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Repairing scratch in hydraulic piston rod?

WoodburyZuk

Well-known member
Joined
May 24, 2021
Member Number
3939
Messages
253
I have some light scratches on my JD backhoe for my small tractor. I used to repair hydraulic gate operators for an old job (FAAC) so I understand the ins and outs. I assume I just need carefully file or emery cloth any snags.

Once upon a time I was told that there’s a “jb weld type” product that I can use to fill the gouges? Does anyone know if I’m on the right track? Really I just don’t want to tear up the seals. The light scratches are at the end of the working stroke, but I’d like to do some damage control if I can.

My thought is that the scratches aren’t deep enough for jb weld to hold… maybe I just sand it down till it’s smooth and deal with losing a tiny bit of oil every cycle.
IMG_0288.png
 
I have seen scratches/gouges that will easily catch a finger nail be run for a lot of years and a lot of cycles without any ill effect. Smoothing out any burs with emery cloth or a fine file will help.

Have seen cylinders with lots of rust pits also work for a long time with little to no leaking.

How bad is the scratch?
 
KB6Chris said:
I have seen scratches/gouges that will easily catch a finger nail be run for a lot of years and a lot of cycles without any ill effect. Smoothing out any burs with emery cloth or a fine file will help.

Have seen cylinders with lots of rust pits also work for a long time with little to no leaking.

How bad is the scratch?
Click to expand...
It’s not that bad. I might be over thinking it. Pretty small honestly
 
A lathe a couple hours of work, a seal kit and $100 In new chrome rod you would back to new. Or drop it off at a hydraulic shop and pay $1000 for them to do it for you. :flipoff2:

Personally I wouldn’t worry about it maybe blend it in a touch so there are no sharp edges.
 
I don’t know if it would work here, but a sometimes-fix for scratched moto forks is to fill the gouge with clear nail polish and buff the rest off. It’s to fill a void. If it sticks up, then that needs to be brought down with super fine wet sand.

Lathe sounds like the best option if you have it.
 
WoodburyZuk said:
I have some light scratches on my JD backhoe for my small tractor. I used to repair hydraulic gate operators for an old job (FAAC) so I understand the ins and outs. I assume I just need carefully file or emery cloth any snags.

Once upon a time I was told that there’s a “jb weld type” product that I can use to fill the gouges? Does anyone know if I’m on the right track? Really I just don’t want to tear up the seals. The light scratches are at the end of the working stroke, but I’d like to do some damage control if I can.

My thought is that the scratches aren’t deep enough for jb weld to hold… maybe I just sand it down till it’s smooth and deal with losing a tiny bit of oil every cycle.
IMG_0288.png
Click to expand...
You can by some polishing rocks to "repair" dings and scratches. The idea is to just prevent the seal from getting torn can't do much about the lack of metal.
You might use a Belzona/JB Weld type product to do a real repair but it would need to be done well so it doesn't detach inside the cylinder and fowl your hydraulic system.
 
@panzerfurer

You know the abrasive discs in the NPK service manual? I've been trying to find those for years, they had a course and fine, fine wouldn't remove any metal and course barely would.
 
CarterKraft said:
@panzerfurer

You know the abrasive discs in the NPK service manual? I've been trying to find those for years, they had a course and fine, fine wouldn't remove any metal and course barely would.
Click to expand...
Never heard of them.
 
WoodburyZuk said:
Once upon a time I was told that there’s a “jb weld type” product that I can use to fill the gouges?
Click to expand...
CarterKraft said:
You can by some polishing rocks to "repair" dings and scratches. The idea is to just prevent the seal from getting torn can't do much about the lack of metal.
You might use a Belzona/JB Weld type product to do a real repair but it would need to be done well so it doesn't detach inside the cylinder and fowl your hydraulic system.
Click to expand...
at the shop I worked at, it was a Belzona product of some kind, though I can't remember exactly what product it was. Quick google search tells me that 1111 is the one for hydraulic rods. https://wws.belzona.com/products/belzona-1111/
 
I've welded gouges and ground them smooth as a last ditch, not spending $500 on a rod for an old machine.
 
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