[AT] Diamonds in the rough?

[Mike Sloane]

So, I see two excellent thoughts on what to do about a badly rusted 
cylinder rod on the backhoe I am thinking about buying. 
<http://public.fotki.com/mikesloane/babes-in-the-woods/mfbackhoe1.html>

So the question becomes: which is the better of the various 
alternatives: replace the entire cylinder with new, have the piston rod 
cleaned and re-chromed, or replace the rod with one made of alloy 
(assuming that my local hydraulic cylinder repair guy is capable of that 
feat)?

I generally try to store all of my hydraulic cylinders in the retracted 
position, while the owner of the above backhoe obviously did just the 
opposite (although, oddly enough, the other two rods are just fine!). I 
can see that the cost of correcting the problem could easily double my 
potential investment in the machine!

Mike

Mark Greer wrote:
> John,
> I have done the same thing on a couple cylinders I've "saved" which saved me
> a bunch of money. One thing to consider is that if the machine sits out in
> "the big shed" and the cylinders are not stored in the retracted position
> the hi-alloy (4140, etc.) rods will rust up fairly quickly. Hard chrome
> plating on cylinder rods does double duty as an excellent wear resistant
> surface and a corrosion preventative but it is very expensive.
> Mark Greer
> 
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "JParks" <jkparks at flash.net>
> To: "Antique tractor email discussion group" <at at lists.antique-tractor.com>
> Sent: Sunday, September 23, 2007 11:19 AM
> Subject: Re: [AT] Diamonds in the rough?
> 
> 
>> Mike
>> When repairing cylinders/replacing rods I try to steer people to machine
>> shops who replace the chrome rods with hi-alloy rods.  They are much
> cheaper
>> than chrome, and will not knick/score/chip the way chrome will.  (about
> 1/3
>> the cost too)  In our area we have a couple of machine shops who carry
>> various sizes in stock, but if not on hand, a day or so of UPS/FedEx
> ground
>> shipping usually gets the right size in.  They cut necessary threads on
> one
>> end, and weld the pin eye or clevis on the other end.
>> John
>> Boise,Id