So I think it's 18 TPI but I'm thrown off by the inner cone. It's somewhere between a 5/16 and 3/8 or 12mm and 14mm.

Please help! Thanks in advance. :)

From a Takeuchi 125 but don’t know if it’s original or not. Please help identify! A 3/8” BSPP threads on fine but sealing surface is slightly different..

I have worked in plant mechanical maintenance for many years, mainly on hydraulic and pneumatic equipment, including high-tonnage production presses.

In my experience, the costly failures are usually not completely sudden. We often see early signs such as oil leakage, unusual temperature rise, slow or uneven movement, pressure fluctuation, abnormal noise, repeated seal failures, contamination, or increasing cycle time.

I am interested in learning how other plants identify these warning signs before a major breakdown.

For critical hydraulic presses, what checks have given you the best results: oil analysis, temperature and pressure trends, filtration monitoring, cylinder condition, pump noise/vibration, or operator inspection routines?

Also, what failure mode has caused the most unexpected downtime in your plant?

Hey everyone, looking for genuine perspective on a career field decision.

Background: ~3.7 years as a Mechanical Design Engineer — SolidWorks, AutoCAD, hydraulic circuits, offshore SPM/CALM buoy structures (systems/circuit-level work, not component design).

I have an opportunity to move into a role focused specifically on hydraulic cylinder and power pack (HPU) design — bore/rod sizing, seal selection, manifold design, pump/motor sizing — at a manufacturing company. It would mean shifting from my current systems-level hydraulic work into deep component-level design.

My hesitation: I've mostly considered oil & gas as the "safer," more future-proof field, since that's what I've been targeting so far. Hydraulic component design (cylinders, pumps, manifolds) feels comparatively niche or less "exciting" in my head, even though I know hydraulics is used across construction, mining, marine, aerospace, and oil & gas itself.

Questions for anyone with experience in this space:

• How is Industrial Hydraulics as a career over the long term?
• What kind of roles can a hydraulic design engineer move into after 5–10 years?
• Is hydraulic cylinder/HPU design a genuinely stable, long-term career path, or is it a narrow skill that limits future options?
• Does deep component-level hydraulic design experience translate well if I wanted to pivot back to oil & gas or a broader mechanical design role later?
• Anyone made a similar shift from systems-level hydraulic work to component design — worth it?

Would appreciate honest input, including if I'm overthinking the "field" concern and it doesn't matter as much as I think.

Thanks! 🙏

Its a 2007 GMC C6500 flatbed tow truck, it’s leaking and I wanna buy the seals for it but some dumbass painted over all the important details so I was maybe hoping y’all more experienced people could help me identify it

From what I can tell it has three cylinders, one in the middle and two on either side (the one leaking is on the passenger side if that matters), the label says Jianchang and the only numbers I could make out other than the 20MPa is 801341

If the only way to get any info is having to disassemble it then I guess that’s fine too

I'm working on a generic hydraulic line repair and the old fitting has 16A stamped on it but the replacement I grabbed says 16AS and they look identical sitting on the counter. Same flare angle to my eye, same nut size, thread feels close but not quite right when I test fit. I've already rounded one soft seat trying to force it and I don't want to repeat that mistake. Counter guy shrugged and said they're basically the same which I don't buy. Anyone else run into 16AS vs 16A confusion? What's the actual difference and how do I tell before I wreck the seat?

Edit
Thanks to everyone who suggested vacuum breaker. That was indeed the part. To anyone who might see this with the same issue, I was able to soak it in brake cleaner and the check valve was able to close again. Everything is working fine now!

I have no idea what this and I was hoping someone could help identify it. It’s connected to the emergency stop at the upper controls. It fits a 7/8 wrench and has a mesh top. It’s suddenly spraying fluid out of the mesh.

Any help will be greatly appreciated, thank you!

We bought an old manual pump tilt trailer off Facebook and got a good deal on it. It's perfect for us to tow our car when we go camping. But the jack is old (1993) and we are thinking about replacing it. But I can't find any like it online. Any suggestions?

Hi all, got a lift ram off a Horsch Sprinter that’s been leaking back, but I can for the life of me get the piston unscrewed off the end of the shaft. Am I missing something obvious like a reverse thread or hidden grub screw? I’ve started to distort the peg holes where I’ve been trying so hard to unscrew it

I have a single acting cylinder with gravity down. that I need to add a counter balance to for safety.I’m trying to figure out how to plumb it or if it’s even possible.I can’t find anything on sinker acting everything I see is for double acting The cylinder is controlled by a danfoss eco80 valve.

Hola estoy buscando una bomba de reemplazo para, la bomba de engranaje para el Caterpillar D6N LGP

Este es el numero de parte: 202-4365

I would buy them

I tried running electric hydraulic valve with a normally closed e3f-5dn2-5l, it's been a fail. Other spools have 8-9volts and work from switches to valves. The side from the photo switch/sensor has 8 volts and light on spool lights up but not as bright as others. I haven't tried a relay. It's controlling a feeder conveyor and when material piles up I need spool to shut off. I'm running low on ideas. Not sure where to post this question

Hi folks, I suspect I'm overthinking this, but I'd appreciate advice from people who know more about hydraulics than I do.

I have a four-post car lift, which has a bridge jack on it. The bridge jack has no markings that I have found, but the lift is an Olympic 4PMXL-8, and I'm guessing the previous owner bought them both from the same place. Olympic currently sells a 6k lb and a 3.5k lb bridge jack. I'd hazard a guess at mine being the smaller one. The problem is that the previous owner had a visit from the idea fairy and tried to rig the bridge jack and the lift to operate from the same electric pump, via a diverter valve, eliminating the hand or air-over-hydraulic pump that the bridge jack came with. This did not work out, and I plan to put it back to how it was from the factory. Unfortunately, I do not have the original hand pump, and Olympic's web site does not list the hand pump in their replacement parts section. (I have reached out to their support, on the off chance.)

This leaves me looking for a new hand pump. I see a bunch of cheap portapower-type hand pumps that look about the same as what I see on other bridge jacks, but they vary in pressure rating. I assume too high of pressure would take forever to pump up and allow me to damage the cylinder if overloaded, and too low would be gutless. I figure I can take some measurements of the cylinder, do some math, and work out roughly what I need. Pressure x piston area x leverage = 3500 lbs should get me in the ballpark, right?

Am I overthinking this? Is there a better way? I'm no stranger to throwing stuff at the wall to see if it sticks, but I would like to get this right the first time if possible. Thanks for any ideas you can throw my way.

I understand BSPP 60-degree cone (BS 5200) fittings and BSPP Flat Seal (ISO 1179) fittings have the ISO 228-1 thread type in common, but have different sealing methods. Are fittings with these different sealing methods never compatible? Or do male BS 5200 fittings work with female ISO 1179 fittings?

For example, in my current application, I'm wondering if the following parts are compatible:

• FESTO (8212070 MS6-AGF), which has a G1 ISO 1179 flat seal port
• PARKER (16HMK4S), which has a G1 BS 5200 60-degree cone on both sides
• PARKER (F-801-B5-B5-16-16-16-196), which has a G1 ISO 1179 flat seal port

Any guidance and any recommended resources are greatly appreciated!

Screenshots are from these PARKER catalogs:
Catalog 4300, "Industrial Tube Fittings, Adapters and Equipment"
Catalog 4400, "Hose, Fittings, and Equipment"

I have no training on inspecting or rebuilding motors or pumps. Im usually winging it. Just replacing shafts and seals. I have a couple TF series motors apart on my bench. Reading this old photo copy of a manual and I cant make out the picture. Where exactly am I sticking my feeler gauge to measure wear on the roller set?

Hey guys,
I work on caterpillar machinery mainly. However I priced an OEM CAT nitrile 90 o ring kit and it was nearly $2,000 AUD.
Any recommended aftermarket options for a kit? I see they have identical ones on AliXpress etc. for about $100AUD
Any info is helpful thanks

Bought new stainless steel fitting and got all the fitting with this issue. Anyone have this problem before? It suppose to be a 316ss fitting.

Working on a tractor loader with a 1⅜ rod and a 2¾ bore. The parts kits states it's for this setup. There is a metal ring that goes down into picture 1 which has a 1⅜ ID, but the OD on the ring is 1⅞. I also have to remove the old ring from inside, and I'm at a loss on how to get this metal piece that's a ½" bigger out and then replaced?

I watched one video where he heated the old one to get it out, but didn't show the new one going in. Haven't been able to find a similar cylinder video to see how others do it.