TUBE, OUTER

BG 002 672 58A TUBE, OUTER this is the main barrel, essentially, of whatever cylinder it belongs to on the rig. It's the big housing that holds everything else in place – the piston, the rod, the seals – and it's what gives the cylinder its stroke. Think of it as the backbone; it has to be straight and smooth on the inside for the piston to glide properly and for the seals to do their job holding pressure. If this thing is bent or scored, you're going to have issues.

When this TUBE, OUTER starts getting worn or damaged, you'll usually notice it first with hydraulic leaks, especially if the internal surface gets scored or pitted. The seals just can't hold against a rough surface anymore, and you'll see oil weeping or even streaming out. Sometimes, if it's really bad, or if the tube itself gets distorted, you might get sluggish cylinder movement or even binding, because the piston can't move freely inside. I've seen situations where a bent tube caused the rod to snap eventually due to side loading, which is a real headache to fix out in the field.

Replacing one of these isn't a quick job, so you want to make sure it's actually the problem before you tear everything down. Always check the rod and piston for damage too, because often if the tube is bad, they've taken a beating as well. When you're putting it all back together, pay close attention to the seal installation – a tiny nick on a seal during assembly can lead to an immediate leak, and then you're doing the job twice. Don't forget to properly bleed the cylinder once it's installed; air in the system will give you all sorts of headaches.