Need help finding a hydraulic cylinder wiper

[JohnDB]

This story resembles what occurred to me. My M4700DT developed a leak….and the steering cylinder had been superseded. I ended up having to pay $2K+ for the updated cyl and labor.

Bite the bullet. At least you’ll have a cyl for which parts are available for the future….

Ouch! I'm going to persevere with this at least for a while... the rest of the booster seems to be in good nick - yet to confirm that though so if it is, it should be good for a few thousand more hours. By which time I'll might be able to catch up with Flip

 

[GreensvilleJay]

Let Google be your friend.... 'seal 33mm 22mm 7mm' will find dozens of hits, you just have to choose a vendor who has stock at a decent price.

 

[GeoHorn]

Ouch! I'm going to persevere with this at least for a while... the rest of the booster seems to be in good nick - yet to confirm that though so if it is, it should be good for a few thousand more hours. By which time I'll might be able to catch up with Flip

I admire your perseverance… I probably was too hasty to suggest the expenditure if this is a tractor not an income-producer. It really Is a relatively expensive repair if you have to completely replace the cylinder.

EDIT: I just looked at the diff‘s of our steering systems using Messicks Parts Lookup… I see that your steering ”booster” doesn’t even show a parts break-down. Not much help provided for you on this…not even a seal-kit description.

It’s disappointing that some items on these machines are no longer supported. My M47000DT was produced ten years later than your M4500DT and I was sorely disappointed not to be able to simply pop new seals into the cylinder/booster. I took it to the dealer and rec’d plenty of criticism here for that, but I simply didn’t have the motivation for the job that you have.
Stay with it and let me be cheered by your success story!

2nd EDIT: I revisited my repair thread…and had forgotten a few details. (My own aging process may truly be more-evident as my wife suggests…lol..: Anyway, ..if you need more reading material: Here’s how it went: https://www.orangetractortalks.com/forums/threads/steering-cylinder.60255/

 

[JohnDB]

@GeoHorn that was an interesting thread. The 2 biggest challenges for me were releasing a couple of the ball joints from their tapers to get the booster (Kubota's terminology) off and then unscrewing the gland from the head of the cylinder. The rest of it was straight-forward, and unlike yours there were no signs that anyone else had molested it prior.

Parts availability... I guess for my 50? y.o. tractor its not bad. I don't understand why some small but critical parts eg 4WD spline shaft and transmission shaft (gearbox side) have been discontinued but big stuff like ring and pinion haven't. I haven't any experience ordering for other old tractors but I was told that for off-highway Rockwell diffs their parts policy was that everything was guaranteed available for 7 years after the particular diff model finished. After that it was take your chances.

Spotted that nice picture of your tractor on Tractordata.com

 

[PoTreeBoy]

A final thought. Since 22 x 34 seems to be more standard, have your gland machined from 33 to 34mm.

 

[GreensvilleJay]

7 years seems to be the 'standard' for parts..might even be a government mandate or law ? As for why some parts are on the shelf and others are NLA, you have to consider the quantities originally made and then how many have been sold. A part that they made lots of and doesn't wear out, the warehouse will have them in stock, for awhile. Then there's 'inventory time'. The bean counters will see 'dead old stock' taking up valuable shelf space and decide to get rid of it, freeing up the space for newer parts they can sell.
Who I feel sorry for today are those that bought F-150 Lightnings. They may not be able to buy new batteries 10 years from now.

 

[GeoHorn]

.The problem with tractors…any brand…is the relatively low production-numbers compared to autos.

On top of that, Kubota has produced So Many Different Models…. and Changed or Ended those productions so frequently….that commonality of parts is reduced. The only thing that seems to have long-production are the tiny 40A Alternators. Even the headlamp bulbs are unique and rare…. (not that illuminating the back of the FEL-bucket is all that useful, anyway.)

The low production numbers of short-lived model-numbers makes warehousing parts uneconomical. Frankly, I’m surprised Kubota does as well as they Do. Getting a completely New steering cylinder …even a superceded one…. was a fortunate event, in my view.

My Kubota tractor will never have the longevity my 9N Ford had.

(edit: actually that 9N Ford is still-working 80 years after its mfr for a fellow over in Looeasyana.)

 

[GeoHorn]

Here’s a parallel example from the Green-Machine side of this problem: This short video was fun to watch the creation of a steering cylinder barrel replacement.

(This sort of thing is mindful of the enjoyment observing “Runs with Scissors” projects):

J. Deere HATES This One Trick

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