Jd 350 boom cylinder disassembly

[JSmith]

Hi. The boom cylinder on one side of my 350 developed a pretty major leak this past fall and I am trying to fix it over the winter. I pulled the cylinder and unthreaded an outer ring which was somewhat stripped. Now how do I disassemble the cylinder? It looks like there is a snap ring in there? Its not like other cylinders I have repaired. Thanks

[Mikeforester]

Hi,

Tap the gland in a little with a wooden block and hammer to expose the snap ring (be careful not to damage threads on gland). Use a pick and remove the snap ring. Clean out the snap ring area with a wirebrush or scotch-rite pad real good so you don't damage the gland or piston when removing them. The rod, gland and piston all come out together after that.

Mike

[Jim B]

I can't see your cylinder but it sounds like you have the type where the gland nut holds the gland (I think you may find this part called the rod guide in some manuals) out against that snap ring to remove any play and to keep the gland from moving into the barrel during operation. That internal snap ring is actually the only part that keeps the gland from blowing out during operation for this type cylinder.

Remove the gland nut, as you have said you have done, then carefully tap the gland deeper into the barrel to get room to remove the snap ring, which can be a pain to do. Once you have the snap ring out you should be able to pull the rod out. The piston on the rod will bring the gland out. When you assemble it you have to tap the gland, like you did during disassembly to have room to install the snap ring. After the snap ring is in place, pull on the rod to use the piston to bump the gland out and into contact with the snap ring, then install tighten and gland nut.

Hope this helps. The right manual should have explained that, although I know in some cases the manual writers expect mechanics already have that info and might not include it. If you don't have a manual you might want to contact Lavoy and see what he has.

[JSmith]

Thanks for the replies. I have a shop manual but it doesn't go into details about the cylinder disassembly for whatever reason. I should be able to take care of it now though. Thanks again and I'll be back here if I have any other problems.