Any one have a suggestion, experience? I have a couple pumps that are weeping fluid at the input shaft seals when stopped..Hard to tell if they stop leaking when pumps are running; is that even possible? Been researching Lucas 10019, Bar's Leak os1, and Blue Devil 00239..
Put an ounce or 2 of lacquer thinner in with the fluid. Old used car trick to stop power steering fluid pumps from leaking. I have done it and it actually works. I believe it softens the seals. May have to do it every few months as the lacquer thinner evaporates.
Oh GAWD, don't do that! Holy ****, some suggestions around here...... There are additives known as "tackifiers" (technically it is a long chain polymer, "polyisobutylene" or "PIB" for short) that can be added to hydraulic oils. We used to have a line of hydraulic oils with these blended in, but we lost them when they trimmed the product line during the Great Recession. I tried a google search for a product but didn't find one. Paratack is a brand name for the tackifier. I'm not sure how you would get it, but if you contact them they may be able to direct you to a distributor who will sell to you. https://www.tri-iso.com/infineum-paratac.html
Been doing that for 40 years, worked most times, never caused a problem. Guess I'm not smart enough to know I shouldn't do that.
I'm fighting a weeping input shaft seal on the Toyota steering box in my 49 Ford truck. After about a year of driving it with several different "snake oil" stop leak additives not much has helped. I think that I'm about done with the wishful thinking type of repairs and am going to have to order a seal kit for the box and tear it apart....ugh
What type/design of pumps do you have? Gear pumps have an internal p***age that will relieve pressure behind the shaft seal by providing a vacuum pathway back to the inlet of the pump when the pump is in operation. Due to the vacuum, there should be no pressure behind the seal with the pump running. When the pump is shut off, the vacuum is gone and a bad seal can leak. Vane pumps use a similar system. All pumps have internal leakage and byp*** oil will build up behind the shaft seal and would blow it out eventually so the vacuum p***age will allow the leakage oil to be "drawn" back to the inlet side of the pump. With a bad shaft seal. you can also be "****ing" air into the inlet and aerating the oil with the pump running. It can turn oil to a light brown color and it will have a negative affect on whatever it is you are trying to control or operate. You could have an old seal which can harden over time or high internal leakage in the pump. Also, the surface on the shaft where the seal rides will develop a groove over time. That's why we have the Speedi Sleeve products. I believe the snake oil stuff is designed to swell the seal material.
Rotary seals usually have a internal spring on the internal lip that runs on the shaft. This holds the lip against the shaft preventing any byp*** of oil. Generally they only leak for 2 reasons if the correct seal is used,the seal is worn or the shaft seal area is worn and subsequently grooved. I believe the snake oil remedies just cause the seal to swell/or soften which would let the spring close the lip a bit tighter. And to answer the question,yes,I have seen many seals in the hydraulic game over the years that only leak once the pump or system is shut down.When running all good. When running, in most situations the pressure raises slightly in the pump (refered to as case pressure) which can stop the seal leaking but if this happens as said above the seals worn or the shaft is damaged. If the unit gets to hot the seal can cook and just go hard and will cause it to leak also. In some cases if you can get access to the seal(pump pulled apart)you can remove the internal spring,shorten it up slightly and run it again,but this is only a on the run patch up. Worst luck ,if you have a leaking seal,just replace it and or get the shaft seal area linished at the least or repaired. Sorry,Oilguy beat me to it,
Just to add to the above,if careful,you can pull the seal once the pulley is removed and replace it as suggested without stripping the pump,especially if the leak is the only problem. Just take care not to damage the shaft seal area or the pump bore where the seal is pressed in while removing.
Pump seals are external so I ordered new ones..I figure to screw a sheet metal screw into the face of the seal and pry out, I think..
Had to dig a trench and move some dirt yesterday, my old FEL/backhoe is leaking out of every ram, drip drip drip. Not a big thing, $30 for 5 gallons, but I'm thinking of trying some stop leak, can't leave well enough alone. This stuff seems to be the hot poop. https://www.amazon.com/BlueDevil-Hy...0D478B52/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_sims?ie=UTF8
It better be the poop at $50/gallon, I never knew a hyd leak stopper even existed; I was going to try rear main seal stop leak by Bars Leak..The hyd cyl aren't too bad to replace the shaft seals, oil every where so some patience is required and time..In my old unit the bucket cylinders leaked from spillage but seal kits were available and having the system opened and oil every where I did a what the heck and replaced them with out much faith in them..I cleaned the shafts where needed with a fine stone and did the kits..Worked great, took about 15 yrs to start weeping some and at 27 yrs still wasn't a worry.. .
Keep in mind that if the system is leaking there is more wear going on than you may realize. As a rule of thumb, wherever oil is leaking out, dirt is migrating back in (especially true on cylinders operating front end loaders and backhoes and other earth moving equipment). Dirt (silica) is very hard and very abrasive, the most damaging particles are the ones too small to even see, we call them "clearance sized" particles. And they are so damaging because they end up inside the tightest clearances of moving parts, where they grind and cut away at the metal. A leaking system is costing you more than just the oil, it's costing you in shortened life of the equipment.
Lukas makes a pwr steering stop leak. I have done it a few times on winter beaters with leaking pwr steering and that’s add 1-2 oz of brake fluid. BUT this was on cars I did not care about and needed to last 4-5 months so take this for what it’s worth. A bubble gum fix at best How bad is it, should not be a big deal to rebuild
Removed old seals by drilling small holes in external face about 180° apart and used vice grips/screw driver pry bar and got them out; took two or three trys but they came out..Found a bushing that was long enough with a larger od than the seal and a slip fit on the shaft and drove them home..That stopped the leaking at rest so good shot at they not leaking when running...
If the shaft is grooved there is a product called "Speedy sleeve" usally made of stainless ...available in countless sizes
I ordered a new seal for the leaking input shaft on my Toyota steering box. It should be at the house by the time I get back in town tomorrow. I don't know if I'll have a chance to get it installed this weekend but at least having the seal in hand is one step closer Bobby
So, I got my seal from Amazon yesterday. The UPS driver handed me a box that was 10"x7"x5" full of packing materials and the one tiny little Timken box that could have fit in a standard envelope. Man, I could really fund a hot rod project if I had the amount of money that Amazon wastes on packaging!
You can fix it right once or wrong twice if hyd oil is leaking the seal is worn or the metal has wear or damage. Stop leak will cause more problems later.A speedy sleeve , new seal or a new part will fix.
The Jalopy Journal
