Selective ram chrome repairs / cheap solutions?

[JOEPRO]

Hi all,

Today I dragged one of these home cheap as it had been sitting for a few years in a garage.



It was all seized up when I got it but a bit of fettling and lubricating and it's coming back to life.

There was some surface rust here and there on the main ram. I had brought a scotch pad with me and the small area I tested cleaned right off.

But when I got home and went the clean the rest of the main ram and the 2x smaller ones I notice there is permanent pitting in a few areas.

Largely the main ram is good but for a small section near the top.

The smaller rams both have pitting all over and leak a little when pumping it due to this.

Options as I see it:

1: For my DIY use run it as is. Wet sand the worst of the pitting for best seal life. Is there any sort of filler I could use to help it? Presume no.
2: Try to get the 3x rams repaired. I see some places offer localised chrome repairs. https://www.lchydraulics.co.uk/our-services/selective-chrome-repairs/
I will ask them for a cost estimate. Does that seem feasible or is it still likely to cost too much? (Too much for me being £60+ say)
3: Contact the company Forest Master who made it in UK and see how much a new replacement pump assembly is. If it is say £100 or less then it may be the best option here. I will email them also.

 

[JOEPRO]

Here are photos of the splitter and the condition of the rams. Pitting is visible but overall I have seen worse I guess.

 

[JOEPRO]

There are products out there it seems like this example

Belzona 1151 (Smoothing Metal)

Belzona distributor website

www.belzona.co.uk

If I could get a small quality could be worth a go. Put it on as thin as possible and build up to fill the pits carefully wet sanding in between then buffing off.

 

[slim_boy_fat]

^^. Nice find! Personally, I'd try as is having cleaned it as well as it'll stand. Unless it leaks loads, topping up the HYD oil would vbe much cheaper and easier than 'fully refurb'ing it.

 

[addjunkie]

Id just clean it up with 1200 wet n dry or similar, oil it and just use it. Might leak a bit but so what

 

[Brad93]

Yeah take your £60 and times that by 4 or 5 times and that would be about the cost of having your ram repaired.

Buy a new off the shelf ram

 

[Agroshield]

For the ram, just put a stop collar on it so the damaged bit cannot retract into the seal and live with the reduced stroke.

For the pump part, spares are available. 'Jack oil pump' seems to be the key term. Sealey or SIP or Draper or Machine Mart would be good places to start for UK suppliers.

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[JOEPRO]

Thanks for the replies. If I cannot find suitable replacement small rams like @Agroshield 's link I will have a go at some 2k metal epoxy to help fill the pitting and then just use away at it with a 1200 grit clean up as suggested.

I don't think this application warrants a full strip down and rebuild!

I did drain the old oil, what came out was black



The linkages where the levers attached are quite rusty and stuck. So I'm going to take them apart, sandblast them and spray red.

Then a couple of oil flushes and changes so it has decent oil in it.

And in a few days when the epoxy turns up I'll clean the pitted parts with acetone and carefully fill the pits.

 

[Turbo]

If they are single acting rams the pitting won't matter, the actual ram seals are on a piston at the inner end of the chromed rod & they seal against the rams outer housing.

The only thing those corroded sections could damage are the wiper seals in the end cap of the ram. I would polish out the worst of it with wet & dry & leave it like that.

 

[awemawson]

I’ve seen pitting in rams built up with MIG welding and polished back to smooth work fine. The case in point was stabilizer legs on a digger where the ram is closed for most of the time and thus not exposed to air.

ref: Farmcraft101 on Youtube.

 

[JOEPRO]

If they are single acting rams the pitting won't matter, the actual ram seals are on a piston at the inner end of the chromed rod & they seal against the rams outer housing.

The only thing those corroded sections could damage are the wiper seals in the end cap of the ram. I would polish out the worst of it with wet & dry & leave it like that.

Yes I see what you mean now.

There is an O ring at the bottom of those pump shafts which seals the oil to the inner bore of the red nut / post. There was rust and light pitting inside those bores. I have new O rings ordered and I will clean up the bores before putting it back together.

The main ram would not fully close down. Which it really should for correct operation of this splitter. I cleaned the ram corrosion with 1200 grit wet as suggested and the main ram now fully closes no problem. And after several operations the main ram is 100% bone dry so it is just fine as is.

When I have the small bores cleaned up and new O rings in this pump will be totally fine to use.

 

[Arclikeharrypotter]

Either repair properly or leave it alone, chances are it won’t affect anything really as looks like it’s at start of stroke. Likely good is if you try to repair you’ll only make it worse.