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Spent 14 hours chasing a hydraulic leak on my 2019 Terex, and I'm still not sure I fixed the right thing
Last Tuesday I noticed a small puddle under the outrigger cylinder on my Terex RT 230, just a few drops after a full shift in Knoxville. I figured it was a loose fitting, so I cranked it down, wiped everything clean, and went home feeling good about myself. Came back Wednesday morning to a puddle the size of a dinner plate, so I pulled the cylinder and replaced every O-ring in the kit, which took 4 hours because the gland nut was seized something awful. Thursday it leaked again, this time from the rod seal I had just put in, so I started wondering if I had scored the bore or if the rod itself was bent. By Friday afternoon, 14 hours in, I realized the real problem was a plugged return filter causing back pressure, and the seals were never the issue at all. Now I'm asking, do you chase leaks from the outside in like I did, or do you check the filter and pressure first and save yourself the headache?
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the_sarah9d ago
Man, that stings just reading it. I've been down that road where you yank half the machine apart before you figure out the real culprit was something dumb and cheap the whole time. Four hours fighting a seized gland nut only to find out it was a clogged filter would have me sitting on a bucket in the shop staring at the wall. The worst part is how good you feel after all that work, right up until the puddle shows back up the next morning. At least you know now to check the easy stuff before pulling cylinders.
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