AIR-O-MATIC cylinder damaged any Ideas? instructions?

[rolling18]

Hello
I have an old( 41 yrs) Air-O-Matic cylinder that I need repaired as the main piston is bent a little.

I was told that this type of cylinder is is disassembled by unscrewing it from the piston end.

I have already removed the snap ring, but the aluminum end refuses to budge and there are no flat surfaces for a tool to grab onto.

here are 2 pictures of the unit, you can see the bent piston.
thanks!

 

[gimpyrobb]

Jim had to rebuild his air piston. Drat, what was his user ID?!

 

[gimpyrobb]

Took some time, but here it is.

http://www.steelsoldiers.com/deuce/69561-m35a3-air-assist-cylinder-repair.html

 

[hndrsonj]

Pretty sure the maker is Maradyne Corp from Cleveland, OH. I'd call them.

 

[gimpyrobb]

How about drilling 2 holes in the disk and making some kind of spanner wrench to un-screw it? You could then tap it for a pipe plug to seal back up.

 

[Warthog]

Does it unscrew or is it pressed in? The pictures of the rebuild looks like it is sealed with and o-ring

 

[O.D. Fever]

It is just stuck. clamp the main body in a vise and hook a slide hammer to the cylinder rod and give a few good wacks. It will come loose.

 

[rolling18]

Jim had to rebuild his air piston. Drat, what was his user ID?!

Took some time, but here it is.

http://www.steelsoldiers.com/deuce/69561-m35a3-air-assist-cylinder-repair.html

Thats awesome! thats what I need to know, what to expect when I get it apart!! the hard part will be replacing / fixing the piston!

Pretty sure the maker is Maradyne Corp from Cleveland, OH. I'd call them.

Called them, couldnt get through to a person, just a extention that went to nothing.

How about drilling 2 holes in the disk and making some kind of spanner wrench to un-screw it? You could then tap it for a pipe plug to seal back up.

thats a good idea too, i broke off the brass air fitting trying a similar idea.
if worse comes to worse thats likley what I will have to do thanks for the idea!!

Does it unscrew or is it pressed in? The pictures of the rebuild looks like it is sealed with and o-ring

Yes you are right about the snap ring and I have it off, but someone told me it was skrewed on..? or had to be rotated off. see below...

It is just stuck. clamp the main body in a vise and hook a slide hammer to the cylinder rod and give a few good wacks. It will come loose.

I dont have those kind of tools, BUT if it were skrewed on, using the slide hammer would not damage it? hmmmm..... the picture makes it look like there MIGHT be a thread or two but cant tell for sure


Thanks for the great ideas all, at least i have some direction to go!! sounds like a trip to Haror Fright (Halloween) is in order.
always open to more too!

 

[rolling18]

Took some time, but here it is.

http://www.steelsoldiers.com/deuce/69561-m35a3-air-assist-cylinder-repair.html

After the snap ring come off can you confirm if it is twist/ skrew out or shock/ jerk it out straight??
thanks

 

[gimpyrobb]

That wasn't my thread, I just posted in it. Jim hasn't been around in a while, sorry.


Looking at pic #2 in that thread, it doesn't look like there are threads.

 

[m16ty]

I hesitate posting this because it is very, very dangerous but here it goes.

I've ran into the caps being stuck on cylinders before. I have screwed on a air fitting and pressurized they cylinder to pop it out. I've only used this as a last resort as the rod can fly out like a missile and KILL you. I always attach the air hose and operate the air pressure remotely.

I always put the cylinder against a wall and put a big, heavy timber in front of the rod. I once had the rod miss the timber when it came out and it flew about 50 yards out into the field so that tells you how dangerous this is. We knew this could happen so there was nobody in the "kill zone" and the rod just landed harmlessly out in the field.

As I said, this is only a last resort and please don't kill anybody trying this.

 

[peashooter]

I rebuilt mine this year and it also had a stuck cap. On mine it didnt screw on however. I had to take the snap ring off. I assumed I could just pull on the rod and it would then pop the cover off but that didnt work. An hour or so later after abusing it more than I should have I was able to get the cap off......... then I realized what the problem was. There is another snap ring on the back side of the cap. So when i was pulling the rod thinking it was hitting the back of the cap (that acts as both a surface for the cap to rest agains and a limit stop for the piston) so it in fact was just running up against the hidden snap ring and never even touching the end cap. If you decide to pressurize it, be safe, stay away, and put some stuff around it to catch/prevent flying parts. And pressurize the port closest to the rod (this will pressurize the area between the piston and the cap your trying to get off. But also nothing SHOULD fly apart because the tie rod should restrain the cap, and the piston will be moving in the opposite direction.

 

[rolling18]

thank you both for fore Ideas, I will probably try the pressurize method but not use much of it as it is no longer on the vehicle. I only have the deuce air supply to draw from.

 

[peashooter]

Also it helped to sand/clean the area around the snap ring groove so there wasnt any paint build up or ridges for the cap to get stuck on coming off. If you find you need a new piston cup, let me know as I have an extra one I'd sell if you need it.