Rebuilding 148 Loader Lift Cylinder

I have recently been rebuilding one of the lift cylinders of my Deere 148 loader, and after reviewing various messages that I've found on the internet in my search, I thought I'd post something to maybe help someone else when they tackle the rebuild.

When taking the cylinder apart, I found several things that were a PIA. Even though there were no holes, I used snap-ring pliers to spread the retaining ring enough to get the ring out of the groove, then a screwdriver, going around the ring to complete the task. Then after the guide was pushed back into the cylinder to access the inner retaining ring, I used a screwdriver to unseat the ring deeper into the cylinder and then used a hook to pull it out of the cylinder. I couldn't get any purchase on the ring with the hook when it was seated, but it came out easily after being unseated.

I screwed up the seals when reinserting the piston into the cylinder because I'd overtightened the end bolt of the piston, which causes the seal to spread out. You want to tightened it enough to get a good seal, but you'll never get the piston back in without screwing up the seals if it's over-tightened. I used gentle pressure with a hydraulic floor jack, and some wiggling of the piston, to push the piston into the cylinder.

Hope this helps someone.

That piston nut needs to be REALLY TIGHT !!!! or else it will come loose.
I stood ours straight up and lowered the rod/piston assy. down in with a rope. Tried to carefully work the V cups in with a small dull screw driver did pretty good but did shave a bit off the first couple.

I use air pressure to move the piston back and forth as needed.

Mike M is right. You need to disassemble yours and tighten the nut or you will have problems.

This is going to sound far fetched, but I can vouch for it working. Get a can of chewing gum remover spray,. and spray the seals with it and they will be cold and shrink enough to help with getting them in the barrel of the cylinders. Local hydraulic repair shop owner gave me a can to use for re-installing a piston he resealed for me. Caution, don't spray any body parts with it, it will cause frost bite!!

I guess that I'm glad that I screwed up the seals before I got things back together. I'm waiting for the replacement set to arrive. I had seen the seals spread out when I tightened the nut, so I'd planned to not tighten it so tight. I guess that I'll not use that method after reading the replies.

I've got a can of Zenex ZenaFreeze on order.

Thanks for everyone's help.