Hey Dennis, No worries. Your ram sounds good to go. My long story, longer: It's been two years since my Navtec adventure. At the time, I watched many YouTube videos on rebuilding hydraulic rams, and thought "I can do that". The two seals on the piston are made of a very hard rubber and sit in a deep square groove. Videos show running a thin strap through the hole to stretch the seal around the piston. I think I used a string, but it was very challenging. I then ran into the hurdle of getting the piston back into the cylinder with new seals. On the bottom end of the cylinder, the inner walls are sloped to safely compress the seals during reassembly. But there are threads that make this challenging and my new seal caught on those threads. I believe the shop has a special ring compressor they use for assembly. It happened in June and I missed three weeks of sailing, taking it off and waiting for the shop, then ordering parts and failing to fix it and getting new parts and finally getting the ram shop to fix it. So now is a good time to check your hydraulics so you don't miss any sailing. Chuck S
> On 01/09/2024 10:16 AM EST Dennis C. via CnC-List <cnc-list@cnc-list.com> > wrote: > > > Chuck, > > Don't disagree with anything you said. The seals I replaced were probably > the simplest ones in the unit requiring no special tools. As I alluded to in > my post, it was a simple rebuild with no mitigating issues. > > I chose to not replace the main piston seals. Fortunately, they seem to be > doing well. The unit is still holding about 500-600 psi after over 48 hours. > > -- > Dennis C. > Touche' 35-1 #83 > Mandeville, LA > > On Mon, Jan 8, 2024 at 12:50 PM CHARLES SCHEAFFER via CnC-List > <cnc-list@cnc-list.com mailto:cnc-list@cnc-list.com> wrote: > > > FWIW, I tried to rebuild my backstay ram two summers ago and learned the > > hard way, I didn't have the proper tools to do it myself. I wound up > > taking the thing to a local shop and they finished it for me. I got a > > rebuild kit from Offshore Spars and followed the detailed instructions that > > Dennis shared and got all the specific seals on the rod and piston but > > couldn't get the piston back into the cylinder. A new seal jambed on the > > inside threads of the cylinder. Desperate, I took it to the shop and they > > looked at it, ordered a new $15 seal which took a few days and installed it > > while I waited, the next Saturday. > > > > IIRC, the parts were $120 and the guy charged me $50 for ten minutes work. > > Plus, I gave him $20 to look at it. Not bad. > > > > I'd rather use my local shop that has all the tools and ram expertise. I > > only tried to rebuild it myself that time, because the front office said > > they couldn't get to it for a month and I would have missed a month of > > sailing. > > > > I learned that at my local hydraulics shop, during the week, the women in > > the front office schedule the jobs and everything waits for months. On > > Saturday, the front office is closed and the workers in the back, are happy > > to help people in distress. > > > > Another thought, the O-ring seal at the top of the ram is an easy DIY > > project because that seal lives in the top cap that unscrews from the > > cylinder. You still have to follow the instructions to work on it, to be > > safe, but it is a simpler job than rebuilding the whole unit which has > > multiple seals inside. My local shop repaced that seal fifteen years back > > for $35 and then bench tested the unit to #4000 for me, to prove that was > > the only thing needed. This time around, I thought I should rebuild the > > whole unit for peace of mind. > > > > Tip: This is the best time of year to check your hydraulic rams and get > > them fixed. Don't wait, like I did, till Spring. > > > > Chuck Scheaffer, Resolute, 1989 C&C 34R, Annapolis > > > > > > > > > Please show your appreciation for this list and the Photo Album site and > > help me pay the associated bills. Make a contribution at: > > https://www.paypal.me/stumurray > > Thanks for your help. > > Stu > > > > > Please show your appreciation for this list and the Photo Album site and help > me pay the associated bills. Make a contribution at: > https://www.paypal.me/stumurray > Thanks for your help. > Stu >
Please show your appreciation for this list and the Photo Album site and help me pay the associated bills. Make a contribution at: https://www.paypal.me/stumurray Thanks for your help. Stu
