Timsch, I've been following your thread and what I have probably won't help you but may help others if they come looking for info on hyd repairs.
I have a Westendorf loader on my tractor and one of the lift cylinders is leaking. When I called Westendorf I couldn't get specific price because I didn't have the serial number, but she indicated price would range from $90-$160 for the seal kit. After removing from the tractor figuring out how to remove the ram wasn't clear. The gland has two slots in it and in those slots one has to locate the eyes of a snap ring, compress the snap ring and yank the ram with enough force to displace the snap ring. The KD snap ring pliers with the locking handle really makes this job easier.
Once I have all the components apart I take it the the local hyd shop. He had all the components, installed all the seals and wipers (including the inner seal on the piston, that is easier with the three fingered gizzmo). I had called him before I headed his direction. I visited with him as he measured and installed parts. Thirty-forth minutes and $17.
I told him to have the same components on hand 'cause I'll be back when I get the other cyl apart.
You've got a heck of a connection there. I tried the same thing, but my local shop had a $30 "matching fee" to figure out what seals were needed just to start with. I mentioned that I did find a kit for ~$115, and he said that would likely beat what he could offer. Hard to believe.... I was disappointed, but what could I do, so I left and ordered the kit for the lift & bucket cylinders. Kits came in a few days, but the kit for the lift cylinder did not come with a snap ring, as I indicated earlier, so I had to wait for that one to come in.
In the mean time, I started reworking the bucket cylinder since the kit was complete. Unfortunately, I buggered up one of the seals by not chamfering the piston rod, so that will have to be reordered.
Today, I chamfered both piston rods with my belt sander held in a vise. Cleaned up the chamfers with my dremel tool & some steel wool and started reassembling the lift cylinder. The 4-piece chevron seal stacks provided enough resistance that I needed the shop press to get the cylinder cap started (no surprise there since the stack had to be compressed to get the snap ring in place and the rubber could only spread to the ID the way it is contained). Once that was done, I got the seal stack on the piston, the piston on the rod and then inserted into the cylinder. I thought that might go in with minimal effort since the piston stack wasn't compressed yet, but there was enough resistance that I ended up putting the rod pin-end in a vise, hooking the ends of a ratchet strap to the vise after running the strap through the cylinder pin hole on the opposite end. Ratcheting pulled it together pretty well.
That's all the time I had for it today. Tomorrow I'll finish tightening the piston nut. I've got maybe 2 turns on it and it's somewhat tight already. I thought I read somewhere that 4 turns would be required, but I didn't see that in the 1200 FEL manual when I looked again today. I'll have my son hold backup on it tomorrow when I finish tightening it with fingers crossed that I'm in the ballpark.
I waited on ordering the seal I screwed up until I finished the lift cylinder. I think I'm good now, so I'll order it asap.
