A hydraulic cylinder is a special system made up of key components, including a piston rod and seals. It's needed to create force for a system or machine. If you have them on your machinery, follow this maintenance guide as best you can for minimal complications.

Check the Rods for Potential Damage Often

The piston rod is perhaps the most important part of a hydraulic cylinder and as such, it deserves a lot of your attention from a maintenance standpoint. You can play an important role in its condition by checking on it for potential damage on a pretty regular basis.

Keep a lookout for things like corrosion and excessive wear. Early intervention with either of these problems could be enough to save the piston rod and safeguard you from replacement costs. Just make sure you record signs of problems and have them checked out further so that you know what to do with the piston rod at the right times.

Don't Forget to Service Supportive Mechanisms

The major components of a hydraulic cylinder often get a lot of attention when being maintained, but there are other support mechanisms that you'll want to pay attention to as well. They include ball joints and clevises.

If you forgot to service these components, then you'll eventually have alignment issues with your hydraulic cylinders. That's a recipe for severe trouble in the future so just to be safe, put time into caring for these support mechanisms as well. Check on them regularly, clean them with the right solutions, and swap out parts that show signs of excessive wear. 

Find out Why Seals are Being Replaced

The seals on your hydraulic cylinders are supposed to keep fluids in certain areas. Over time, you'll eventually have to find more to restore hydraulic cylinder performance back to the correct levels. If you find out why you're having to replace these components, you'll ultimately improve the selection you can make for new seals. 

For instance, maybe you find out that your seals aren't holding up to a certain temperature range or the lubricants you're using are breaking down seal materials. Finding out these insights helps you adjust your seal search for better solutions.

To keep hydraulic cylinders on a system in the best shape possible, you have to take time to care for every relevant part that they have. Then you won't have issues get substantially worse without noticing them and repair costs won't get out of hand.