Foothills Jim
Advanced Member
After removing the bottom cap, I pulled everything out. I left the bottom pad attached because I wanted to be able to grip the leg to keep it from rotating while unscrewing the pad bolt. I had to hold it with a strap wrench to get the bolt out. The piston had a guide strip and a 3-piece seal. It easily unscrewed by hand from the rod/leg.
The piston seals came off easily using a plastic pick to prevent scratching the piston.
The bottom cap has a 2-piece static seal that seals between the cap and the cylinder. This seal consists of an O-ring and a backup ring that fit together in the groove. The backup ring goes towards the bottom with its concave side against the O-ring. Inside the bottom cap is a rod seal that seals between the cap and the rod/leg. On the bottom is a wiper seal that keeps dirt away from the rod seal. I used the plastic pick to pry the edge of the wiper seal back and then stuck the end of a wooden clothes pin in the gap to pry the seal out. Try to avoid metal tools that may scratch sealing surfaces.
The rod seal was the hardest to remove. It is very stiff. I had to stab it with two metal picks to pull it away from the groove some and then insert something stronger in the gap to pry it completely out of its groove. This was the only seal that was hard to replace. Online it suggests bending it into a kidney shape to install. I put vinyl tubing over the tips of needle nose pliers to protect the seal when installing it.
SEE "Leveling Leg Seal Replacement with pictures. Post 3 of 3" for continuation.
The piston seals came off easily using a plastic pick to prevent scratching the piston.
The bottom cap has a 2-piece static seal that seals between the cap and the cylinder. This seal consists of an O-ring and a backup ring that fit together in the groove. The backup ring goes towards the bottom with its concave side against the O-ring. Inside the bottom cap is a rod seal that seals between the cap and the rod/leg. On the bottom is a wiper seal that keeps dirt away from the rod seal. I used the plastic pick to pry the edge of the wiper seal back and then stuck the end of a wooden clothes pin in the gap to pry the seal out. Try to avoid metal tools that may scratch sealing surfaces.
The rod seal was the hardest to remove. It is very stiff. I had to stab it with two metal picks to pull it away from the groove some and then insert something stronger in the gap to pry it completely out of its groove. This was the only seal that was hard to replace. Online it suggests bending it into a kidney shape to install. I put vinyl tubing over the tips of needle nose pliers to protect the seal when installing it.
SEE "Leveling Leg Seal Replacement with pictures. Post 3 of 3" for continuation.
