jammed log splitter

Some of your technical answers scare me, but here goes-------my 3 year old Central Hydraulics (Harbor Freight) splitter jammed and I would like some help in figuring out what went wrong and how to fix it.

The ram normally stops a few inches short of the backstop, but yesterday, the ran just kept coming and jammed into the backstop-----I cannot reverse it via running the engine and reversing the valve, but nothing moves. Also, I tried to move the ram back with a crow bar----no luck.

Any help is appreciated.

jammed splitter

you will have to remove the lines , so you can relieve the pressure , then you should be able to move the ram back. sounds like you will need a new ram, blew the seals or something out that usually stops the ram.
that`s my guess
good luck

Are you saying that the ram has extended all the way out and won't return back in? If that is what you mean the nut has probably came of the piston and the pressure forced the rod all the way out. Try pushing the rod back in with a Bar with the valve held open and the engine off.

Yes, the ram is extended all the way to the stop.

If I get the ram to go back, don't I still need to get the nut back on ? Also, they sell a seal kit, so I should be able to fix the seals---but how do I get the old seals out ? one end is welded---how does the other (ram) end come apart ?

thanks so far

there is a few different ways they are put together. some ends are threaded on and some are held in witha snap ring. pictures would help?
also how many ton or a model number

do you have a photo of the cylinder?

Is there 2 holed or slots in the end plug where the rod comes out. I looked at the parts breakdown on HF website andthere is no snaprings and it appears to bethreaded in the end of the barrel of the cylinder

there are no holes or slots in the ram end-----the back end is welded and it almost seems like you have to break the weld,repair seals and reweld.

i talked to Home Depot who said they had one that came out all the way----they drained the fluid (water in fluid) put in new fluid and it worked fine---i'm going to try that, but it would be good to know how to replace the seals

thanks to all---it feels good just to know that there are folks willing to help.

I have never seen a cylinder that you have to cut an end off to rebuild. The end with the rod will come off some how. If a snap ring isn't visible it most likely will screw out somehow. Does it look like there is a indentation a quarter inch from the end of the barrel where the rod comes out?

grandpatractor---I LIED TO YOU----after "wiggling" around the ram, I was able to see two holes (maybe 3/16) 180 degrees apart on the ram faceplate---so, it probably threads off like you thought. It's easier to see that stuff with the ram off, but I first wanted to drain and refill it to see if that helps.

I need to be away for a while, but as soon as I get back, I'll work on the unit and post what I find so it may help someone else.

HAPPY NEW YEAR !

I would almost guarantee that water in your oil is not the problem. If your oil is milky it won't hurt to change it, but that ain't the problem.
In my experience with hydraulics, grandpatractor is leading you down the right path.

Lesson #1: Never take advice from guys at Home Depot too seriously. :greenchainsaw:

redprospector said:

Lesson #1: Never take advice from guys at Home Depot too seriously. :greenchainsaw:

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That is great Mind if I put that in my sig. line?

If the rod nut came off inside the ram then go to a nylon type lock nut when you put it back together. Use red locktite for added insurance. I put the nut back on with a 1 inch impact gun that pulls around a thousand foot pounds (4 and 4 1/2 inch rams with 1 1/2" nuts). You can use a ten foot long bar/pipe though the rod eye to hold it while you tighten in up (If you don't have an impact then use a 4 ft pipe wrench with a cheater bar). Another way to hold it is to put it back in the spliter where the rod eye ususally goes, while you tighten the nut up.
Good Luck

It looks like you are getting good support here. I'll second the notion that water is not likely to be the source of your troubles.

You need a spanner wrench to remove/install the end cap.

sawinredneck said:

That is great Mind if I put that in my sig. line?

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Go for it.

Andy

redprospector said:

Go for it.

Andy

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Thank you sir
Andy

richoj said:

---my 3 year old Central Hydraulics (Harbor Freight) splitter jammed ...

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Hate to sound cynical, but "You get what you pay for" comes to mind. Central Hydraulics is the marketing-driven, American sounding name for Chinese manufactured junk. Rhetorical question, what did you pay for it, and did you think it would hold up as well as one from say NorthStar or TroyBilt or any other brand, domestic or imported, made with quality components and (here comes the important part) costing probably twice as much?

Yes, I know, you didn't want to spend a lot for something you weren't going to use much. Been there, done that, actually on a couple of different items from Harbor Freight. At this point, my goal is to never shop there again, for anything, but if I do, if will be only after consciously coming to the decision that whatever I'm buying needs to hold up to only the one-time use that's driving the purchase, and anything more is gravy, and that I won't be uspset when my piece of junk breaks.

EngineerDude said:

Hate to sound cynical, but "You get what you pay for" comes to mind. Central Hydraulics is the marketing-driven, American sounding name for Chinese manufactured junk. Rhetorical question, what did you pay for it, and did you think it would hold up as well as one from say NorthStar or TroyBilt or any other brand, domestic or imported, made with quality components and (here comes the important part) costing probably twice as much?

Yes, I know, you didn't want to spend a lot for something you weren't going to use much. Been there, done that, actually on a couple of different items from Harbor Freight. At this point, my goal is to never shop there again, for anything, but if I do, if will be only after consciously coming to the decision that whatever I'm buying needs to hold up to only the one-time use that's driving the purchase, and anything more is gravy, and that I won't be uspset when my piece of junk breaks.

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i may agree with you on certain items at Harbor Freight, but i've bought some things there that have outlasted similar tools i bought from sears. true, "you get what you pay for", but i've been ripped off by places like home depot as well as sears too.

Harbor Freight also has a decent return policy.

mga said:

...i've been ripped off by places like home depot as well as sears too...

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Exceptions to every rule. But that said, the old adages "You get what you pay for", "If it seems to good to be true, it probably is!", "No free lunch", "Can't have your cake and eat it too", etc. sprang up for good reasons, and have merit.

I'm not necessarily suggesting that there's not situations where buying from Harbor Freight makese sense, but if you do so, set your expectations accordingly. I've seen the problems firsthand during time spent inside my company's factories in China, and I deal constantly with increased quality problems relating to cost-driven outsourced components and labor. Ex. Compressor casting that when sourced here were trouble free now generate frequent problems with micro-porosity. I could state 100 more examples, but won't.

Clearly the Harbor Freight business model caters to those customers who value low cost over quality, and as stated above, in general you can't have you cake and eat it too.

By the way, I wasn't going to get into this, but my real reason for no longer shopping often at Harbor Freight relates not to this quality thing, but rather to American jobs moving overseas. Corporate greed, facilitated by disgusting federal legislation has created a situation where for the first time in American history, our kids will on average enjoy a lower standard of living than this generation currently enjoys. Everything we buy today that's made in China that we would have bought yesterday from a U.S. manufacturer provides a job for a Chinese guy and takes it away from the guy who lives down the street from you. That's a problem for me. By the way, I also shop at the local hardware store whenver possible instead of at Home Depot, etc., for similar reasons.

Sorry for the soapbox thing. I had no intention to hijack this thread but this hit a hot button.

There is a lot of wisdom in the previous post.

I'll just add this thought:
"The bitterness of poor quality lingers far longer than the sweetness of a low price."