Farmall 30 Power loader replacement hydraulic cylinder help

JohnnyMoto · Oct 22, 2013

Hello. I picked up a Farmall / McCormick 30 Power Loader for my Farmall H tractor. The hydraulic cylinder shafts are very rusted and pitted from age and improper storage. I've been searching to find replacement cylinders or shafts but haven't been having much luck.
Has anyone been able to find a suitable replacement cylinder for the model 30 Power Loader?
The machine shops I've talked to want a great deal of money to fabricate new shafts so I'm looking for alternatives. I've also tried lots of online hydraulic cylinder sites, but nobody can come up with anything close to what I need to fit the loader.

Any help would be appreciated.

mkirsch · Oct 22, 2013

Your best bet is finding another loader with good cylinders.

New cylinders will cost you many times what the loader is worth, if you can even find something close. Hydraulic cylinders are not cheap.

IH fan · Oct 22, 2013

(quoted from post at 11:31:06 10/22/13) Hello. I picked up a Farmall / McCormick 30 Power Loader for my Farmall H tractor. The hydraulic cylinder shafts are very rusted and pitted from age and improper storage. I've been searching to find replacement cylinders or shafts but haven't been having much luck.
Has anyone been able to find a suitable replacement cylinder for the model 30 Power Loader?
The machine shops I've talked to want a great deal of money to fabricate new shafts so I'm looking for alternatives. I've also tried lots of online hydraulic cylinder sites, but nobody can come up with anything close to what I need to fit the loader.

Any help would be appreciated.

Cylinder rods would be specific to the cylinder, so finding some that would fit would be pure luck unless you could find someone junking out one similar to it. That might be you best bet, finding someone junking one and combine two of them to make one good one.
As has already been said, new cylinders will cost you more than the loader is worth, and re-chroming and grinding the existing ones would be expensive with chrome places hard to find these days due to the disposal problems.

glennster · Oct 22, 2013

i have an m that has an american road products loader on it. the cylinders were pretty much toast. a local hydraulic shop rebuilt the cylinders for me, the shafts were shot. they stock the chrome shafts, and built new ones with updated seals. cost about 450 dollars for booth cylinders. they were 48 inch long cylinders.

rhtx55 · Oct 22, 2013

It may be a bit pricey, but a hydraulics repair shop might be able to salvage & repair your existing cylinders. I agree a donor loader would be the most economical.

charlieu · Oct 22, 2013

I have a #30 loader for sale, my e-mail is open. Loader is located in Southern Minnesota.
Just the loader is for sale right now.

Rick Remmert · Oct 22, 2013

There is a web site called Baileynet.com. I send a lot of people there. They have cylinders that are resonably priced. You can also buy just the tubing, rod material and the internal parts.

Big Fat Herb · Oct 22, 2013

I had a loader like that and used cylinders off a 605 C Vermeer baler on it

Zachary Hoyt · Oct 22, 2013

Here is one option at Surplus Center for 2.5x48 cylinders for $200
a piece. I have a 31 loader which is almost the same as yours.
Zach
cylinder

SDE · Oct 22, 2013

If the rams are used for pressure up, and gravity feed down, the shaft is not as critical as the internal surface and seals in the ram. If the seal is leaking in the ram, then some oil will most likely slip past the wiper seal on the shaft, but if the ram isn't leaking, then the pits and rust are only a cosmetic problem. Clean and polish to your liking.
Hope I understand this problem correctly.
SDE

The 300 guy · Oct 22, 2013

I had the same problem several years ago. I found a company with the correct tubing size. They cut me two pieces and preped the ends for the cylinder. I bought new gaskets and ram seals. Installed the new tubes and it has been working fine ever since. The tubes only cost me about $45 each. I think I still have the company's name but would have to look for it.

JohnnyMoto · Oct 25, 2013

Thanks for all of the replies. I'm looking at all the options that you offered up. Using the current cylinders with some new seals and a good polishing may be enough get me going. My tractor shop can still order the parts I need.

Getting a new shaft from Bailey's made seems like a decent solution so I can keep the exact setup I have and they are a lot more reasonable than some of the machine shops I've been to.

The surplus center folks have been helpful in trying to find something close to my specs. I'm also checking around for a Vermeer bailer that's being parted out as suggested.

I'll keep you posted on what I come up with and send along some pictures when I get a chance. Hopefully I get everything up and functioning before the snow hits.

JohnnyMoto · Dec 27, 2013

I was able to order some new cups, some other seals and put the pistons back together. I also had a couple of new hydraulic hoses made up and hooked up the loader to the tractor.
I went to Home Depot and bought some plumbing supplies to attach and make a T for the return hoses, hooked up the loader and crossed my fingers.

This is the first time I've had anything hooked up to the hydraulics on the tractor but everything worked as it should.
I guessed at which output to hook up to on the batter side of the tractor and guessed wrong. The left side cylinder didn't raise and lower at the same time as the right side so I switched it to the other port and everything worked in sync.

Since they are one way pistons, as someone pointed out, the pitting on the shafts didn't have any effect on the packing and there are no leaks.
I put a layer of grease on the exposed portions of the shaft to prevent any further pitting or rusting.

Thank you for all of your comments and suggestions.

jsr8011 · Dec 27, 2013

gave in and had my cylinders rebuilt. A great deal of money is exactly what it cost. two cylinders were about as much as I paid for the H.

JohnnyMoto · Dec 27, 2013

The seals were around 80 dollars. I couldn't find replacement cylinders and the costs I was quoted for someone else rebuilding them were out of my price range.

Farmall 30 Power loader replacement hydraulic cylinder help

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