Log Splitter Not Engaging

[Fat Tony]

Good evening, All,

I had an old homemade splitter given to me last year that used an electric motor. I mounted a Harbor Freight gasser to it and it worked great until we cracked the hydraulic tank while moving it with tractor forks. We welded a new tank on and had the local hydro shop put new hoses on. Initially they installed the suction and return hoses backwards and the suction side would collapse, resulting in the splitter not running. They’ve since fixed the mistake, but the splitter still behaves similarly. Upon startup it will cycle for 20-30 seconds, then stop completely. If any of the lines are cracked to bleed, they will spit both air and fluid, and as they spit air the ram will move slightly. There are no visible leaks of fluid and soapy water around all connections yields no air movement. Is it likely the internals of the cylinder are cooked and it needs rebuilt, or should I be thinking something different, perhaps simpler? I’ve uploaded a video and can take more. I appreciate all the wisdom on this forum and would appreciate any you can toss my way!
View attachment IMG_1279.mov

 

[triptester]

The camera is moving to fast to get a good look at the hose routing

 

[Fat Tony]

Here is this. Should give you a good idea of where everything is running.
View attachment IMG_2451.mov

 

[capetrees]

Pull the hoses and manually push the piston closed to remove any air from the system. If the hydro guys screwed up before, don't trust that they did it right the second time.

And make sure the tank has enough fluid to fill the piston at full extension.