hydraulic steering cylinder

I am new here so here goes.I have a 440 case tractor. The hydraulic steering cylinder is leaking on right front. I got the nut with the carta key off the back but cannot get this cylinder above the steering braces so I can get it off. What am I missing here, I got the key out of the front of the cylinder where the grease alamite is also but nothing else that I see will give me any slack. Help please.

After removing the cotter key at the front of the cylinder,did you unscrew the internal plug that secures the piston to the ball stud? If not,you will need a very large slot screwdriver to unscew and remove it,allowing the piston to drop off the ball! Have you disconnected the hoses? Some people find it easier to drop the entire front axle from the tractor to allow more room to maneuver the cylinders out.

Thanks Bradley, I have not unscrewed the internal plug. I tried to unscrew it but it didn't want to break loose so I soaked it in pb blaster. I wasn't sure if it unscrewed or not but now I will get it out. Thanks again.

I just did one myself so I'll pass on a few tips while it's fresh in my mind. Keep in mind it was my first so I'm no expert.

If you remove the hose you can then extend or retract the cylinder to find the best position to get at that front plug that needs to be screwed out. I just used the handle of a short handled pliers to turn it out. By sticking the handle in the slot I had some leverage to turn it. If I had a bunch of these to do I think I would make a tool from an old socket.

You can adjust the position of the cylinder by grabbing the tire and turning the wheels left or right as needed. Might be easier if you put a Jack under the front axle but I didn't.

I found that plug easier to get to with the cylinder all the way extended.

I found the cylinder would not drop off the ball unless it was all the way retracted.

I also found that the clearances were so tight that the cylinder wouldn't drop down if the barrel wasn't all the way back on that stud bolt. So don't pull it out of there until the last thing or it won't clear the axle bracing to allow the cylinder to drop off the ball.

Also as the cylinder drops off the ball you have to rotate it at the same time because of the lack of clearance.

On another note, I don't know of any way to put the outer dust seal on the barrel and then put the cylinder in without ruining it, so I put the seal over the cylinder first and slid them both in at the same time. I then worked my way around the cylinder, tapping the seal into place.

I hope this helps.