Help damaged my splitter

[mstoelton]

I had a piece of a log flip over the wedge and jam against my reverse lever. could not stop the splitter before it sheared the hydraulic feed fitting off of the hydraulic ram. Now part of the fitting is in the ram and will not come out. Any ideas on how to remove the sheared fitting?

 

[jetsam]

Give us a photo. You might just need an inside pipe wrench.

 

[VirginiaIron]

Yeah, all you might need is an extractor. You can purchase a set from Advance or Autozone- or any shop or you can purchase just the size you need.
This looks like a nice set, but it is a little pricy for one use.

https://shop.advanceautoparts.com/p...ingcampaigns&gclid=CL6FnuSm89MCFZeCswodv-QEmg

 

[VirginiaIron]

Also, you can remove the nipple with a sawzall or similar device; however, you accumulate metallic debris that needs to be kept from entering the valve or thoroughly removed and cleaned before operation. In the past, I have cut the interior of the fitting or pipe with a hacksaw or sawzall to a point where the pipe/fitting is thin (stuff the orifice with cloth and place the saw so it cuts on the outward stroke- YOU NEED SOME MECHANICAL ABILITY HERE) so the filings are apt to accumulate on the outside and not the inside of the fitting/pipe. Then take a chisel and strike the fitting near the cut/slice toward the inside of the cylinder/opening, then you should be able to remove it with some needle nose pliers (this is about $450+ worth of advice) The extractors do not always work but they are clean and leave little debris when they do work. If you happen to slice into the threads- try not to- a quality sealant should take care of any concerns of a thread leak/seal. Good luck and please let us know how things turn out.

 

[mstoelton]

Yeah, all you might need is an extractor. You can purchase a set from Advance or Autozone- or any shop or you can purchase just the size you need.
This looks like a nice set, but it is a little pricy for one use.

https://shop.advanceautoparts.com/p...ingcampaigns&gclid=CL6FnuSm89MCFZeCswodv-QEmg

.
I tried an extractor I had on hand - no luck just stripped through the material. I tried at HD and autozone for a newer extractor - all too small.

 

[mstoelton]

photos

 

[VirginiaIron]

Thanks for the photos. Clean out as much debris as you can and then put a non-lint type rag or towel of some sort into the whole carefully. Then take a small saw blade with a handle or a pair of vice grips with the blade Teeth facing outwards, so it cuts on the outward stroke, slice the fitting perpendicular to the threads and then take a punch and reduce the size of the fitting and remove it with a pair of the needle nose pliers then clean and reassemble. Good luck.

 

[jetsam]

That's a rough one but luckily the broken piece isn't very deep.

I would take a bare hacksaw blade and cut *almost* all the way through it in 2 places (stop frequently and check cut depth; you are not cutting as deep as it looks like you are)- maybe 1/4" between the cuts. You want to cut almost to the inside top of the female threads, so the remaining metal is paper thin. Use pliers to take out the wedge (keep the pliers outside the female threads), then the rest will come right out.

I might use a magnet wrapped in a rag to clean it out. After cleaning, thread a piece of pipe in there a couple times and clean it out again.

 

[kevin j]

extractors and internal pipe wrenches might work but they tend to wedge the piece of the pipe outward which tighten it even more. if you have access to a good welder I would put a flat washer with a large enough hole to just to clear the outside diameter of the piece of broken fitting and then weld The ID of the washer to the end of the fitting then weld a large hex nut on top of the flat washer and turn the nut with a wrench. let everything cool well in between because the heat from the adapter will expand it and tighten it into the body. You might apply a little bit of heat to the outside of the valve or cylinder.

another option is just drill out that stub slowly with a drillbit preferably a left-hander a bit that would remove the bits of the pipe and yet not reach the threads. that would be tricky

 

[sportbikerider78]

My go to technique for this situation is to drill and drill some more. Make sure you are centered, and keep upsizing the drill. Accept the fact that debris is where you don't want it to go and you will have to get in there and clean it out.

Drill as big as you can, then take a small round punch with a nice sharp edge and get between the base material and the object you are removing. It should be a thin wall by this time. Tap it toward the center and get it to collapse on itself. I've had great success getting broken bolts out this way. Even engine studs in aluminum heads.

It may not feel it, but you are extremely lucky you have such an open working space. That is usually 90% of the battle.

 

[Ashful]

I'd be grabbing my ID pipe wrench set, before even thinking about drilling or cutting in any hydraulic system. Remember, your filter is only on the return line, and really only sees much flow when the cylinder is idling. Debris in the cylinder will run back and forth many times between cylinder and valve, before it ever lands in the filter. This is usually fine, as the filter is there to protect the pump more than anything else, but they also didn't plan on someone using a hacksaw INSIDE the hydraulic loop, when that system was planned.

1/2" inside pipe wrench, done. Don't resort to drilling or cutting unless that, and then a subsequent stab with a large screw extractor, fails. You used to be able to buy ID pipe wrenches at Sears Hardware stores, but I don't know where I'd go today, I buy everything online now.

If you do need to resort to drilling, then there is also only one way I would do that. Buy a 45/64" left-hand jobber's drill, which will cost you a few dollars, but will make removal painless. This is the drill diameter to be used for a 1/2" NPT internal thread. The left hand bit will usually grab long before you're even half way thru the job, and spin the fitting out for you. I have done this many times.

 

[mstoelton]

I was able to borrow a set of Irwin extractors from work today and tried to extract the broken piece. We worked on it for 2 hours but could not get the piece to come out. It seemed to be causing the piece to just get tighter. I had purchased a set of mini hacksaw blades with very fine teeth last night thinking I might resort to cutting the broken nipple out.

Long story short is I made two cuts approximately 1/4 inch apart. Looks like I stopped just short of the threads and then was able to get the chip out between the two cuts. Eventually worked the larger portion of the nipple out. I used the "good" side of the broken nipple to true up the threads after I had cleaned out the hole with a magnet and also q=tips covered in grease. I also plugged the hole before cutting to prevent migration of chips into the system. I'm waiting to get some thread dope before I complete the reassembly. Thanks for the help guys.

 

[blades]

pipe dope needs to be rated for hydro use. standard plumbing stuff is not.

 

[mstoelton]

Reporting a successful repair to the system. I received a bottle of Gasoila pipe thread compound on Friday, replaced the broken nipple, and repaired the unit Saturday afternoon. Let it sit for 24 hours to ensure it was set-up. Tested Sunday, no leaks, unit appears to be repaired and functioning normally.

Thank you for the help guys!

 

[Sean McGillicuddy]

Thanks for the update!
Are you planning to drain and replace the hydraulic fluids / filter .....just in case?