Why do oil leaks appear in the hydraulic cylinder

Any equipment will require maintenance over time and hydraulic cylinders are no exception. Main malfunctions, why it is required repair of hydraulic cylinders : violation of the integrity of the liner and rod, as well as wear of the seals. Moreover, the defects and, accordingly, the repair work of foreign and domestic hydraulic cylinders do not differ at all.

Causes of oil leakage and seal deformation

The most common reason for repairing hydraulic cylinders is an oil leak that appears in the equipment of all manufacturers.

The main factors that affect the appearance of breakdowns:

  • piston and liner wear;
  • incorrect operation of the sealing elements;
  • strong surface roughness of the hydraulic cylinder (over 0.5 μm);
  • exceeding the possible limit of the piston rod bending (more than 0.17 mm per 1 m of the total length).

The most common cause of leaks is considered to be wear on the seals.

Why there is a deformation of the O-rings:

  • Poor quality of the material from which the products are made - this situation mainly arises in the cylinders of the budget price segment in production, when cheap components are used in the design of equipment.
  • Contamination of the hydraulic system - a fluid leak appears due to the fact that dirt, dust, metal chips or particles of already destroyed hoses and hoses get into the hydraulic system. To get rid of these troubles, you need to regularly replace the hydraulic filters.
  • Effects of elevated temperatures - fluid leakage can occur during prolonged operation of equipment in hot conditions with poor lubrication, as a result of which the O-rings of the device begin to become brittle, cracking and delamination occur.
  • Mismatch of the filled working fluid - the wrong choice of oil for the system often leads to the destruction of the material from which the seal is made.

In addition to the above negative factors, leakage can occur due to improper installation of sealing elements, very tight tightening, insufficient lubrication, etc. It is very difficult to diagnose any causes of leakage and make appropriate repairs to hydraulic cylinders. In this case, only specialized companies will be able to help, they will not only be able to restore the operation of the equipment, but also reduce the costs due to its prolonged downtime.