Obsolete Cylinder got your equipment down!

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From time to time, we have customers bring in cylinders from yard machines for repair. Usually from older worn equipment, but with enough life left to serve residential use. In these situations, customers are sensitive to price but still emotionally attached to the old machine.  

Recently one came in with a bent rod. The operator didn’t notice and continued to use the machine until the damage became severe. Both the barrel and the rod need to be replaced. The gland would need work as it too was damaged by the bent rod being driven through scoring the inside diameter. Neither a factory cylinder nor a used one was available. So, aftermarket or repair are the remaining alternatives.

With the price of materials added to the machine and welding labor, rebuilding was possible but costly. That leaves off-the-shelf aftermarket. Of course, and understandably, aftermarket cylinders may not be an exact fit. Ports, stroke, overall length, and other attributes may not be an exact match. You can see in the image that the new after-market cylinder is considerably different than the original Yanmar cylinder. That’s where we can help.

We can find the best fit and modify so the ports, stroke, length, and pins fit. In the case of cylinder in the picture we needed to reuse both eyes and the port tubing. We carefully measure both new and old and cut the eyes off, v cut for deep penetrating welds – at least two or more passes. Same with port/tubes but here we tig them to the new cylinder. We also needed to shorten the stroke. After painting the cylinder is ready and will fit exactly like the old one. The price of an aftermarket is a fraction of the price of a new factory model if it were available. So, factoring in the labor price of the modifications, this is a great solution that will extend the life of the machine at a reasonable price.