trophy160 Posted January 15, 2015 Share Posted January 15, 2015 I have a replacement set of seals for my accumulators, I read somewhere that one needed a heavy vice and a large pair of stillsons to remove the end caps. Armed with my recently acquired set of 36" stillsons, I tried to unscrew the end caps from my spare accumulator tonight. The stillsons gripped well but my medium sized vice was not man enough for the job and the accumulator just turned. Assuming I can find someone with a heavy duty vice, do people think this is the best way to remove the end caps, I presume there is no way I'm going to distort the body of the accumulator by heaving it up REALLY tightly in a vice? Another related question - if I wanted to remove (for some time) the accumulators I would want to blank off the hydraulic lines. Does anyone know what size and thread I would need to screw into the union I have circled in the photo? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starfire Posted January 16, 2015 Share Posted January 16, 2015 Unless you're planning on driving it without accumulators, I would just slip a small plastic bag over the end of the pipe and hold it on with a zip-tie or electrical tape; that will stop crap getting into the pipe in a cost effective manner. Cheers, Terry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoseman Posted January 16, 2015 Share Posted January 16, 2015 Unless you're planning on driving it without accumulators, I would just slip a small plastic bag over the end of the pipe and hold it on with a zip-tie or electrical tape; that will stop crap getting into the pipe in a cost effective manner. Cheers, Terry Depending on the ID of the steel pipe, we use GOLF TEE' s, plastic, won't damage, long enough to get a grip of if in too tight and tapered fit! Always keep couple in my tool box, but as mentioned, only to stop the crud getting in, don't drive it like that unless you want the insides oil coated to prevent rust!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trophy160 Posted January 16, 2015 Author Share Posted January 16, 2015 Thanks both, so from your answers I'm assuming that a 100% seal is not required (assuming vehicle not in use) my concern was that air would get drawn into the system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starfire Posted January 16, 2015 Share Posted January 16, 2015 Yes, air will get into the system the second you undo the connections. You'll need to bleed it off once you reassemble it. Unless you plan on leaving it that way for an extended period, a little air won't hurt the lines or the fluid. Cheers, Terry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Farrant Posted January 16, 2015 Share Posted January 16, 2015 Thanks both, so from your answers I'm assuming that a 100% seal is not required (assuming vehicle not in use) my concern was that air would get drawn into the system. Hi Nic, I would not worry about air, unless you were to remove the pipe and lose a lot of oil. If you think about it, the gas in your accumulators rarely leaks externally, it leaks in to the hydraulic system and no issues there. What little air that might get in the system will purge out in use. regards, Richard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trophy160 Posted January 16, 2015 Author Share Posted January 16, 2015 Hi Richard, yes that's a very good point. So I just need to get the end caps of the accumulator now, there's a big vice on eBay that I have my eye so hopefully that will resolve that problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Farrant Posted January 16, 2015 Share Posted January 16, 2015 Hi Richard, yes that's a very good point. So I just need to get the end caps of the accumulator now, there's a big vice on eBay that I have my eye so hopefully that will resolve that problem. Nic, You also need to fit the vice to something sturdy. In the days when we were doing a lot of Saracen and Saladin work in the REME workshops, the fitters would be very pleased if a Leyland Recovery was around as the vice on the front bumper was better than a bench, nearly impossible to tip a Leyland over! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FEC Posted January 16, 2015 Share Posted January 16, 2015 I have a replacement set of seals for my accumulators, I read somewhere that one needed a heavy vice and a large pair of stillsons to remove the end caps. Armed with my recently acquired set of 36" stillsons, I tried to unscrew the end caps from my spare accumulator tonight. The stillsons gripped well but my medium sized vice was not man enough for the job and the accumulator just turned. Assuming I can find someone with a heavy duty vice, do people think this is the best way to remove the end caps, I presume there is no way I'm going to distort the body of the accumulator by heaving it up REALLY tightly in a vice? Another related question - if I wanted to remove (for some time) the accumulators I would want to blank off the hydraulic lines. Does anyone know what size and thread I would need to screw into the union I have circled in the photo? [ATTACH=CONFIG]100491[/ATTACH] We had a tool made with the four pins as seen in the photo, lever 1 meter long, very affective. Oh and a big vice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marvinthemartian Posted January 20, 2015 Share Posted January 20, 2015 Hi Nic, might be worth trying a little heat on the endcaps, just enough to expand them slightly, then tapping around the cap with a hammer to loosen the thread. Depending on what you use to heat it, heat gun or gas flame, there may be a risk of fire, depending on how much fluid inside. They've been on for a few years so probably just tight, shouldn't be any corrosion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trophy160 Posted January 22, 2015 Author Share Posted January 22, 2015 Yes, I tried that but actually did not get it very hot, I have now bought a big 6" vice which needs to be bolted to the bench but I will have another go at the weekend. I will also try to get a bit more heat into it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trophy160 Posted January 24, 2015 Author Share Posted January 24, 2015 New BIG 6 inch vice plus old 4 inch vice + heat + 36" stillson = success! Threads all nice and clean, so not really clear why it was so tight. There seems no engineering reason for it being that tight, the threaded ring/end cap simply holds a machined plug plus seal in place. The seal does the sealing, not the torque of the end cap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
datadawg Posted February 13, 2015 Share Posted February 13, 2015 New BIG 6 inch vice plus old 4 inch vice + heat + 36" stillson = success! Threads all nice and clean, so not really clear why it was so tight. There seems no engineering reason for it being that tight, the threaded ring/end cap simply holds a machined plug plus seal in place. The seal does the sealing, not the torque of the end cap. Just to be safe, why not put some teflon tape on the thread before tightening the cap again? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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