# Upgrading John Deere (FEL) Loader Cylinders



## mars1952

Hi Folks: I just finished upgrading the hydraulic cylinders on my JD 420 Loader. The tractor only has 1400 hours on it but I was having trouble with the loader leaking down. It would leak down about 10 inches in one hour.

The real impetus for the upgrade was that I broke one of the bucket cylinders. I had curled the bucket all the way down and hooked the bucket teeth on a large vine. I was creeping backwards very slowly, being careful not to tip the tractor over, when I heard a loud bang. The bucket cylinder on the left side had snapped. So to rebuild the broken cylinder was going to be over $250. I refitted with new over sized Bucket cylinders for about $275 for everything. The loader lift cylinders were even cheaper, about $200 for everything. I bought cylinders hoses and fitting from the Surplus Center and cut the ends off and refitted them with the correct ends.

The 2 inch cylinders have about 30% more lift power and about 18% more curl power than the 1-3/4 inch OEM cylinders. The 17 inch lift cylinders that I used yielded 10 inches more lift than the OEM 16 inch cylinders.

I posted a few picture on this site and I posted two 15 min videos on Youtube. Here are the links:

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqCKbyk6s5o"]Upgrading John Deere Loader Cylinders Part 1[/ame]

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jdzYscm91Q"]Upgrading John Deere Loader Cylinders Part 2[/ame]


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## Hoodoo Valley

I already commented on both videos and am glad to see that you joined Tractorforum.com! Was just curious if the cylinder swapout eleminated the drift down or not. This has always aggrivated me right from the first day I bought my 990 brand new. Even with an empty bucket, you can sip a cup of coffee and listen as your cylinders creak and groan on their way to the ground! Always wonderd if it was the valves or the cylinders and whether or not it was designed to dop this or if it was due to cheap cylinders.


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## Hoodoo Valley

By the way, you do awesome work! Wish you lived near me!


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## mars1952

tractor beam said:


> I already commented on both videos and am glad to see that you joined Tractorforum.com! Was just curious if the cylinder swapout eleminated the drift down or not. This has always aggrivated me right from the first day I bought my 990 brand new. Even with an empty bucket, you can sip a cup of coffee and listen as your cylinders creak and groan on their way to the ground! Always wonderd if it was the valves or the cylinders and whether or not it was designed to dop this or if it was due to cheap cylinders.


The leak down went from about 10 inches an hour to less than 2 inches and hour. I plan to rebuild the SCV. Hopefully that will end the leak down.
Mars


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## kitz

Great Videos Alot of good information Sure wish i had the tools you got to do it


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## Hoodoo Valley

mars1952 said:


> The leak down went from about 10 inches an hour to less than 2 inches and hour. I plan to rebuild the SCV. Hopefully that will end the leak down.
> Mars


I'll be watching! My loader arms don't really seem to drift down but the bucket sure does. You can sit there and listen and watch them as they bleed off.


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## mars1952

tractor beam said:


> I'll be watching! My loader arms don't really seem to drift down but the bucket sure does. You can sit there and listen and watch them as they bleed off.


Hi tractor beam: Since I snapped one of the old bucket curl cylinders I could not do a leak down test on them but they were leaking down really fast. Before the rebuild the bucket or forks would leak down so fast the I had to adjust them about every two minutes. Now the bucket cylinders hardly leak down at all. I think that I measured the bucket and lift leak down in "Part Two".
Mars


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## dangeroustoys56

Just like hot rodding- when stock parts break on a vehicle- go with an upgraded part - larger cylenders will take more pressure easily.


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## Hoodoo Valley

You do, however, increase the lift capacity, and put more of a strain on the front axles and could cause premature destruction of seals and bearings. Need to stay within reason.


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## mars1952

tractor beam said:


> You do, however, increase the lift capacity, and put more of a strain on the front axles and could cause premature destruction of seals and bearings. Need to stay within reason.


Hi tractor beam: I worry about my front axle too but John Deere puts the 430 loader on the 4300 and the 430 loader has about the same capacity as my upgraded cylinders. But to be safe I make sure to have plenty of ballast to shift the weight to the rear axles as much as possible.
Mars


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## Hoodoo Valley

The JDs are pretty conservativly rated too. They protect the machines from damage as much as possible.


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## Hoodoo Valley

Hey Mars, Just wondering how those cylinders are holding up?


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## countrygardener

I Just broke the cylinder rod on my JD 110 TLB. I had the 4 in 1 bucket open and was back dragging a pretty good load when it popped and now I am trying to take it apart but haven't figured out how to get the cylinder front cover off. On my Case I just had to use a gland ring tool and unscrew the cap, but this JD does't have that. I took a snap ring off, but the end cap will turn with channel lock pliers, but doesn't come out. Any ideas how this comes apart??


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## bosshogg

I operated heavy equipment for a large portion of my long life. Hydraulic cylinders creep even when new if there is sufficient pressure against them. Don't know if it is in the cylinder or the valves but all the ones I have seen do it. Now if they don't have much load when resting then they might not or not near as much.


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## AzChopp3r

I know this thread is old but part numbers for the cylinders would be nice from surplus center


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