955K leaking cylinders

[wagspe208]

LoL...looks like wags was one minute ahead of me in posting.

HA And you are light years ahead of me in actual knowledge. I just typed faster.
Wags

[jgbmo]

I recently replaced right lift cylinder on 1969 955K with a good used one. We pulled the entire cylinder rather than removing gland and pulling the rod/piston. If I had to do it over again, I'd pull the gland with rod and piston. It's gotta be less work that way.

[didjit]

I got my rods rebuilt and it wasn't as bad as I had thought it was gonna be. I'm gonna put things back together this week hopefully and see how I did. If all goes well, I'll reward myself by pulling the lift cylinders and doing the same thing with them

It took me, a 10 foot section of pipe, my fattest buddy, and a torch to get the nut off the rod. Good times!

[didjit]

I finally got a few hours to spend working on the loader this afternoon, and wound up putting it all back together. It was soooo much easier then I had thought it was going to be. So easy in fact I debated posting the pics, but someone asked me to do it, and it might help so I figured I should. Here's the thing, and I'm sure y'all are laughing so hard right now that I finally figured this out... It's tougher to get the things apart then it is to get them back together and the machine back together too. Wags said this is far from rocket science and he's totally right. It's really simple and to be honest, I spent more time doubting myself then I did actually wrenching. If your seals are leaking, do this. Like I said, my estimate from CAT was like $4500 and I'm fully convinced that I'm in the wrong line of work... Not that I could do this for a living, but I think that's a ridiculous price for something you can do yourself. At least I'd never pay that. Anyhow...

I took the lines off and let the hydro fluid out.



I propped up the cylinder barrel on some stuff that was around the worksite. I should have strapped this down. I'll get to that part later.



Knocking the old pins out was probably the hardest part. Mine were stuck like chuck. I tapped on them with a framing hammer and a tractor pin before welding a wedge backwards onto an old axle I had lying around and beating on them with a sledge. Out they came.



To pull the rods, I started with a wimpy 2000lb come-a-long and broke that pretty quickly. I had a strap around the rod arm that was connected to my loader bucket on the farm tractor so when I did pull the thing loose, It wouldn't fall and get dinged up. Basically a sling. I'll get to a pick of this "HOT SETUP" in a sec. Since the rod was hanging from the loader bucket, I fed a chain through the eye of the rod, and pulled it out with the dodge.

Here's a pic of the rod in the back of my truck. Wags was "on target". The nut is 3.25"



I put the eye of the rod through the drawbar on the farm tractor and put a stall mat over the lift arm. I got a pipe, a breaker bar, my 400lb buddy, and we pulled on the pipe but no dice. I totally wish I had a picture of the 400lb bubba hanging from a piece of pipe, but alas, I have failed you on this one!!! I heated the nut, and pop! off it came. Replacing the seals was a snap. I got mine from Bulldog. I payed less then $100 for both set. I'm not advertising for them, but aside from the sales girl being a compete ditz ("oh! we don't sell seals for caterpiller...") i was pleased with how it worked. They shipped quickly and all the parts were in the kit. The plates that hold the pins in make a good little tool to press the seals that go into the piston caps. I just layed a rag over the seal, put the plate on top, and gave it a few taps. The hot water trick worked for the rest. Wasn't hard at all.

I was worried about getting the whole mess back together, but like i said, that was the easy part. Less then 2 hours for the whole thing, and If I had someone helping it would have been quicker. So basically, yes, you can do this alone



That's my sling made out of tie-downs and recovery straps. I left the ratchet on the boom side as I quickly figured out getting things straight is the clutch here.

to be continued (aren't you excited?)

[didjit]

Once I had everything up in the sling, I just needed to get the piston in the barrel. I made sure that it was nice and clean. I used a scotchbrite pad to scour it, and make it pretty. Also, as someone suggested, I made sure there wasn't a bunch of broken seal pieces in there. I lined up the piston with the barrel, and sort of got it started. This went kinda slowly. I tapped on the end of the rod with a framing hammer until It started to go in. I just wanted to make sure the seals didn't cinch up on the lip of the barrel, so that went kinda slow. Once the seals were in the barrel, I knocked it the rest of the way in with a sledge.



I got it about this far in. I figured I could pull the cap in with the bolts if i torqued them down like putting on a cylinder head (which I guess is exactly what this is... )



The bolts pulled it in. Again, I wanted to do it slowly and evenly because there's a o-ring on that head that I didn't want to booger up.



Getting the pin back in was a lot easier then getting it out. I blocked the rod with some scrap wood, and could lift it up with the tractor bucket. This part was really easy.



Well there it is all back together. No big deal at all. In fact, in a sick sort of way, I'm looking forward to doing my lift cylinders this week.

The new seals look pretty good and no leaks!



Thanks again everyone! Like I said, you all are prolly laughin hard at this since it's prolly complete noob stuff, but i gotta admit, it had me a little worried. All the help here is invaluable, and I hope this helps someone!

[Nige]

Leak-free hydraulics. Puts a smile on your face don't it ........??

Congrats on a job well done. The rod nut's got Nyloc in it so having heated it to get if off a bit of Loctite might have gone been a good idea when you put it back. That's just nit-picking though.

[didjit]

Good call! I did loctite it, and i forgot to mention that before me and aforementioned lard mass cracked it, I gave the nut a wack with a chisel so I could line it up - like wags suggested. here's one for ya... i got done, loaded my truck, and went home right after I got it together as I suddenly came down with a sudden horrible sickness only a large pizza could cure. I totally wanna top off the hydraulic oil, but it sounds like the hydraulics are making a "overloaded" noise (like when I pulled the rods in and lowered the bucket flat) I figure it's air in the there, that I just need to work out easily. i want to top it off before I do anything else. in the book i have, I can't find a relief valve to get the air out... i'm thinking i totally need to "bleed" it, but i've also heard I don't need to as that system doesn't need it. the last thing i wanna do is mess up the pump. any ideas?

[wagspe208]

I finished my lift cylinders a couple weeks ago.
I propped up my bucket with the safety arm lever thing. It was fine, but it was a little scary. I SHOULD have chained it up also to my rops or something. Would have instantly killed my if safety failed (which I am sure it is engineered properly... be safe)
I propped up the lower cyls with some firewood I had laying around. Got them level ish. Not rocket science.
I removed the line from the end of the cylinder (rod end).
The biggest issue I had before was getting the heads to pop out. I DON"T RECOMMEND THIS! But it is safe IF YOU USE YOUR HEA!D! So, I loosened the 4 head nuts and backed them out about 3 turns. Still tons of thread engagement. I then cranked the engine and brought it to the lowest of idles and applied hyd. pressure to the lift cyls (tried to lift the bucket with the lever) AS SOON AS THE HEADS moved I shut it off and released hyd pressure. So, you are not loading the piston against the head with any real pressure. Get it. Think it out. Don't kill yourself by standing in front of it. legal disclaimer. Don't do it. OK
I then used my little loader on my tractor with a sling setup and drug the rod the rest of the way out. I dumped the fluid. If you care you need probably a 5 gallon bucket + per side to catch it.
Then rebuild same as the others. HEAT THE NUT! I just heated mine until the nylock starts to bubble a little bit. They spin right off that way. (well, with a 4x multiplier and or a long ass pipe) Again I chisel marked the nut and rod end. I then torqued stuff back together and the mark was slightly tighter. Like 1/8" off. No big deal.
The nut is the same size as the tilt cylinders. The biggest PITA was actually getting the wiper seal back on the rod. It goes in with lip towards the rod end and the end of this cyl. is not tapered like the tilt cyls. A little working and it went on.
I had the chic drive the tractor with loader/ sling setup. It is easy enough to eyeball the level, get it close and whack it with a hammer. It will slide in. (oh, remember to clean rust/ crap, etc from end of barrel and wipe out) Shove it in until you can get the head bolted in place. Bolt it, slide the rest of the way in and hook up the line and go.
Good luck.
Wags

[wagspe208]

Your "overload" noise is in fact air in the system. Use it easy for 10 minutes or just work the cyls full extend, then full retract. It will work out.
Wags

[didjit]

right on wags! you're ahead of me. I still gotta redo my lift cylinders, but they are maybe dripping 10 drops a day, so it's not really as immediate of a thing as my tilts which were gushing. I get some time off work next week, so once again you might have inspired me to do it.

since i got my tilts done and things are working, i've been messing around with the loader a bit, moving boulders and general clearing. I'd hate to be a stump on my farm these days.

thanks for posting! do you have a 4n1 on yours? those cylinders on mine are in the best shape of the lot, but they also look the easiest to get off and get resealed.

[wagspe208]

I have a gp bucket not a 4 in 1.
If yours are leaking 10 drops a day just consider it som extra lube. NOT a leak. HAHA
I ran the hell out of mine this weekend. I replaced pins and bushings as needed while doing the job. AMAZING how the wear in the pins exagerates the slop in the linkage. It is way better now. Not perfect, but neither am I at 43. HA I won't last anywhere near as long as this loader.
Now, the winter project is to replace the steering brakes. I am almost out of adjustment on one.
Wags

[Pete955K]

Quick ? for you 955K guys. How much throttle do you run when working? A neighbor runs his machine low to half throttle and I do the same. The mechanic who assists me with repairs says to run it just below WOT so all the pumps in the transmission will have sufficient oil pressure. Any thoughts?

[didjit]

Hi Pete - I'm prolly not the guy you should listen too regarding this since I'm a complete newbie with loaders. I'm a farmer and needed one to clear land so I'm not an expert by any means. The dude I bought mine from said to run it wide open, so I'm usually around there or a little less. Mostly been clearly in second gear an I drop throttle and to first when I get into really thick terrain or am pushing boulders. I guess I'm at the stage of operation where I try to keep conscious of putting it into neutral and stepping the brake if I wanna stop. I slow it down if I have to make a 90 degree turn or something like that.

I'm used to rubber tire tractors and so far when I feel the loader go up on one track on a rock it makes me swear (loudly) enough to send 3 souls to hell!

[PhilDirt]

Quick ? for you 955K guys. How much throttle do you run when working?

About 80 to 90% on my 955L. Less throttle and the machine doesn't respond properly. More and it's too jerky on gear changes. When I'm digging or pushing hard, then it's 100%, and I back off as soon as I can. Keeping the throttle slightly less than 100% unless you need it saves fuel too.

[Pete955K]

didjit & PhilDirt - Thanks for the replies. I'll start running more throttle.