Skid Steer Cylinder Rebuild — Ames Hydraulics

Skid Steer Cylinder Rebuild — Loader Arm, Tilt, And Auxiliary

Skid steer cylinder rebuild is one of the most common jobs in our shop. Every skid steer has multiple hydraulic cylinders that eventually leak — loader arm cylinders, tilt cylinders, quick-attach cylinders, and auxiliary attachment cylinders. When any one of them starts leaking, the machine loses lift capacity, drifts under load, or drips oil on the ground until it won’t hold pressure at all. That’s when the machine comes to us for skid steer cylinder rebuild.

Our shop is in Ames, Iowa. We do skid steer cylinder rebuild work every week on Bobcat, Cat, Kubota, John Deere, Case, New Holland, Gehl, ASV, Takeuchi, Mustang, JCB, Volvo, and any other skid steer or compact track loader that has a hydraulic cylinder needing rebuilt. The rebuild process is the same across every brand: we pull the cylinder, disassemble on the bench, inspect the rod and barrel, replace all seals, hone the barrel if needed, reassemble with new fluid, and pressure test at the machine’s rated operating pressure before it goes back on the loader.

What Fails On A Skid Steer Cylinder

Three failure modes cover 90 percent of skid steer cylinder rebuild jobs. First, the rod seal leaks. Wiper seals fail from grit ingress. Pressure seals fail from wear or from a scored rod. Either one shows up as oil weeping past the rod when the cylinder cycles. Second, the piston seal blows internally. This shows up as the cylinder drifting under load — you set the bucket at height and the load slowly settles as fluid bypasses the piston internally. Third, the rod itself gets pitted. Salt in feedlot chemistry, moisture from washing, and dirt trapped past the wiper all attack the chrome plating on the rod. Once the plating pits past the wiper, the rod eats seals faster and faster until it needs re-chroming or full replacement.

Bobcat, Cat, Kubota, Deere, Case, New Holland, Gehl, ASV, Takeuchi Coverage

Skid steer cylinder rebuild across every brand uses the same fundamentals but different parts. Bobcat S-Series and T-Series compact track loaders have specific cylinder sizes on their loader arms — usually 3.5-4 inch bore with 12-20 inch strokes on the lift and tilt. Cat 246/262/272/279 machines run larger cylinders on the bigger units. Kubota SVL series (compact track loaders) and SSV series (wheeled skid steers) have their own dimensions. John Deere D and G-series, Case SR/SV/TR/TV, New Holland C/L/T-series, Gehl, ASV, Takeuchi — every one takes its own specific seal kit. We stock the common ones and can source specialty kits within a day or two.

Loader Arm Cylinders

Loader arm cylinders (lift cylinders) are the biggest cylinders on any skid steer. They take the load of the bucket plus material plus the arm geometry. They cycle every time the operator raises or lowers the arm. Their failure rate is high because of that duty cycle. Skid steer cylinder rebuild on a loader arm cylinder is usually a full seal kit replacement, a rod polish (or replacement if the pitting is bad enough), and a barrel hone. On heavy-duty machines with 5000+ hours we sometimes see barrel wear that needs a hone or, on the worst cases, a barrel replacement.

Tilt Cylinders

Tilt cylinders (curl cylinders) rotate the bucket. They are smaller than the loader arm cylinders but cycle even more frequently. Every time the operator dumps or curls the bucket, both tilt cylinders extend and retract. Skid steer cylinder rebuild on tilt cylinders is similar to loader arm work — seal kit, rod service, hone if needed. Common failure is the piston seal blowing after years of high cycle counts, which shows up as the bucket slowly curling forward under load.

Auxiliary And Attachment Cylinders

Skid steers running attachments — grapples, snow blowers, augers, brush cutters, hydraulic tampers — put fluid to auxiliary cylinders on those attachments. Those cylinders come off the attachment and come to us for skid steer cylinder rebuild just like the machine’s own cylinders. Same process: rod service, seal replacement, barrel hone, pressure test.

Rod Repair And Replacement

Skid steer cylinder rods take a lot of abuse. Rod repair is part of most skid steer cylinder rebuild jobs. Light pitting we polish out. Deeper pitting requires re-chroming, which we send out to a specialty chroming shop and it typically adds a week to the rebuild timeline. Severely damaged rods we replace with new — most common skid steer rod sizes are available from suppliers, and specialty sizes we can fabricate if needed. Every rebuilt cylinder ships back with a rod in good condition — we don’t put worn rods back into service.

Bench Pressure Testing

Every skid steer cylinder rebuild is bench pressure tested at the machine’s rated operating pressure — usually 3,000-3,500 psi depending on brand and model. We test both extend and retract functions, hold at pressure for a soak period, and verify no external leaks and no bypass across the piston. If the cylinder doesn’t pass on the bench, we don’t ship it. That means when the cylinder goes back on your loader, it works.

Cost And Turnaround

Standard skid steer cylinder rebuild runs $350-$650 per cylinder. Larger loader-arm cylinders on bigger machines run $450-$800. Add $300-$800 if the rod needs re-chroming. Add $200-$500 if the barrel needs a hone or replacement. Turnaround is typically 3-7 business days for a standard rebuild. Rod re-chrome jobs add a week for the specialty work. Priority scheduling available for downed machines — call and we’ll be honest about the timeline.

Independent Scope

We are not a Bobcat, Cat, Kubota, or Deere dealer. We do not do warranty work. If your machine is under warranty, go to the dealer for warranty items. Out-of-warranty skid steer cylinder rebuild is what we do every day — faster and less expensive than dealer service.

Central Iowa Coverage

Our shop is 30 minutes north of Des Moines on I-35. Skid steer cylinder rebuild customers bring cylinders (or whole machines) to us from all over central Iowa — Ankeny, Boone, Story City, Nevada, Marshalltown, Grimes, Waukee, Johnston, Newton, Pella, Oskaloosa, and further. For contractors within roughly 60 miles of Ames we can arrange pickup and delivery on machines. Cylinders themselves ship well by freight from anywhere in the Midwest.

Get A Quote

Call or text 515-292-2599. Tell us the machine make and model, cylinder location (loader arm, tilt, auxiliary), and what’s leaking or drifting. Even better — text a photo of the cylinder and the leak. We’ll ballpark the skid steer cylinder rebuild cost over the phone.