My plow is leaking fluid!

21846 Views 21 Replies 6 Participants Last post by NovaLC, Dec 9, 2003

NovaLC

Discussion Starter · Dec 7, 2003

Western 7.5' Ultramount. I noticed a little puddle accumulating underneath my plow yesterday, it appeared to be coming from the lift ram, I wiped it off and just went now to see if it's still leaking and sure enough it is.

This was the best picture I could get of it. Looks like it's leaking from the top of the ram.

I know nothing about hydrolics. Is this a serious problem? What should I do?

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NovaLC

Discussion Starter · #2 · Dec 7, 2003

Here's a close-up of the area I'm talking about.

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W-n-K Landscaping

· #3 · Dec 7, 2003

It looks like the packing nut is loose or the seal is worn/torn. I would first try to tighten the packing nut- but don't tighten it too much or it wil bind the cylinder up and you'l have more problems. If the seal is gone you can pick up a kit to replace it and it shouldn't take too long to do- as long as the packing nut isn't frozen into the ram! Be careful when removing it- they tend to rust into place.

God luck and let us know how you make out!

Bill:burnout

NovaLC

Discussion Starter · #4 · Dec 7, 2003

cnypropertysvcs said:
It looks like the packing nut is loose or the seal is worn/torn. I would first try to tighten the packing nut- but don't tighten it too much or it wil bind the cylinder up and you'l have more problems. If the seal is gone you can pick up a kit to replace it and it shouldn't take too long to do- as long as the packing nut isn't frozen into the ram! Be careful when removing it- they tend to rust into place.

God luck and let us know how you make out!

Bill:burnout

Thanks Bill.

I tried to tighten the nut, but it wouldn't budge, so I don't think it's loose.

I removed the whole cylinder from the plow and tried to remove the nut, but all I had was a pipe wrench and that didn't work.

I think you're right about the seal being gone, makes sense now that I had a better look at it. I think I'll just take the cylinder to the dealer tomorrow and see what they can do.

Are the seals supposed to only last two seasons?

W-n-K Landscaping

· #5 · Dec 7, 2003

I have had them last much longer than that, but it really depends on how you store te cylinder- did you seat t all the way down after the last use of the season? I know alot of guys who will put some sort of sealer- petroleum jelly, axle grease, etc... around the cylinder/nut to keep water and debris from getting down into the cylinder. If you picked up any sand or dirt then while using it you could have pulled it down into the seal area causing your leak. Or if it dry rotted then it was just a matter of time before it started to leak. The dealer should be able to remove the nut and pull the seal out and I'm sure you'll find the problem right away.

This rings up a good question- How many guys out there keep a spare lift cylinder and angle cylinder in the garage? I know it's not often that these parts have problems, but for those who do their own maintnence and live in the middle of nowhere this is an option. Just curious.

Good luck tmo! Let us know if it was dirt or a bad seal.

Bill

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NovaLC

Discussion Starter · #6 · Dec 7, 2003

cnypropertysvcs said:
I have had them last much longer than that, but it really depends on how you store te cylinder- did you seat t all the way down after the last use of the season? I know alot of guys who will put some sort of sealer- petroleum jelly, axle grease, etc... around the cylinder/nut to keep water and debris from getting down into the cylinder. If you picked up any sand or dirt then while using it you could have pulled it down into the seal area causing your leak. Or if it dry rotted then it was just a matter of time before it started to leak. The dealer should be able to remove the nut and pull the seal out and I'm sure you'll find the problem right away.

This rings up a good question- How many guys out there keep a spare lift cylinder and angle cylinder in the garage? I know it's not often that these parts have problems, but for those who do their own maintnence and live in the middle of nowhere this is an option. Just curious.

Good luck tmo! Let us know if it was dirt or a bad seal.

Bill

It's stored in a garage all year. I've already used it once this year for about 4 hours, almost one week ago. Prior to that there was nothing leaking, I just noticed it yesterday.

We shall find out tomorrow.

Crash935

· #7 · Dec 7, 2003

Theres a 2 winter warranty on your plow. Ifs its still under warranty, the dealer will need the entire plow to be able to file a warranty claim. I know, PITA to drag the whole thing down there, but the dealer will need some numbers off the plow and the truck and with the whole plow there the dealer cant give you the run around about the cylinder not really being from that plow.

NovaLC

Discussion Starter · #8 · Dec 8, 2003

I just finished replacing the seals, the kit came with three rings. The Ultramount seal kit is different from the Unimount.

It took about 1/2 an hour, very easy. I guess I over-reacted!

Thanks again.

Adams Plowing

· #9 · Dec 8, 2003

Good to hear you got it under control...

windmill

· #10 · Dec 8, 2003

Yes . . but is it still leaking.

Adams Plowing

· #11 · Dec 8, 2003

On in that case that sucks if its still leaking... but i guess atleast you know your seals are good...

windmill

· #12 · Dec 8, 2003

Alright, Adams plowing are you overworked/ stressed out/ lacking sleep??? Then try . . .

reading the post again, NovaLC didn't say it was still leaking, I was wondering if it was still leaking.

Adams Plowing

· #13 · Dec 8, 2003

whoops! it seems i read the post wrong my mind saw it as "it is" instead of "is it" looks like i need some better :shadess

NovaLC

Discussion Starter · #14 · Dec 8, 2003

windmill said:
Yes . . but is it still leaking.

Good question. I'll check on it later and see if it's still dry, I don't think it will leak again since the only thing it could've been were the seals.

W-n-K Landscaping

· #15 · Dec 8, 2003

Nova- glad I could be of help- also glad to hear it was something that simple- those seals aren't very hard to do, I'm glad you did it yourself- could have been more expensive if the dealer did it. How did the seals look when they came out? Were they cracked at all? Or was there some damage to them from possibly something getting pulled down into the cylinder? I hope that they were just cracked from dry rot- if they weren't you might want to consider flushing your system and putting new fluid in- could have a cantaminate in there that would cause the problem all over again!

Good luck- hope it's not leaking, and let us know about the seals- I'm hoping for dry rot and not contamination.

Bill

NovaLC

Discussion Starter · #16 · Dec 9, 2003

cnypropertysvcs said:
Nova- glad I could be of help- also glad to hear it was something that simple- those seals aren't very hard to do, I'm glad you did it yourself- could have been more expensive if the dealer did it. How did the seals look when they came out? Were they cracked at all? Or was there some damage to them from possibly something getting pulled down into the cylinder? I hope that they were just cracked from dry rot- if they weren't you might want to consider flushing your system and putting new fluid in- could have a cantaminate in there that would cause the problem all over again!

Good luck- hope it's not leaking, and let us know about the seals- I'm hoping for dry rot and not contamination.

Bill

Out of a dozen pictures, none came out focused! Oh well. You can see the wear on the top of the seal.

I don't know what happened to it, the other seal and the O-ring were fine, but I changed them anyway.

What I don't understand is why it would leak if the first seal was ok. The fluid would have to pass through the first seal, then the second.

But then again, I know nothing about hydraulics.

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NovaLC

Discussion Starter · #17 · Dec 9, 2003

Here's a diagram to help explain.

#2 is the first seal. #3 is the O-ring. #1 is the seal that was worn, the arrows point to the top of the ring that was worn.

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NovaLC

Discussion Starter · #18 · Dec 9, 2003

The whole thing.

So wouldn't the first seal have to be worn in order for the fluid to pass through? Just curious now because it's not leaking anymore (not yet anyway) but it's got me wondering.

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W-n-K Landscaping

· #19 · Dec 9, 2003

Going by the diagrams I would have to say that the seal that has the dry rot- that's what it looks like from your photo- has more surface area, and therefore more sealing ability than the inner seal. I believe the inner seal acts more as a scraper- like a piston ring- to keep the fluid below it, while the upper seal is the actual "seal"- that's why it has two sealing surfaces. This allows the fluid to be sealed into the cylinder, and debris sealed out. When it dried out, it allowed fluid to be forced out around the plunger, and then up and out so that it ran down the outside of the cylinder. Check the fluid and filter screen for any debris- if that seal dryrotted and any of the pieces made it down into the cylinder it is possible that they could make it into the pump and cause future problems, might be worth flushing the system. An hours labor and $20 in fluid wuold be cheaper than a breakdown in the middle of a storm. The good thing is that since it's rubber it shouldn't damage any metal parts, but it could cause a valve to leak if it gets stuck in one.

Just a suggestion. Did you by chance fluch the system before the season? If not then I would definitely suggest it now. I would also look at some sort of lubricant around the top of the ram when you put it back into storage next year.

Thanks for the response! I'm sure this thread will definitely help others out in the future!!!

Bill

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wyldman

· #20 · Dec 9, 2003

All seals will leak a little bit.They need it for lubrication.You don't see it much on the angle cylinders,as it gets washed off by all the snow.

The inner o-ring does the sealing,and other one is the wiper.It keeps stuff on the ram from being dragged inside when it collapses.

It doesn't hurt to change the just to be sure though.

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