Donnell hydraulic cylinder rebuild

Will not come out without removing snapring. Dig packing out and replace.                   MACK

Scott, i have never disassemble that Brand of cylinder... but basically you should have a PACKING/ O ring set on the INSIDE the HEAD to keep the oil from leaking around the rod to head  fitting... You might have a set of seals on the OUTSIDE of the HEAD to seal the head to the cylinder tube... Then you have a THIRD set of seals on the PISTON to seal it to the walls of the cylinder... When you remove the HEAD, you will see the OUTER seals that seal it to the cylinder.. You need to remove the rod from the cylinder to see the PISTON seals, then pull the rod out off the HEAD to see the INTERNAL ROD seals.

Edited by steve(ill) - 02 Jul 2021 at 5:52pm

You don't say what brand/model loader or if it is a single or double acting cylinder. Single acting cylinders were common on the old loaders and as Mack said those often only had a snap ring to keep the rod from coming out.  There was no piston on the rod end, just a packing where the rod exited the barrel.  I agree with Mack based on guessing at what the loader and cylinder on your WD would be ( High pressure low volume).  A picture might help clear things up.