BX-23 Spanner Wrenches

[Happytule]

Hi, all-

I can't imagine this hasn't already been discussed. When I searched on "BX-23 Spanner" it removed BX-23 saying it was too common a search term. Silly search engine.

Anyway, one of my front end loader LA-210 lift cylinders has gone from a minor leak to a waterfall. So, learning how to rebuild a hydraulic cylinder is in my immediate future.

Anyway, I have a few questions & I'm hoping you all can help me.

1. Has anyone spec'd the size of spanner wrench (or wrenches) needed for the various hydraulic cylinders on the BX-23? I would like to get a set of everything I will eventually need. Eyeballing the hole with my tape measure, the hole appears to be 3/16".

GEARWRENCH 81862 looks like it might work.

2. I've read a few tips about loosening the....gland nut (What the hell does that mean? I love crude humor as much as the next guy, but for some reason 'gland nut' makes me uncomfortable) by loosening it while still attached to the tractor & also giving the cylinder a few taps to loosen things up. Can I do all this while both ends of the cylinder are still attached to the tractor?

Best,

Chris

 

[Dave_eng]

Hi, all-

I can't imagine this hasn't already been discussed. When I searched on "BX-23 Spanner" it removed BX-23 saying it was too common a search term. Silly search engine.

Anyway, one of my front end loader LA-210 lift cylinders has gone from a minor leak to a waterfall. So, learning how to rebuild a hydraulic cylinder is in my immediate future.

Anyway, I have a few questions & I'm hoping you all can help me.

1. Has anyone spec'd the size of spanner wrench (or wrenches) needed for the various hydraulic cylinders on the BX-23? I would like to get a set of everything I will eventually need. Eyeballing the hole with my tape measure, the hole appears to be 3/16".

GEARWRENCH 81862 looks like it might work.

2. I've read a few tips about loosening the....gland nut (What the hell does that mean? I love crude humor as much as the next guy, but for some reason 'gland nut' makes me uncomfortable) by loosening it while still attached to the tractor & also giving the cylinder a few taps to loosen things up. Can I do all this while both ends of the cylinder are still attached to the tractor?

Best,

Chris

Chris

Done properly, rebuilding a hydraulic cylinder is much more involved than most owners realize.

First their are the special tools Kubota recommends be used to install the new seals.

Note on page two the special jigs to first expand and then compress the new seals. These tools are ones that need to be made not bought.
The WSM pages are not for your cylinders but the process is the same only the dimensions differ.

Messicks, acknowledges their staff do not have the special tools, uses this method to install new seals.

Lastly, the special tools experienced members recommend for installing O rings inside the gland nut.

It is usually easiest to turn the task over to a hydraulics repair facility.

If you twist the new seals getting them on, they will fail much sooner than you would like.

Dave

 

[19thSF]

I agree that it is best to let a hydraulic shop do a cylinder re-build. They will have all the needed tools, will hone (polish) the cylinder if needed, put in new seals correctly, and a new glad (washer of flexible material that is compressed by the gland nut). I never thought about it, but I would think that our loader cylinder piston rods are chrome plated, so no honing, If the rod in pitted or scored , you replace it. I guess that you could polish and re-chrome it, but it would cost a lot. Only seen re-chroming on very big one of a kind industrial cylinders, and you need a VERY big lathe to do that correctly.

Cylinders under pressure can be dangerous. I have seen a piston fail with the piston breaking free of the cylinder as if shot from a cannon. Turned out that the gland nut had been cracked due to over tightening. It was an industrial application though, not on a tractor. Most tractors have over pressure by pass so as not to destroy your loader lift system.

Good luck with it!

 

[Happytule]

Well, I rebuilt both cylinders. The first one took a lot longer, of course. The second took me maybe 2 hours, including time spent dismounting & remounting the cylinder.

For anyone attempting this, I suggest you spend thirty bucks on a Gearwrench 81862 spanner wrench for loosening the gland nut. It worked very well with a rubber mallet to loosen the gland nuts. I'm already hard enough on my tractor, I wasn't about to use a pipe wrench.

Also, I loosened the gland nuts before removing the hydraulic cylinders. I also remounted the ram to the tractor when it was time to remove the 3/4" nut on the ram.

Installing the new o-rings was not difficult at all, no special tools required.

I used an orange handled pick (1 from the 4 pack you can buy at Harbor Freight for $2) and a pair of hemostats.

I took lots of pictures as I went, so I could refer to them if necessary.

I recommend anyone who is inclined to tackle this project themselves. It was a great learning experience (and you get 4 extra punches on your man card) and saved me hundreds of dollars.

This video was my main resource:
Kubota BX23 Hydraulic Cylinder Piston Repair - Front Loader

Read the comments, they provide important information.

Good luck!