Backhoe swing motor

[Farmerford]

This board has been invaluable in dealing with the HLR transmission and injection pump on my 455D. Thanks to all who help out novices like me.

I am now moving to the swing motor on the backhoe. Once I got the tractor itself working pretty well I started using the backhoe more often and, naturally, the swing motor started leaking from the top seal.

I understand that kits are available for it with seals for the shaft and vanes. I have also seen a few posts on this and other boards suggesting that sometimes new o-rings and backup rings on the shafts don't help much, but without a suggestion as to why.

The other problems I have seen mentioned are scored shafts and scored cylinder walls. I think my cylinder walls and vanes are in decent shape because the boom didn't drift from side to side until the shaft seal started leaking. The shop manual and parts manual dont show bushings in the barrel end plates, so I suppose the shaft rides directly on the plate. Seems to me like that would be a point for substantial wear, which would increase the o-ring clearance and reduce o-ring compression.

Anyway, I plan to get a kit and see what I can do. Any suggestions (other than to get a backhoe with swing cylinders) will be greatly appreciated. The shop manual seems pretty clear, but those who have done it before can probably point out some pitfalls.

Thanks in advance.

[Tigerhaze]

Hi Farmerford-

Others on here had suggested Deere had a retrofit kit at some point to convert the rotary swing cylinders to dual telescoping cylinders. However it sounded like maybe they weren't available anymore. It would be something to consider in the future if a kit could be found and if your rotary swing cylinder had excessive wear. Let us know if you do track a retrofit kit down.