Navtec hydraulic backstay - amateur rebuild
A fellow boater had a Navtec integral hydraulic backstay adjuster that blew
the top seal. As many of you know, this is probably the most common
failure for these. Exposure to UV and the elements deteriorates the rod
wiper at the top of the cylinder and it's downhill from there. (I
recommend a 1/2 washer on top of the cylinder.)
This list has been down this road many times. There's always a discussion
whether to take the thing to a local hydraulic shop or let Lew Townsend in
Seattle rebuild it. For the record, I sent Touche's adjuster to Lew a
couple years ago and am a satisfied Lew client.
So I called Lew and chatted with him about this "orphan" adjuster. He
asked some critical questions. Was I going to keep it as a spare? Was I
going to try to auction it? He commented that neither option was
particularly economical. Hmmmm. Then we talked about snow skiing. We're
both avid skiers.
After some thought, I tended to agree with Lew. Including shipping, a
rebuild would be north of $400-500. An expensive gamble to have it sit on
eBay for weeks like others I've seen.
So I decided to give the rebuild a shot myself. The Navtec seal kit, IF
you can find one, is about $200. Philosophically, it's not much more than
a manual hydraulic jack that compresses rather than lifts. Internet
research turned up a set of rebuild instructions. See here:
https://www.plaisance-pratique.com/IMG/pdf/navtec_hydraulik_service_manual.pdf
Armed with instructions and a pair of calipers, off I went. Disassembly of
the cylinder was fairly straightforward. I found several equivalent seals
at mcmaster.com. For those who are really interested, parts below are
referenced on Page 8.
Part Qty Navtec Mcmaster Price
31 2 HJ-2-215 9452K36 $12.08 (Needed 2. Had to buy 100)
35 1 HI-005 9505K39 $4.83
36 1 HN-002 9403K55 $2.30
Jug of Fram Hydraulic Jack Oil AW32. $10
Reassembly went well. I strapped it between two trees in my backyard and
pressured it up. I noticed the thing was leaking from the pump piston.
Okay, I pulled the pump handle and piston. The piston rod seal
disintegrated when I removed it. Turned out this is a generic U seal with
o-ring 1/4x1/2x1/4. Internet search on the Navtec number turned up
numerous suppliers. I bought it from Crescent Hydraulics in south Florida.
Part Qty Navtec Crescent Price
39 1 12500250-250B P125-00,250-250B $4.05
It's now back between the trees pressured up to 500-700. Hard to tell
because the gauge lens is very crazed. But it seems to be holding. I'll
know for sure in a couple days.
Granted, I did not get into the actual pump assembly and all the check
valves, etc. The cylinder walls, rods, etc. seemed to be in excellent
condition so no polishing was necessary.
So far I'm in it for less than $50.
I want to replace the pressure gauge. I can't find a generic one that is
equivalent. It needs to be a certain shape for the gauge cover to fit it.
It looks like a gauge off a fire extinguisher. Oh. well. A challenge for
later.
--
Dennis C.
Touche' 35-1 #83
Mandeville, LA
Very cool write-up and project. Thanks for sharing.
From: Dennis C. via CnC-List cnc-list@cnc-list.com
Sent: Sunday, January 7, 2024 3:44 PM
To: CnClist CnC-List@cnc-list.com
Cc: Dennis C. captbuy@gmail.com
Subject: Stus-List Navtec hydraulic backstay - amateur rebuild
A fellow boater had a Navtec integral hydraulic backstay adjuster that blew the top seal. As many of you know, this is probably the most common failure for these. Exposure to UV and the elements deteriorates the rod wiper at the top of the cylinder and it's downhill from there. (I recommend a 1/2 washer on top of the cylinder.)
This list has been down this road many times. There's always a discussion whether to take the thing to a local hydraulic shop or let Lew Townsend in Seattle rebuild it. For the record, I sent Touche's adjuster to Lew a couple years ago and am a satisfied Lew client.
So I called Lew and chatted with him about this "orphan" adjuster. He asked some critical questions. Was I going to keep it as a spare? Was I going to try to auction it? He commented that neither option was particularly economical. Hmmmm. Then we talked about snow skiing. We're both avid skiers.
After some thought, I tended to agree with Lew. Including shipping, a rebuild would be north of $400-500. An expensive gamble to have it sit on eBay for weeks like others I've seen.
So I decided to give the rebuild a shot myself. The Navtec seal kit, IF you can find one, is about $200. Philosophically, it's not much more than a manual hydraulic jack that compresses rather than lifts. Internet research turned up a set of rebuild instructions. See here:
https://www.plaisance-pratique.com/IMG/pdf/navtec_hydraulik_service_manual.pdf
Armed with instructions and a pair of calipers, off I went. Disassembly of the cylinder was fairly straightforward. I found several equivalent seals at mcmaster.comhttp://mcmaster.com. For those who are really interested, parts below are referenced on Page 8.
Part Qty Navtec Mcmaster Price
31 2 HJ-2-215 9452K36 $12.08 (Needed 2. Had to buy 100)
35 1 HI-005 9505K39 $4.83
36 1 HN-002 9403K55 $2.30
Jug of Fram Hydraulic Jack Oil AW32. $10
Reassembly went well. I strapped it between two trees in my backyard and pressured it up. I noticed the thing was leaking from the pump piston. Okay, I pulled the pump handle and piston. The piston rod seal disintegrated when I removed it. Turned out this is a generic U seal with o-ring 1/4x1/2x1/4. Internet search on the Navtec number turned up numerous suppliers. I bought it from Crescent Hydraulics in south Florida.
Part Qty Navtec Crescent Price
39 1 12500250-250B P125-00,250-250B $4.05
It's now back between the trees pressured up to 500-700. Hard to tell because the gauge lens is very crazed. But it seems to be holding. I'll know for sure in a couple days.
Granted, I did not get into the actual pump assembly and all the check valves, etc. The cylinder walls, rods, etc. seemed to be in excellent condition so no polishing was necessary.
So far I'm in it for less than $50.
I want to replace the pressure gauge. I can't find a generic one that is equivalent. It needs to be a certain shape for the gauge cover to fit it. It looks like a gauge off a fire extinguisher. Oh. well. A challenge for later.
--
Dennis C.
Touche' 35-1 #83
Mandeville, LA
Thank you for sharing this. I will keep it as reference.
C&C 33-2
Bruno Lachance
Le 7 janv. 2024 à 15:45, Dennis C. via CnC-List cnc-list@cnc-list.com a écrit :
A fellow boater had a Navtec integral hydraulic backstay adjuster that blew the top seal. As many of you know, this is probably the most common failure for these. Exposure to UV and the elements deteriorates the rod wiper at the top of the cylinder and it's downhill from there. (I recommend a 1/2 washer on top of the cylinder.)
This list has been down this road many times. There's always a discussion whether to take the thing to a local hydraulic shop or let Lew Townsend in Seattle rebuild it. For the record, I sent Touche's adjuster to Lew a couple years ago and am a satisfied Lew client.
So I called Lew and chatted with him about this "orphan" adjuster. He asked some critical questions. Was I going to keep it as a spare? Was I going to try to auction it? He commented that neither option was particularly economical. Hmmmm. Then we talked about snow skiing. We're both avid skiers.
After some thought, I tended to agree with Lew. Including shipping, a rebuild would be north of $400-500. An expensive gamble to have it sit on eBay for weeks like others I've seen.
So I decided to give the rebuild a shot myself. The Navtec seal kit, IF you can find one, is about $200. Philosophically, it's not much more than a manual hydraulic jack that compresses rather than lifts. Internet research turned up a set of rebuild instructions. See here:
https://www.plaisance-pratique.com/IMG/pdf/navtec_hydraulik_service_manual.pdf
Armed with instructions and a pair of calipers, off I went. Disassembly of the cylinder was fairly straightforward. I found several equivalent seals at mcmaster.comhttp://mcmaster.com. For those who are really interested, parts below are referenced on Page 8.
Part Qty Navtec Mcmaster Price
31 2 HJ-2-215 9452K36 $12.08 (Needed 2. Had to buy 100)
35 1 HI-005 9505K39 $4.83
36 1 HN-002 9403K55 $2.30
Jug of Fram Hydraulic Jack Oil AW32. $10
Reassembly went well. I strapped it between two trees in my backyard and pressured it up. I noticed the thing was leaking from the pump piston. Okay, I pulled the pump handle and piston. The piston rod seal disintegrated when I removed it. Turned out this is a generic U seal with o-ring 1/4x1/2x1/4. Internet search on the Navtec number turned up numerous suppliers. I bought it from Crescent Hydraulics in south Florida.
Part Qty Navtec Crescent Price
39 1 12500250-250B P125-00,250-250B $4.05
It's now back between the trees pressured up to 500-700. Hard to tell because the gauge lens is very crazed. But it seems to be holding. I'll know for sure in a couple days.
Granted, I did not get into the actual pump assembly and all the check valves, etc. The cylinder walls, rods, etc. seemed to be in excellent condition so no polishing was necessary.
So far I'm in it for less than $50.
I want to replace the pressure gauge. I can't find a generic one that is equivalent. It needs to be a certain shape for the gauge cover to fit it. It looks like a gauge off a fire extinguisher. Oh. well. A challenge for later.
--
Dennis C.
Touche' 35-1 #83
Mandeville, LA
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
Dennis, this is super description complete with part numbers. Thanks!
Interested to hear any updates on your diy assembly.
The Navtec on my 37 doesn’t leak fluid, but may be low or time to change.
Recovery after each pump is slow.
Peter McMinn
_/)
On Sun, Jan 7, 2024 at 12:44 PM Dennis C. via CnC-List <
cnc-list@cnc-list.com> wrote:
A fellow boater had a Navtec integral hydraulic backstay adjuster that
blew the top seal. As many of you know, this is probably the most common
failure for these. Exposure to UV and the elements deteriorates the rod
wiper at the top of the cylinder and it's downhill from there. (I
recommend a 1/2 washer on top of the cylinder.)
This list has been down this road many times. There's always a discussion
whether to take the thing to a local hydraulic shop or let Lew Townsend in
Seattle rebuild it. For the record, I sent Touche's adjuster to Lew a
couple years ago and am a satisfied Lew client.
So I called Lew and chatted with him about this "orphan" adjuster. He
asked some critical questions. Was I going to keep it as a spare? Was I
going to try to auction it? He commented that neither option was
particularly economical. Hmmmm. Then we talked about snow skiing. We're
both avid skiers.
After some thought, I tended to agree with Lew. Including shipping, a
rebuild would be north of $400-500. An expensive gamble to have it sit on
eBay for weeks like others I've seen.
So I decided to give the rebuild a shot myself. The Navtec seal kit, IF
you can find one, is about $200. Philosophically, it's not much more than
a manual hydraulic jack that compresses rather than lifts. Internet
research turned up a set of rebuild instructions. See here:
https://www.plaisance-pratique.com/IMG/pdf/navtec_hydraulik_service_manual.pdf
Armed with instructions and a pair of calipers, off I went. Disassembly
of the cylinder was fairly straightforward. I found several equivalent
seals at mcmaster.com. For those who are really interested, parts below
are referenced on Page 8.
Part Qty Navtec Mcmaster Price
31 2 HJ-2-215 9452K36 $12.08 (Needed 2. Had to buy 100)
35 1 HI-005 9505K39 $4.83
36 1 HN-002 9403K55 $2.30
Jug of Fram Hydraulic Jack Oil AW32. $10
Reassembly went well. I strapped it between two trees in my backyard and
pressured it up. I noticed the thing was leaking from the pump piston.
Okay, I pulled the pump handle and piston. The piston rod seal
disintegrated when I removed it. Turned out this is a generic U seal with
o-ring 1/4x1/2x1/4. Internet search on the Navtec number turned up
numerous suppliers. I bought it from Crescent Hydraulics in south Florida.
Part Qty Navtec Crescent Price
39 1 12500250-250B P125-00,250-250B $4.05
It's now back between the trees pressured up to 500-700. Hard to tell
because the gauge lens is very crazed. But it seems to be holding. I'll
know for sure in a couple days.
Granted, I did not get into the actual pump assembly and all the check
valves, etc. The cylinder walls, rods, etc. seemed to be in excellent
condition so no polishing was necessary.
So far I'm in it for less than $50.
I want to replace the pressure gauge. I can't find a generic one that is
equivalent. It needs to be a certain shape for the gauge cover to fit it.
It looks like a gauge off a fire extinguisher. Oh. well. A challenge for
later.
--
Dennis C.
Touche' 35-1 #83
Mandeville, LA
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
Great detailed write-up Dennis!
If I had known it was coming, I might have done the equivalent rebuild of my 28 year old Navtec/Sailtec unit myself. Alas, I just picked it up from my local hydraulic shop after a complete rebuild including the internal seals, etc. about 3 weeks ago!
Initially the shop claimed there was no longer a rebuild kit available for this old unit but when I picked it up, they told me that Navtec/Sailtec located what they claimed was the last kit in existence on a little used shelf in their shop/warehouse so the shop was able to do a complete rebuild.
For reference purposes, the total cost of my rebuild was $652.73, including shipping of kit to NC and NC 7% sales tax. I drove it to and from the shop myself.
The equivalent new replacement was north of $2000 and this was the second rebuild of the cylinder in 28 years (by the same shop).
It could likely be rebuilt again in another 14 years but that won’t be my problem unless I’m still trying to figure out how to improve my club racing when I ‘m in my 90s!
Charlie Nelson1995 C&C 36XL/kcbWater Phantom
Sent from the all new AOL app for iOS
On Sunday, January 7, 2024, 3:44 PM, Dennis C. via CnC-List cnc-list@cnc-list.com wrote:
A fellow boater had a Navtec integral hydraulic backstay adjuster that blew the top seal. As many of you know, this is probably the most common failure for these. Exposure to UV and the elements deteriorates the rod wiper at the top of the cylinder and it's downhill from there. (I recommend a 1/2 washer on top of the cylinder.)
This list has been down this road many times. There's always a discussion whether to take the thing to a local hydraulic shop or let Lew Townsend in Seattle rebuild it. For the record, I sent Touche's adjuster to Lew a couple years ago and am a satisfied Lew client.
So I called Lew and chatted with him about this "orphan" adjuster. He asked some critical questions. Was I going to keep it as a spare? Was I going to try to auction it? He commented that neither option was particularly economical. Hmmmm. Then we talked about snow skiing. We're both avid skiers.
After some thought, I tended to agree with Lew. Including shipping, a rebuild would be north of $400-500. An expensive gamble to have it sit on eBay for weeks like others I've seen.
So I decided to give the rebuild a shot myself. The Navtec seal kit, IF you can find one, is about $200. Philosophically, it's not much more than a manual hydraulic jack that compresses rather than lifts. Internet research turned up a set of rebuild instructions. See here:
https://www.plaisance-pratique.com/IMG/pdf/navtec_hydraulik_service_manual.pdf
Armed with instructions and a pair of calipers, off I went. Disassembly of the cylinder was fairly straightforward. I found several equivalent seals at mcmaster.com. For those who are really interested, parts below are referenced on Page 8.
Part Qty Navtec Mcmaster Price31 2 HJ-2-215 9452K36 $12.08 (Needed 2. Had to buy 100)35 1 HI-005 9505K39 $4.8336 1 HN-002 9403K55 $2.30
Jug of Fram Hydraulic Jack Oil AW32. $10
Reassembly went well. I strapped it between two trees in my backyard and pressured it up. I noticed the thing was leaking from the pump piston. Okay, I pulled the pump handle and piston. The piston rod seal disintegrated when I removed it. Turned out this is a generic U seal with o-ring 1/4x1/2x1/4. Internet search on the Navtec number turned up numerous suppliers. I bought it from Crescent Hydraulics in south Florida.
Part Qty Navtec Crescent Price
39 1 12500250-250B P125-00,250-250B $4.05
It's now back between the trees pressured up to 500-700. Hard to tell because the gauge lens is very crazed. But it seems to be holding. I'll know for sure in a couple days.
Granted, I did not get into the actual pump assembly and all the check valves, etc. The cylinder walls, rods, etc. seemed to be in excellent condition so no polishing was necessary.
So far I'm in it for less than $50.
I want to replace the pressure gauge. I can't find a generic one that is equivalent. It needs to be a certain shape for the gauge cover to fit it. It looks like a gauge off a fire extinguisher. Oh. well. A challenge for later.
Dennis C.Touche' 35-1 #83Mandeville, LAPlease 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
I had my pump, backstay and boomvang all serviced by Western Hydralics in Ontario Canada. They did servicing at different times from $275 cdn to $425 cdn for each piece. For the American, if shipping is feasible, that's seems to be much less with the exchange rate. I had the boomvang snap in half (literally)some years back (never realized why) and they rebuilt it entirely with a new aluminum tubing and tapped for refitting and rebuilding to the existing. They are a big industrial shop and these little pieces don't seem to be a problem. They also didn't look specifically for Navtec parts as they sourced generic and fabricated their own as needed. They also put the 650lbs of gas in my vang and periodically top up when needed. I've always been happy with their workPaul Hood416.799.5549
-------- Original message --------From: cenelson--- via CnC-List cnc-list@cnc-list.com Date: 2024-01-07 10:40 p.m. (GMT-05:00) To: Stus-List cnc-list@cnc-list.com, CnClist CnC-List@cnc-list.com Cc: cenelson@aol.com Subject: Stus-List Re: Navtec hydraulic backstay - amateur rebuild
Great detailed write-up Dennis! If I had known it was coming, I might have done the equivalent rebuild of my 28 year old Navtec/Sailtec unit myself. Alas, I just picked it up from my local hydraulic shop after a complete rebuild including the internal seals, etc. about 3 weeks ago!Initially the shop claimed there was no longer a rebuild kit available for this old unit but when I picked it up, they told me that Navtec/Sailtec located what they claimed was the last kit in existence on a little used shelf in their shop/warehouse so the shop was able to do a complete rebuild.For reference purposes, the total cost of my rebuild was $652.73, including shipping of kit to NC and NC 7% sales tax. I drove it to and from the shop myself. The equivalent new replacement was north of $2000 and this was the second rebuild of the cylinder in 28 years (by the same shop). It could likely be rebuilt again in another 14 years but that won’t be my problem unless I’m still trying to figure out how to improve my club racing when I ‘m in my 90s!Charlie Nelson1995 C&C 36XL/kcbWater Phantom Sent from the all new AOL app for iOSOn Sunday, January 7, 2024, 3:44 PM, Dennis C. via CnC-List cnc-list@cnc-list.com wrote:A fellow boater had a Navtec integral hydraulic backstay adjuster that blew the top seal. As many of you know, this is probably the most common failure for these. Exposure to UV and the elements deteriorates the rod wiper at the top of the cylinder and it's downhill from there. (I recommend a 1/2 washer on top of the cylinder.)This list has been down this road many times. There's always a discussion whether to take the thing to a local hydraulic shop or let Lew Townsend in Seattle rebuild it. For the record, I sent Touche's adjuster to Lew a couple years ago and am a satisfied Lew client.So I called Lew and chatted with him about this "orphan" adjuster. He asked some critical questions. Was I going to keep it as a spare? Was I going to try to auction it? He commented that neither option was particularly economical. Hmmmm. Then we talked about snow skiing. We're both avid skiers.After some thought, I tended to agree with Lew. Including shipping, a rebuild would be north of $400-500. An expensive gamble to have it sit on eBay for weeks like others I've seen.So I decided to give the rebuild a shot myself. The Navtec seal kit, IF you can find one, is about $200. Philosophically, it's not much more than a manual hydraulic jack that compresses rather than lifts. Internet research turned up a set of rebuild instructions. See here:https://www.plaisance-pratique.com/IMG/pdf/navtec_hydraulik_service_manual.pdfArmed with instructions and a pair of calipers, off I went. Disassembly of the cylinder was fairly straightforward. I found several equivalent seals at mcmaster.com. For those who are really interested, parts below are referenced on Page 8.Part Qty Navtec Mcmaster Price31 2 HJ-2-215 9452K36 $12.08 (Needed 2. Had to buy 100)35 1 HI-005 9505K39 $4.8336 1 HN-002 9403K55 $2.30Jug of Fram Hydraulic Jack Oil AW32. $10Reassembly went well. I strapped it between two trees in my backyard and pressured it up. I noticed the thing was leaking from the pump piston. Okay, I pulled the pump handle and piston. The piston rod seal disintegrated when I removed it. Turned out this is a generic U seal with o-ring 1/4x1/2x1/4. Internet search on the Navtec number turned up numerous suppliers. I bought it from Crescent Hydraulics in south Florida.Part Qty Navtec Crescent Price39 1 12500250-250B P125-00,250-250B $4.05It's now back between the trees pressured up to 500-700. Hard to tell because the gauge lens is very crazed. But it seems to be holding. I'll know for sure in a couple days.Granted, I did not get into the actual pump assembly and all the check valves, etc. The cylinder walls, rods, etc. seemed to be in excellent condition so no polishing was necessary. So far I'm in it for less than $50.I want to replace the pressure gauge. I can't find a generic one that is equivalent. It needs to be a certain shape for the gauge cover to fit it. It looks like a gauge off a fire extinguisher. Oh. well. A challenge for later.-- Dennis C.Touche' 35-1 #83Mandeville, LA
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/stumurrayThanks for your help.Stu
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
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> 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
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
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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
Shout out to Dennis for helping me replace the end seals on my Navtec,
Tom A