pinhole in a hose, and be CAUTIOUS!! of pressurized hydraulics! I'm sure you already looked at your rod seals. If it's a crack, if you get it all cleaned of it presents itself pretty easily. Wherever the oil is, is where the crack is- unless it's being sprayed from somewhere else.
Quote from: mike_belben on September 24, 2017, 04:56:57 PM
Youre certain it was the hoses in a tight spot? Bad swivels or cracked seat inside the swivel ?
Fill ram with fluid, cap the ports with pressure gauges and put it in a press or woodsplitter. Chain to tree and winch it back open. Look real hard at welds for porosity or poor adhesion around the edges.
Be careful. Not to bend the rod or break your face.
i suppose it is possible the flare was cracked. i couldn't get hand that close, but the hose itself was dry. i don't think deere could cover it up so ya can't see any worse if they tried. i guess i'll repack and reinstall and go from there.
What cylinder is it your having trouble with, steering? If you can't see it leaking in the machine due to space what I would suggest if you really think it is the ram is to extend on the hydraulic hose and get it out of the machine where you can see it when in operation. Putting 20 psi on it probably won't show you a thing unless it's a really bad crack, the systems are at 2000/2500 or 4000 psi depending on the make of the machine. What kind of machine is it?
540B grapple. fluid runs out some where near the bottom close to the anchor/base. not been long i replaced the line on that end, really thought it was faulty but it was dry. i guess it could been the fitting but as bad as it leaked i would think i could of seen that.
yes, right steering cylinder.
Please don't use brake cleaner on something that will be welded. Chlorinated solvents degrade into a strong nurotoxin when exposed to strong UV light. It only takes a tiny residue, there have been guys badly injured. Use a carb cleaner that is only petroleum distillates; works very well.
CarlR, I've never heard of this before. Can you share more about it?
Google "welding brake cleaner" and what comes up are references to Phosgene Gas. If I remember correctly that is mustard gas. Nasty stuff.
http://www.brewracingframes.com/safety-alert-brake-cleaner--phosgene-gas.html
Repaired a porous weld on the cap of a Morbark harvester cylinder earlier this summer. I think it was an original part(?) and had not been leaking for long.
Dealt with it as Bushmechanic suggested earlier, but without the brake cleaner.
OK, with a better internet connection, I'll add to this bit about brake cleaner and welding.
From: https://m1-garand-rifle.com/gun-safety/brake-cleaner.php:
"Be very careful to avoid cleaning solvents that include tetrachloroethylene, also called perchloroethylene or PERC and other names." "Unlike many other organic solvents such as acetone, toluene, and others, tetrachloroethylene is not flammable. This nonflammability makes it attractive for dry cleaning and industrial applications. It is much less volatile than other components of these spray solvent cleaners, so it will remain in pits and crevices after more volatile components like acetone and methanol have evaporated. The danger is that tetrachloroethylene oxidizes into highly poisonous phosgene at temperatures above 315 °C (or 599 °F)." This article above goes into more detail that is worth reading.
It doesn't reference UV light. OSHA says that Ultraviolet rays given off by welding can react with chlorinated hydrocarbon solvents to produce phosgene. Any Chlorinated solvents must be at least 200 feet away from the welding.
As a rule, nothing with chlorine in any form or any ingredient with "chlor" as part of the name used on something to be welded.
sounds like you need another set of eyes... just dont crush your grape. pull your floor board and see if its a hose leaking above it
Leak detection - might have wrapped the cylinder in plastic to be sure where the oil was coming from.
flaw detector spray - https://www.rocol.com/products/crack-detection-developer-spray (also other ways of crack testing/ dection.)
Any hydraulic cylinder test rigs handy?
https://youtu.be/8XNEUzb-1SA
oh and on a little side note about brakekleen and welding/fire, i once used brakekleen to clean off some greasy parts before i welded them up and the fumes it gave off literally took my breath away. i was like "done, sir done" out of commission for the remainder of the day. i actually went in and googled what was in the stuff and contemplated a hospital visit, it was bad.
Almost died from diesel fumes. That was the worst 5 days of being curled up when i wasnt spraying out both ends i ever had.
Runner up was flipping over a stainless coil that was full of ammonia refrigerant. It was like snorting ether.
Well now I did not know anything like that about brake cleaner! Thanks CarlR that's noted on my do not do list and sorry to everyone for suggesting that. Main thing is never to be to proud to admit when your wrong! I guess I'll revert back to gasoline.