How to change a seal on loader cylinder??

I have a IH 706 tractor but dont know what loader is on it. How labor intensive is it to change a seal on the lift cylinder on one side of the loader?? Its leaking and letting air into the system and I think its whats causing the power steering to keep going out

Well first off you might as well do them both or it most likely will come back on you found that out the hard way. Best and I have also found in the long run the cheapest way is to take it to a hyd. shop and have them do it. It is very easy to nick a seal when you are putting one back together and if you do so you bite the bullet and buy a new kit. If you have some one else do it that does it all the time and they mess up they bite the bullet. BTDT also. Ran into that on a bob cat. We ordered 2 or 3 sets of seals and tried to install them just to fine out after the fact they sent the wrong set. Cost about $25 per and then took it to a shop and got them rebuilt for less then $50
Hobby farm

I've done several personally. For the minimal labor involved, you would be better off having someone do it for you. Damage can occur to the nylon ring and dirt is easily introduced to the system. If you do this yourself, make sure you change all o-rings, wiper seals, and nylon rings. Most simply unbolt and some have snap rings. Each model and type vary. There is enough weight involved that you may need more than one set of hands.

It's doable. I did one a while back for the first time with some advice from the guys here.

CaseIH is going to tell you they can't come up with a kit until you can give them a number off of a ih cylinder. Good luck finding a number on an old painted cylinder.

The hyd. shop may be cheaper for a seal kit but a ih number won't help them.

You probably have to take it apart and take it or the seals into caseih or the hyd shop to match up the seals. Those cylinders are probably a standard size but use different types of packing and seals.

Then you may need a clamp and tin/stiff cardboard to make a make shift ring compressor to compress the new piston seal to get it to go in without being nicked up.

A bench vise would be handy although doable on the loader with one end loose.

Does yours have the narrow slot about a inch or so long at the end of each cylinder where the retaining wire comes out and goes back in? Pry the end of the wire up so you can grip the wire with some vise grips and rotate the end nut with a wrench in the correction direction to unspool the wire.

For a first timer, figure a few hours plus parts chasing.

BUT, the leaking cylinder will not allow air in to the point that it would affect your power steering. Fluid goes from the pump to the steering first and then on to the loader so that is not your source of the power steering problem. You would have to post back with more details about the steering issues. I've been having those too. It may be a weak pump, issue with the flow divider sticking, steering cylinder, or a relief valve or something causing it to bypass.

You can check other posts around here but you would first check and change the filter and see if the screen is plugged causing low flow. Or if cavitation may be an issue from an air leak at the suction, then adding 5 extra gallons of hytran over the full/check plug level fixes that unless you want to split the tractor to change the pump suction seal. Most people just run it with extra hytran.

Post back with what you got and figure out.

Could you post some pictures of the loader? Would make it easier to id. Pictures are sometimes worth thousands of words. Armand

Check for a leak on the return hose/line. Had one awhile back & drove me nuts until I found the problem--- bad hose letting air in.

I'll second the take the cylinder to a shop. While sometimes I do my own, a few of them can be a real pain. Typically then end cap either bolts on or screws in. The last one I needed fixed was a screw in type, with an aluminum end into a steel or cast iron bore. Fluid power shop worked two hours trying to get the end out. No go, it had gone completely back to nature (metal electrolysis between dissimilar metals). Ended up having to replace the cylinder with one from surplus center. But, had I worked on it for two days, I'd have been 2 days into a job and still not gotten it apart.