Resealing backhoe swing cylinders
I verified yesterday that the swing cylinders of the backhoe can be resealed without removing the cylinders themselves from the machine. (Mr. SEE warned me that the bracket holding the cylinders in the hoe frame can be a bear to remove and that the complete cylinders are heavy. Plus, I am lazy and want to take as little apart as possible).
With the backhoe in working position and the boom about 20-30 degrees off center to one side, the rod of the cylinder on the other side can be pulled sideways far enough to unscrew the gland and remove it together with the rod.
Moving the boom by hand to the other side about 20-30 degrees from center allows disassembly of the other cylinder. (Obviously, the hydraulic swing cannot be used after disassembling the first cylinder).
Notes: Verify that the pins going through the rod eyes are loose before you start taking other things apart. These pins are very difficult to remove if stuck.
I removed the top snap ring and pushed the pins down, leaving the bottom snap ring in place. The pins will not come out to the top with the top ring in place.
The top snap rings are easier to get to after removing the clamps holding the hydraulic hoses inside the boom and then pushing the hoses out of the way.
When pulling the rods out, proceed slowly and give the oil enough time to drain out slowly. There is quite some oil volume in these cylinders and pulling the rod too fast results in a gushing mess. Don't ask me how I know
Since the spool of the swing control valve (operated by the pedals) allows some oil seepage to the cylinders, I removed the feed lines and capped them to avoid a constant drip. The feed lines connect to the cylinders with -10 JIC nuts, so you need to have -10 JIC male plugs ready.
Unfortunately, I was not able to loosen the screw holding the piston to the rod and finish the job. I will have to bring both rods to a hydraulic repair shop with mightier tools.