Farm King hydraulics

Nick Peregrine · Jun 19, 2014

On my 3000 I've got a Farm King hydraulic ram (well, two of them, only one of which is bad, that control the bucket/loader/(I'm a city boy and don't know what else to call it)) that is puking fluid out the front. It needs a new seal, but I'm new at this and I can't find any parts online. The markings on the ram say "Farm King REF. NO. 30493A"

I'm not scared to rebuild this thing, but I'm also not afraid to replace it (and it's brother on the other side) if that's vastly simpler and not exorbitantly expensive.

Bob · Jun 19, 2014

A photo sure would help! I have no idea if these were made by Farm King up in Morden, MB, (now part of Buhler) or some other outfit going by that name.

Hydraulic cylinder seals and "O" rings are typically pretty generic, and can be obtained by description and measurements, even if the company that made the cylinder has disappeared.

If you don"t have a good hydraulic shop nearby, give Baum hydraulics in Omaha a call and (if you can describe the parts and give accurate measurements) they"ll get you fixed up.
Buhler

Ultradog MN · Jun 19, 2014

Us city boys aint all bad.
Most cylinders use off the shelf seals.
I would take it apart and bring the rod, cap and seal into your local hydraulic repair house and let them have a look.
If it's odd or orphan they can tell you there.
I would bring the barrel and piston along too just in case you decide to let them do it for you.

Nick Peregrine · Jun 19, 2014

(quoted from post at 09:03:36 06/19/14) A photo sure would help!

This is the best I've got at the moment. The sun was making it difficult to get a clear picture of the label, which has been painted over.

You can see where it's puking out the business end. [edit]or at least the evidence of it.[/edit]

Sean in PA · Jun 19, 2014

If I was going to rebuild one, I would do both at the same time, as the increased pressure from the one being sealed good will probably make the other one start leaking in short order. That way you know you have a good matched set that should last a while.

Nick Peregrine · Jun 19, 2014

(quoted from post at 09:10:14 06/19/14) I would take it apart

does the end just unscrew off the cylinder?

Sean in PA · Jun 19, 2014

I'm not familiar with those particular cylinders, but they are generally assembled in any one of a few different ways. On some the end cap on the rod end of the body unscrews, and on some there is a circlip holding it on and others are "factory sealed", and on those you need to cut them open and weld them back together after you replace the seals. That one in your picture loos like it has a seam a couple of inches down from where the rod comes out, so hopefully it unscrews or has a circlip holding it on. Clean that area where it's been gushing real good to check for the circlip first, before you try the unscrewing route.

Nick Peregrine · Jun 20, 2014

if memory serves, it's just a plain flat end on it (no circlip). There *is* a groove in the body/tube, as you can see in the picture, but does that guarantee that it's threaded? Or is that just a place to aim my cutting tool of choice?

Near as I can tell my next step is to throw a pipe wrench on there and see if it unscrews, right? If it's the other option I'm probably going to just look for a replacement - I don't have daily access to this thing, and I need to be able to just get it working right now. Hydraulic fluid to the tune of a few gallons every time I run it is getting spendy. This winter will be a different story, of course, because I'll be able to tear it apart (see my other post about an oil leak - fun wow) but being summer right now, I need this thing ready to rock asap.

Any idears about a modern replacement? What should I be concerned about (obviously body/overall length and the hydraulic fittings, but anything else)?

Sean in PA · Jun 20, 2014

A good place for inexpensive replacement cylinders is surpluscenter.com. Their prices are very reasonable, and they usually have something in stock that's close enough to fit any application that I've been looking for. Get all of the measurements off of the old cylinders, bore, stroke, length eye to eye when closed and mounting hole sizes for the pins, then go with the closest ones you can find. The hole sizes for the mounting pins are the most important to get correct and then the length and stroke measurements are next most important. Bore can be off a little one way or the other and it will affect the cycle times slightly, but it will still work.

Nick Peregrine · Jun 20, 2014

(quoted from post at 10:33:40 06/20/14) A good place for inexpensive replacement cylinders is surpluscenter.com.

Looks like an awesome resource! I'll take a bunch of measurements this weekend and post what I decide to do. Thanks so much!

Nick Peregrine · Jun 26, 2014

Closeup of original label

showcrop · Jun 27, 2014

(quoted from post at 07:26:26 06/20/14)
if memory serves, it's just a plain flat end on it (no circlip). There *is* a groove in the body/tube, as you can see in the picture, but does that guarantee that it's threaded? Or is that just a place to aim my cutting tool of choice?

Near as I can tell my next step is to throw a pipe wrench on there and see if it unscrews, right? If it's the other option I'm probably going to just look for a replacement - I don't have daily access to this thing, and I need to be able to just get it working right now. Hydraulic fluid to the tune of a few gallons every time I run it is getting spendy. This winter will be a different story, of course, because I'll be able to tear it apart (see my other post about an oil leak - fun wow) but being summer right now, I need this thing ready to rock asap.

Any idears about a modern replacement? What should I be concerned about (obviously body/overall length and the hydraulic fittings, but anything else)?

Nick, another concern is the condition of the chrome on the rods. rough rods will tear up new seals fairly quickly. A good hydraulic shop can replace the rods fairly reasonably but it adds significantly to the overall cost and to the advisability of replacing the cylinders.

Farm King hydraulics

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