Hyd ram problem

wildcard

Member
I think I have a couple of rams that are bad. They work but have very little power. This is on a backhoe and the rest work fine. How do I check them and how hard is it to rebuild them??????
 

Mith

Active member
Do the rams leak down when you leave them up? If they do leak down (if you plug the ram ports) then you have internal leakage in the rams seals.

I guess you could eliminate the valve by connecting a pressure guage to the work port of the valve and check that is is getting full pressure. If the other rams are working fine them you really only have the options of a worn valve spool or a leaking ram.

Its quite do-able to rebuild rams yourself, I've not done one myself, but apart from needing a bit of brute force and some large tools I understand its quite straight forward. On most, or the ones I have come across atleast, you have a nut on the rod end of the ram, you undo that nut and the rod and seals should slide out. Then you have a nut on the end of the rod that you undo to take the seals off. You can buy seal kits based on the rod and bore size of the ram, I think the material of the seal is also a factor, but the supplier for the kit would probably be able to offer guidance with that.
I'm sure that there is someone here who has rebuilt rams who knows more.
 

OhioTC18

Well-known member
Gold Site Supporter
1-4 hours is a pretty wide estimate, but different brands take longer times I'd imagine. I really don't see how one could be done for much less than 1 hour.
 

Mith

Active member
That sounds reasonable. If either of the nuts are stubborn (and they usually are) its possible to sink an hour just getting it undone.
 

Peanut

Well-known member
SUPER Site Supporter
yes 1/4 hours is a good estimate on rebuilding a ram. i used to build hrdralic cranes and we sometimes took the rams apart to weld up scars and stuff and it was an all day job. but just to take down and change out o rings i would say 1/4 hours but more leaning to the 4 hour mark.
 
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