New Piston Rings

Well, the new hydraulic cylinder seal kit finally came in. The repair was simple.. well, the concept was simple, the repair was painful. The cylinder nut (the back one) was torqued to 275 ft/lbs and had lock-tight. For every 1/4 turn I had to hang from a 7 foot cheater bar which was attached to a 3 foor pipe wrench. WOW! and !!@%^#*!. Maybe I can actually start the foundation some day soon.

Cylinder
Old Piston, New Piston.
Old Gland Nut, New Gland Nut.

Old O-Ring, New O-Ring

Refurbished ram ready for installtion.

Bucket Forks

Well, it was a pretty rainy weekend, and I'm still waiting for the replacement seals for the backhoe cylinder, so I decided to make my bucket forks. Construction details are HERE

Still Chasing Hydraulic Leaks

Well, you get what you pay for ;-) Everytime I replace an old hose, the next weakest one shows. This time the seal on the left bucket cylinder blew. 10 days to order :-( Oh well, shit happens.

Different New Home

OK, I know this isn't exactly related to the new home theme, but it's new to me . I bought this duplex that in the long run should pay for my other house :-) Two 2-bedroom apartments with cathedral ceilings, 2 full baths, and sheetrocked garages. Parish, NY about 1.5 minutes from I81. Should be about a half hour commute to Syracuse or Watertown. I won't mention the lake effect snow when I have to rent it ;-)