Kubota Hydraulic Cylinder Repair Part 1: Cylinder Tear-Down & Inspection

This will be a 3 part series on rebuilding 4 Kubota hydraulic cylinders. All 4 of these cylinders are leaking oil, indicating the rod real is bad. In this first episode I'll tear down all 4 cylinders, remove the seals, clean, inspect, and measure up the glands for new seals.
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[@LordandGodofYouTube]

I've worked for a company that specializes in hydraulic cylinder repairs, and I can confirm that you know your stuff. Hopefully, you give those cylinders a good inspection and a light hone too, but I guess I'll find that out when I watch the new episode. I really enjoy the content you put out. Your knowledge, calm demeanor, and lack of political crap make your channel a nice place to visit.

[@ferrari2k]

21:00 I think we've all been there when that screwdriver suddenly slips and you need to go to the next body shop to buy yourself some new hand.... :D

[@jimnolimit]

I was thinking the same. In situations like that I put parts down on the table (or vise) and use at least a rag to protect my hand (while prying away from me).

[@assassinlexx1993]

Fun how you learn to use a knife and cut away from you. But a screwdriver will drive a hole in you . Ban screwdrivers ha ha ha😆

[@alexm66]

At least once a month for the past 40 years.

[@ferrari2k]

@@alexm66 that's a lot of new hands ;)

[@notsofresh8563]

@@alexm66 Not only that but after 20 years i am pretty accurate, i can hit the exact same spot in my palm every time.. That spot is never healed.....

[@Peter-V_00]

Some of you guys posting here need to take look back through Adam's video library, he's built and made way more hydraulic parts of every size and type you can picture, he did this for a living for many years for a well known national company before leaving them on good terms to pursue his own dreams.

[@BrianEltherington]

Yep

[@williamstarklauf6085]

Fact checked 👌 .for you nonbelievers

[@dougoliver2342]

I came to the comment section to see how many “experts” were going to tell him what he should have done differently.

[@grntitan1]

@@dougoliver2342 Guaranteed every video. Usually done very rudely as well.

[@SedatedandRestrained]

I didn't think Adam owned a handheld drill lol, he always uses the mill or mag drills!

[@MrThisIsMeToo]

LOL. I was thinking the same thing. Think this is the first time I ever saw him use a cordless drill to drill a hole.

[@uhhhhh262]

Those dewalt toys looked so out of place

[@nannettecothran4387]

Adam, Being in industry quite a while, I have used ceramic coatings to fill impressions to get the job done & not have to replace entire shafts & get the job back out to be used, these have to be rasped, ground or sand papered back to shaft size, then get the job back out into use, then order new shafts for later repair. Surprising how durable the ceramics are. Michael

[@KenMrKLC]

I have had luck with JB Weld , I have a bobcat lift cylinder thats been in use for 8 years and still not leaking after filling in cracked rusted gaps in the rod. I would say thousands of hours use (2000-3000 area)

[@AUMINER1]

thank you for taking the time to show how this is done - i'm getting ready to rebuild my own bobcat cylinders soon - this is perfect timing! thank you!!

[@jacobogden6710]

I used to do this all the time, worked for a major forklift company, this was basically half my job. Some cylinders are worse than other but the little seal bending tools are a huge help in those tight inner bores. Some cylinders were such a tight fit that I used a come along to pull the rod out of the cylinder. In the field if we didn’t have the right spanned most would use a variety of punches, find one that fits, a little tappy tap tap to get her free, then spin it off.

[@markjackson6288]

Adam already has a seal installation kit .....I'd never seen one before he did a demo marvellous things

[@jacobogden6710]

@@markjackson6288 yeah it’s life changing

[@williamstarklauf6085]

Tappy tap tap.lol🤣🤣🤣🤣.ave.

[@jacobogden6710]

@@williamstarklauf6085 used to watch him a lot, pretty tired of his newer stuff

[@ramanshah7627]

Warmed my heart to see Abom Torque back in action :D

[@paulhunt598]

Your work at Motion Industries gave you a lot more cylinder repair opportunity than was in my experience. There are so many seal styles my limited experience makes me lack confidence to specify generic seals. I always relied heavily on manufacturer part numbers to avoid errors.

[@KimbrellBrad]

Always good to see practical "around the farm / home" type repairs. Hydraulics are an area many of us are not as comfortable with as other repairs. Great intro video to the process!

[@ThomasLips]

Fernando is pretty lucky to have a stepson like you 👍👍👍

[@ricklemberg2628]

Thank you for the great explanation during the work!

[@peteengard9966]

So glad you didn't go to the pipe wrench. I've seen a lot of messed up gland nuts chewed up by chisels and pipe wrenches.

[@musicalBurr]

The key word today is “Deteriorated”! (Love your videos Adam - keep up the great work.)

[@silasmarner7586]

There was some very deferred maintenance there!

[@Fix_It_Again_Tony]

Looks like the machine those cylinders came from has spent some serious time in the sun.

[@tbernardi001]

"Happens with age" Guess I am deteriorated too.

[@madjack3314]

I was a machinist in a hydraulic shop 25 years ago. The chain wrench or chain vice grip would be the perfect tool to remove the glands when you don’t have the proper spanner wrench.

[@philliphall5198]

I agree and I’ve used it many times

[@robertscholz4486]

Suggestion for a project: instead of buying another wrench with different sized pins ... make a set with removable pins that thread in and stick through. Just a thought.

[@MichaelOfRohan]

Or just make sperate heads to go on 1/2 inch drive Kinda like aves claw lift thing

[@firesurfer]

There are companies that already make them with interchangeable pins.

[@LesNewell]

@@firesurfer Yup, I recently bought a Facom one with a range of pin sizes. You just screw in the pins you need.

[@dorhocyn3]

I have a automotive clutch fan tool kit that has something like that in it and I end up using it frequently for that kind of thing. Matter fact, I might recommend people to buy one of those kits because it also has some giant wrenches in it that can be kind of handy

[@silasmarner7586]

@@daviddorge1559 It happens.... :)

[@nickblood5040]

This is my go to reality channel on youtube. Just do the job and do it right.

[@Chippy569]

OTC makes a really great spanner wrench (tool # 6613) with swappable pins. I use it for automotive work plenty but looks like it would have been perfect for these cylinders.

[@Pyle81]

I was going to say when I built my Form 1 suppressor a few yrs back. The end caps use a adjustable 2 pin spanner wrench to remove and replace the end caps. Then we modified the next can we built (Approved From 1 also) to a Monolithic core, and used the same system. Repair or making a new Hydraulic cylinders on any piece of Construction or Ag equipment (or any work) is what I love to watch Adam do. Why??? Because of the outrageous price it cost today to just drop off a piece of equipment and have someone else fix it. With labor rates here in Ohio knocking on the $150.00 a hour door. And the cost of branded parts today. Like Kubota in this case, Or even worse John Derek or Cat. A regular working guy thats doing work for himself or a hobby farmer can't hardly afford to send work out anymore. And we don't even want to talk about the turn around time. Or the fact that for old AG equipment, Certain parts are no longer available in some cases. Which is why we see hundreds apon hundreds of older tractors being dumped in a local auction yard.

[@philliphall5198]

I got it😊

[@brianhaygood183]

Man, you are a pro. You didn't even stab your finger with that pick tool even once! Good stuff to see. Thanks.

[@riptide6161]

I always wondered about how the internals of hydraulics worked. I was taught the basic concepts in high school, but the innards vexed me. Thanks Adam!

[@mauricelevy9027]

Looking forward to seeing the rebuilding of these ,Thanks for the video .

[@jeffwisemiller3590]

Check out Cutting Edge Engineering (Aus) for some really big cylinder rebuilds.

[@blueovaltrucker]

This machines entire hydraulic system may be on the way out. Thank you for the upload. Looking forward to Part 2.

[@bearbon2]

I love that little baby Wilton vise with the ball base.

[@kevo6242]

very cool for me to see parts that i make every day being worked on.

[@markjennifermccolley5817]

THANK YOU! Been hunting for seals for quite a long time. GREAT VIDEO

[@itsverygreen532]

Nice to see some cylinder work again, would be great to see some larger cylinders being worked on once more.

[@oldmelodie1003]

Hello Adam, you make really great videos that I like to watch again and again and also learn about them. I am a trained cutting machine operator myself and work on a Giddings and Lewis boring mill. My dream is to start my own workshop. Keep it up. Greetings from Germany. Paul

[@philliphall5198]

Having you close by is a blessing for him and you it seems, wish you were around here lolol Would love to watch you work 😊

[@mdvener]

Once again, the right man for the job. Thanks for sharing 👍.

[@timmoyers6321]

It is good practice to centerpunch mark the piston head and cylinder body to keep them matched for reassembly. . . .. .. ... ... .... .... great tutorial.

[@felixar90]

I love this kind of stuff.

[@pennyless4tea]

Nice video mate. First time watcher here, very nice job, pleasant voice, no annoying music, very thorough and helpful info on the topic. Top notch. Liked and subscribed. Keep up the great work sir.

[@rickg9456]

So we now have a new unit of measure for torque. The Adam. Now what we need to know is if that was a 1/4 Adam or a 1/2 Adam that it took on that ratchet. to break those piston nuts loose. Thanks for all the hard work that you and your wife put into the channel.

[@bcbloc02]

I have found that tractor supply hydraulic oil flat wrecks cylinder seals like that. The $70+/5gal oil is what you want to use. The $40-/5gal oil destroys parts.

[@Ropetangler]

Thanks Brian, that is useful info to know.

[@tombruce6398]

Very complete how to video thanks

[@jjbode1]

Looked to me your CRC parts washer with its Atlasta brush worked just as fast on that hardened grease as the CRC canned spray. Thanks for the comparison.

[@JC-11111]

Those Teflon seals are hell to replace in transmissions, too. Used for the same thing; to seal that part of the shaft from hydraulic fluid.

[@OpSic66]

Soak them in hot water for 10 minutes prior. Makes life a hell of a lot easier.

[@afterhours3248]

@@OpSic66 same here, put in seal in a hot coffee cup brought to boil in the microwave then used electrical tape wrapped around it for a hour or so to compress it back down to size, oil it up and slid right in the bore

[@AMRosa10]

The Return of Abom Torque... now in high speed.

[@qivarebil2149]

You could make two reducer pins, to put on Your spanner there! Stick them on with some super glue so You dont lose them. Nice video! Always fun to learn how things looks like on the inside, without having to get my fingers dirty! LOL. And I do quite a lot of front fork work on my motorcycles, so there's a few tips on here too, for me to add to my "library". Be safe, and have a nice sunday!

[@davidhall1779]

Doing them up to last for a good long time. Your F.I.L. Will be very pleased I am sure. Always a pleasure to sit and enjoy your videos.

[@mannys9130]

His step-dad.

[@davidhall1779]

@@mannys9130 that’s right

[@INRIKingOfKings]

I have rebuilt many hydraulic cylinders over the years. And when the hydraulic levelers started binding on our motorhome I thought, no problem. That is until I got it on the bench. Completely welded units, not made to be serviced. I always use a brass pick to remove seals and glands. Especially on aluminum gland ends and pistons.

[@INRIKingOfKings]

@Pablo Estafez I'll have to look that one up. New subscriber here.

[@williamstarklauf6085]

@@INRIKingOfKings he used a parting tool to cut it .

[@INRIKingOfKings]

@@williamstarklauf6085 That would be a good way in. Although, I am now retired from my machine shop job and no longer have access. Bought a house in the mountains and decided to travel. I often miss being able to get back on the lathe and mill though.

[@williamstarklauf6085]

Ill trade you lathe for the mountains..

[@INRIKingOfKings]

@@williamstarklauf6085 LOL, no thanks. I like my retirement, traveling around like Abom.

[@russellstarr9111]

Congratulations on breaking the 500K subscriber barrier.

[@stoddern]

Instead of cutting the rods off, you should chuck them up in the lathe and cut following the old weld as they may already be threaded into the eyes or at least have a locating pin machined in the end!

[@paulpahl1607]

Just watch Cutting Edge Engineering here on YT.

[@stoddern]

@@paulpahl1607 That's where I learned that trick. Shout out to Homeless the safety engineer

[@jamesdavis8021]

Kurtis is a miracle worker. I watch every video.

[@ryanjones9305]

Perfect timing, I have some kubota cylinders I need to work on. I don’t have a fraction of the experience so I’ll probably take the parts to a hydraulic shop locally and ask them to order me the parts. Or maybe my kubota dealer can help with the correct part numbers.

[@EastLondonKiwi]

Hi Adam. I always love your content. I was however never nervous seeing you alter the cylinder caps. Just a thought re the face spanner you have. Instead of drilling into your cylinder caps, I would have drilled into the face spanner itself. A small threaded hole and you could have used a couple of set screws of the right size to act as the new pins. Or if you wanted to make an adjustable tool. Grind off the current pins. drill and cut a threaded hole and make pin bases that have a uniform screw shaft, but with different pin sizes. I hope that helps, D

[@leonardshove729]

Check out cutting-edge engineering Australia he does a lot of rerod hydraulic Rams

[@markjackson6288]

Facom adjustable, changeable pin face spanner .......only extra step I'd recommend is letter stamping the clevis, body and gland nuts before disassembly if they are being stripped and sat on a bench waiting for spare 👍👍

[@jamesrozell6467]

I love that Adam has more ugga dugga than his impact.

[@steelcrusher]

awesome work. i work on cylinders at work and i have some great tips now. thanks.

[@samuel_towle]

Why would you risk drilling into the end cap? Why not just make your own spanner to fit the rod cap out of a couple of drill rod and some 1/4 inch plate?

[@BRadWilson3]

Pipe wrench would have popped that off.

[@dkupy100]

@@BRadWilson3 That what I thought but wouldn't there be a chance of deforming the endcap? It is aluminum.

[@BRadWilson3]

@@dkupy100 maybe in some cases, but these were barely tight it seemed.

[@messenger8279]

or just use visa grips they weren't tight at all.

[@Dropbear237]

My dad and I just changed the seals in one of the 3 point lift rams on my dad's 2009 Claas Arion 640 tractor 3 weeks ago. It was the easiest ram I have ever changed a seal on, you just pull the piston out about half way, using a pick or screwdriver through the hose nipple pop the stop clamp off the bottom of the piston into a deeper grove and pull the piston out, change the 2 seals in the cylinder then put it back together in reverse order. It took about 3 or 4 minutes after we found out how to do it from the mechanic. The hardest part was getting the ram off and back on the tractor.

[@paulpipitone8357]

What a difference from you to other work around the world I just watched a video of some guys from I think India or around that area work on these cylinders those poor guys worked on dirt floor used pipe wrenches and appeared to reside the old fluids great job

[@vijayantgovender2045]

Thank you for sharing your wonderful videos I am looking forward to seeing your next video I am from South Africa

[@ebutuoyebutouy]

Aangename kennis. Bly versigtig.

[@frfrpr]

Neat production. I can't wait for part 2. Thanks

[@hassenfepher]

A hand held drill... I never thought I'd see the day.

[@paulhunt598]

I have only done it once, but I repaired a John Deere steering cylinder that was welded closed. I needed some knowledge of where to cut, but I removed the weld in a lathe until I could see the material division line. John Deere wanted $1000+ for a new cylinder and a full.set of seals pre-packed to fit the cylinder was about $30. I welded it closed pretty easily by applying water soaked heat sink rags.

[@felixar90]

If I remember correctly, Adam actually did the same thing before. There's a video of it.

[@DM-zg3xy]

loctite is mainly sucrose. think of a jolly rancher, warm it and it solidifies ...to a pint. over heat and it turns to carbon and then its ON there. there are tools that wont gouge the aluminum or score the inside seal surface. Some do not possess "finesse". I have to say I admire the shop. your well tooled.

[@damianzanolli1845]

Armstrong ? Don't you mean Abom . . . Love watching the vids.

[@ronnydowdy7432]

Enjoying the show

[@KillianLikeTheBeer]

Just found your channel by accident looking up welding stuffs! I watched the video of you welding with the 3/4" electrode! I live in Navarre! Cool to see some NWF peeps on YT!

[@BlackOps96]

Should checkout CEE’s channel if you want to see more stuff like this

[@WayneWerner]

Watching CEE, yeah, some of those big machines don't add that o-ring for the threads 🙄

[@philliphall5198]

Chain wrench will work great and otc has them also

[@TimMcArdle]

Adam, I feel like I'm watching a fairytale here! You know you get your spanner in those holes and pull with all your might only to egg shape the holes out as the tool slips out. Then moving to the 36" Ridgid pipe wrench, you totally mangle the edge of the glands still not able to get them to budge! 😂 All jokes aside, love watching the cylinder vids man! Have a good one!

[@thebmac]

I'm glad I wasn't the only one wishing cylinders came apart that easy.

[@Tagawichin]

I just helped a friend replace the seals in a bobcat cylinder last week. The piston nut was resessed into the piston with just enough room for and impact socket. A 3/4 impact wouldn't budge it and it took a cheater bar on the cheater bar. I didn't know he had new nuts in the seal kit. A little time with a cold chisel would have made the nut much easier to remove, but destroyed the nut.

[@neillawson4493]

Hey Adam, based on the colour of the liquid in the parts washer you need to cut back on the B group vitamins. Yeah, I know, but it was worth a laugh! Great series.

[@SkylersRants]

I would rather modify the face spanner than risk drilling a hole in the cylinder. But it worked, so no foul.

[@assassinlexx1993]

Why not use a chain wrench to undo the ram and do you have a ultrasonic parts cleaner. For cleaning out the residue of the old seals?

[@b.m.5514]

There are many ways to skin that cat….. drilling new holes would have been at the bottom of my list…. To each their own…. 2 pieces of scrap strap and 3 1/4” bolts…. And he could have made a tool to get by, without modifying a customers part.

[@sthenzel]

I was thinking of a band wrench like for oil filters. In a pinch even a good hose clamp might do the job, and if only to protect the surface from getting marred by a pipe wrench.

[@assassinlexx1993]

@@sthenzel I like that idea of the pipe clamp so it doesn't mar the part.🤔👍💯

[@woowzers]

why do you never make the tools you need? you have everything needed!

[@brianwalk108]

drill out the face spanner holes and if you break through the thin outer wall you can use your hook spanner too!

[@mfc4591]

Fernando must be really good at keeping his machines in good order. Its rare to see a cylinder come apart so easily.

[@jimmybs]

At first, I was like "Whaaat?". But then you said you were going to replace those pistons and I was like "Oooooooooooh!". Lol

[@joelhart9020]

We have that exact parts washer at my new job. It’s awesome

[@heaterfamily]

Yellow is called gland seal, it was creates pressure and causes rod to move back and forth.

[@WaiWai-qv4wv]

Thanks

[@rexmyers991]

Good to see you are a “do it right” kinda guy. No short cuts.

[@steamfan7147]

I use CRC for seals and rods too, good people to do business with.

[@robertsimpson1824]

Could you modify the tool to accept different size pins and just change them out for the correct size for each job

[@grafixbyjorj]

You can buy pin spanners with changeable pins, they're cheap enough that it's not worth spending an hour making your own.

[@robertsimpson1824]

Not as good as an abom one

[@idontknow31212]

@@robertsimpson1824 I am rather sure that he will not forge the thing

[@Martin52863]

So instead of making a simple tool from two pieces of flat bar and three bolts, you drilled a hole into the part you’re repairing so you could use a tool you already had? Wow, just wow.

[@alakani]

Do whatcha gotta do! What do you think he's rich and famous and can just go and buy tools or something? Ya think he has a fancy machine shop and could make a set of threaded pins for the spanner he already has?? It's not like he could have just used a scrap of rubber and a pipe wrench!! Sheesh, you guys with your "quality workmanship" just hacksaw the thing in half and slap some JB weld on there

[@janvisser2223]

I expected also an O-ring ín the piston bore to prevent leakage to either side of the piston. But maybe I missed it?

[@gyomdelacreuse922]

Hello Adam. Rather than buying a new compass-shaped tool to unscrew the hydraulic cylinder heads, you could do the two small nipple tetons in the diameter of which you need, pierce the two arms of your tool a little lower than the Two nipples already in place and weld them in it. So you would have a single tool but several possibilities ... economical in money and in place.

[@michaelennis4434]

Your videos are good and informative. But I would not tap and thread these parts to assemble the eyes back to the rods. It is an easy way to introduce weak point into end. The best way is to leave a small shank and a corresponding hole on the other about ¼ the size of diameter then weld up the rest. Look at cee out of Australia he does all kinds of hydraulic cylinder rebuilds.

[@thatrealba]

Dangit Adam, you really did it all wrong this time. The YT experts are all up in your business 🤣🤣

[@mnogogrannik_]

Привет друг! Отличное видео!) Будь здоров!!!👍👍👍

[@roberthousedorfii1743]

Adam, I would love a tutorial on how to order these seals. I can take the things apart and do what you've done, but only with $$$ Kubota seal kit. I think it would be GREAT to teach us all how to identify and order individual seals from a place like crc...

[@bulletproofpepper2]

Great work and info! That catalog may have tools in it too? Thanks for sharing!

[@georgespangler1517]

I used 2 part titanium on a boat trim cylinder ram 10 years ago badly Pitted and still fine and in salt water

[@garretr4488]

Everyone I know including myself just uses a pipe wrench on small cylinders like this if we don’t have the right tool, they come right off with no risk damaging the seal grooves

[@darkportus]

Thanks for the info!

[@jboos6256]

Sehr gut mach weiter so!!👍👍

[@johnjohannemann1220]

Good job and improvising as always 👍🏻

[@douglasharley2440]

yeah, it's way easier cutting seals off!...but you better be _really_ careful not to damage the groove with the knife, because that can cause a serious rupture when the groove damage wears it and the assembly fails under pressure. also, it seems like using plated rods are just asking for trouble, because as soon as the plating wears through it's gonna really tear-up the seals fast. kurtis, from cutting edge engineering, only uses chromium rod stock for his hydraulic repairs...that's probably significantly more expensive though, and he's doing it commercially, not as a favor for family/friends. great stuff, as always, much thanks! 😊

[@paulpahl1607]

@@jamesdrake2378 Yep, awaiting parts 2-4 ...

[@BEEFYWRX]

98% of rods are chrome plated Even the ones that Curtis uses are they are 1045 or 4140, EN26 or induction hardened but they are all chrome plated , Other options are Laser Clading with a variety of metals most common is stainless & HVOC. Or just ground stock but these are horrible on seal due to corrosion issues.

[@xxn0cturn3xx]

@@jamesdrake2378 Adam has been doing this way before Kurtis was born, some of you guys posting here need to take look back through Adam's video library, he's built and made way more hydraulic parts of every size and type you can picture, he did this for a living for many years for a well known national company before leaving them on good terms to pursue his own dreams.

[@xxn0cturn3xx]

@@jamesdrake2378 So you are old and sad, no need to watch this channel go watch someone else.

[@timothyball3144]

@@jamesdrake2378 And he would have done it without breaking out the crayons.

[@scottjones7279]

You need an upgrade to the Milwaukee impact 😊

[@paulbeaudet8461]

I have a funny feeling that 484 number on the spanner is for 2 x .25" pins (/16) and 8" long handle.

[@nameofthegame9664]

As a metric guy I have no idea what you’re talking about.

[@Baton4iik]

@@nameofthegame9664 i suppose .25 = 1/4 so 484 stands for (one fourth)-(8 inch)-(one fourth).

[@nameofthegame9664]

@@Baton4iik yeah I get that but I don’t get that.

[@naughtyhorses]

They were tight... then they met Abomb-torgue :-)

[@michaelcolgan3182]

I found out decades ago that Williams tools makes Snap On tools and Blue Point tools . Hey look at you with a craftsman screwdriver lol only good for gouging and chiseling lol

[@tonyhondayamaha385]

I’ve seen the hydraulic shop use a big pipe wrench to get then loose

[@chillired1898]

I alway look forward to you new vidio

[@ponga782]

Perty cool! I sometimes wondered what was inside those hydraulic cylinders..

[@jemijona]

One thing I would do is make sure there is a rag or something between the shaft and the stand, to avoid any possible scoring or damage to the shaft.

[@jiversteve]

Is there something in the hydraulic oil that is attacking those seals. Makes me wonder what the control valve and pump seals are like.

[@grafixbyjorj]

I think there's something in Florida attacking the wipers, it's not called the Sunshine State for nothing :)

[@jimmymorrison3973]

These cylinders are outside 24 hours a day. From hot to cold to rain. Sealing over thousands of extend and retract cycles. Plus the wiper seal has to scrap off any dirt or debris that gets on the shaft. All things considered, they last a pretty long time.