[Zachs]

Happy New Year! Supposed to get another storm here in northern Colorado tonight, I've been using my blade on my 332 the last couple snow storms and it's been working great. I messed up and missed out on a couple opportunities for 54 blades with power angle, and I'm thinking of adding power angle to my blade. It looks incredibly simple. I am pretty sure I can rig up mountings pretty easily for the extra cylinder, I just don't want to have to buy a whole new cylinder...they are a little pricy right now. I do have a spare steering cylinder from my 332 from this last year when I restored it. The original steering cylinder just leaked a little here and there but I probably could have just used it. Instead, I replaced it, and have the old one as a spare. Just wondering, other than length of the cylinder ( I will probably have to cut the ball joint off the end, trim the rod a little and weld it back on), is there any other considerations as to why a setup with this cylinder wouldn't work? Blade is kind of a frankenstein anyway, it's a 42 that someone modified to take the factory power up/down cylinder. It is so much smaller than the blade this tractor is supposed to have, but I may add extensions to the ends anyway.

Thanks for any input!

 

[Mike_U]

I do not see why your idea would not work if your cylinder is stout enough to handle the plow tilt movement and hold up to some heavy shock loads while plowing. You've probably considered this already but I would assume the used power steering cylinder with the ball joint on the end would be worth selling as used and would bring a good price even though it leaks a little. How much is it worth as is vs. buying a new cylinder from a farm store or on line surplus and saving yourself the work of the cutting and welding?

If that power steering cylinder were to completely fail on your snow plow, you would most likely have a to find a very similar sized cylinder (length) or you would need to cut and re-weld one of your mounting brackets to accommodate a standard replacement cylinder. Just my thoughts off the cuff.

 

[TempletonJDguy]

The standard rockshaft cylinder is the same as the the plow cylinder, cheap enough on eBay. You can also get the angle cylinder brackets on eBay for 125$ ish. Also your blade is a good candidate for the extensions, I love mine! 👍🏻

 

[Flagger]

My 54" blade came to me with 2 different cylinders and it would turn more to one side than the other. I ended up switching the cylinders so the correct lift cylinder turned the blade equally on each side while the other cylinder did the lifting. It worked out fine.

 

[army]

That is a very sharp 332. Was somebody shooting at the blade before you painted it?

Happy New Year! Supposed to get another storm here in northern Colorado tonight, I've been using my blade on my 332 the last couple snow storms and it's been working great. I messed up and missed out on a couple opportunities for 54 blades with power angle, and I'm thinking of adding power angle to my blade. It looks incredibly simple. I am pretty sure I can rig up mountings pretty easily for the extra cylinder, I just don't want to have to buy a whole new cylinder...they are a little pricy right now. I do have a spare steering cylinder from my 332 from this last year when I restored it. The original steering cylinder just leaked a little here and there but I probably could have just used it. Instead, I replaced it, and have the old one as a spare. Just wondering, other than length of the cylinder ( I will probably have to cut the ball joint off the end, trim the rod a little and weld it back on), is there any other considerations as to why a setup with this cylinder wouldn't work? Blade is kind of a frankenstein anyway, it's a 42 that someone modified to take the factory power up/down cylinder. It is so much smaller than the blade this tractor is supposed to have, but I may add extensions to the ends anyway. View attachment 287317
Thanks for any input!

That's an excellent point Mike made. If the cylinder fails you'll be right back where you started. I might still do it though. Depends on the situation.

If that power steering cylinder were to completely fail on your snow plow, you would most likely have a to find a very similar sized cylinder (length) or you would need to cut and re-weld one of your mounting brackets to accommodate a standard replacement cylinder. Just my thoughts off the cuff.

 

[mjydrafter]

I think the biggest problem using the steering cylinder is it's length. Even fully retracted, I'm pretty sure it's longer than a lift or angle cylinder, fully extended.

You can use a 425/445/455 cylinder in the lift position, it just won't lift as high. In the angle position, they won't allow full angle. As @Flagger mentions. Mine came the same way.

 

[neil]

You can pick up a lift / angle cylinder on the auction site - that's where I got mine from and it bolted right in, no modifications necessary, and works as expected. I might have paid 50 clams for it, can't remember the price but I know it was inconsequential

 

[DEERE317]

The standard cylinder is probably the easiest, just maybe not cheapest. Just make sure to install it with the ram facing to the front and not the rear, someone got very worked up over that a few months ago on my blade.
Top is correct, bottom is incorrect.

 

[wader1914]

This post caught my eye 'cause I've wondered before if I could use the 316/318/420/... lift cylinder in place of either of the cylinders on a 54" blade. Given the price of a new cylinder, I would probably try one out if needed. Would up/down be less 'stressed' than the left/right? There are differences between the cylinders ... someone on here had compiled the table below some time ago ... Bryan

 

[JDF/ SwampFox]

Hello Zach from another Colorado Tractor Luver.. You have a great-looking tractor there.
I see you have a 3-point hitch on the rear so if you hook up a cylinder to the other 2 ports up front for your plow, you will need to install a lock-out valve in the rear connection of the rock shaft cylinder hydraulic line. If you do not install this valve, your 3-point hitch will go up and down when you try to angle your blade. If that's not a problem for you, it WILL be a huge annoyance because the rear rock shaft will have to come to the end of its travel BEFORE your blade will start to turn. Very annoying. Because you are rigging the setup, I wouldn't get too much $$ into the angle feature, I have the 4 way blade and I very seldom hook up the angle cylinder hoses because it's just not needed much. Also, If you ever catch the edge of the blade on concrete or a stump you'll damage the seal in the cylinder and then it leaks or not. Another thing is, my OEM 4-way blade has holes to lock the angle of the blade when hydraulic isn't used. I think what you are attempting to build will be a disappointment to you, I strongly suggest you keep looking for an original 4 way JD blade if that is what you really want.

 

[TempletonJDguy]

Wow wader, thanks for that. I guess I’m wrong in that their are differences between the deck lift and plow cylinders. Although they look identical they are not as the working pressure is half with the lift cylinder. I’m guessing they work the same but the difference would be the impact pressure when the cylinder is rammed by the force of tractor against the snow. I know I’m using a deck lift cylinder on my plow and it works fine but idk if it’s in the lift circuit or angle circuit.

 

[wader1914]

I've got a couple leaking 420 steering cylinders that I've thought about taking to a local shop to see if they could cut, reseal, and weld back up. So I've got a 332 lift cylinder that leaks as well and was wondering ... what determines the psi rating(s) for the lift cylinder (in the table above ... 1,000.000) vs the blade cylinders (2,000.000)? If it's just the seal, I would assume that if I had it opened up that I could replace with the proper seal and use on my front blade with a higher psi rating. I realize the stroke and/or lengths are a bit different ... feedback? Thx, Bryan.

 

[M-technik-3]

The standard cylinder is probably the easiest, just maybe not cheapest. Just make sure to install it with the ram facing to the front and not the rear, someone got very worked up over that a few months ago on my blade.
Top is correct, bottom is incorrect.
View attachment 287397
View attachment 287398

Why is it incorrect?

 

[DEERE317]

Why is it incorrect?

The angle cylinder binds on one of its mounts so doesn’t get full angle in both directions and is about to pull the couplers out of the tractor (the right line is straight for a reason)

 

[chuckv]

Yes, the cylinder mounting on the angle adjust as shown in the two attached views highlights mounting the body forward makes the hose too short and adds a lot of stress -- the second view shows the cylinder with the rod toward the blade such that the hoses are not stressed during any possible movement/position.

WRONG:

RIGHT:

Chuck

 

[DEERE317]

You should also be able to notice on the left side of the cylinder body on the incorrect mounting the boogered up spot from it colliding with the mount bracket.