Is there a way to repair single acting cylinders

VEX V5 Technical Support
#1

So I have a piston that is getting stuck when extending and releasing. Is there a way to repair this

#2

Not in a way that keeps the cylinders VRC-legal (R21).

(ETA: if you’re just bending stuff back straight as discussed below, that’d be fine)

#3

this is probably due to a bend in the piston, causing it to get stuck when sliding in the cylinder. Try finding out where and how the piston is bent, and bending it back straight. It will still have more friction then it did initially, but it will be usable again. I have had to do this once and it worked for me.

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#4

Maybe a bend in the “piston rod”. The piston is inside the air cylinder, not likely to get bent.

These little air cylinders fall under the catagory of “non-repairable air cylinders” in the pneumatics catalog. They are welded closed, rather than bolted together with tie rods; therefore there is no way to open the cylinders for any repairs. Good luck bending the piston rod back…it usually works poorly. The most important thing is that your air cylinder be connected to the mechanism with pivot joints at the end of the rod and the tail of the cylinder. It is really important to ensure there is no “side loading” that might press on the cylinder body or on the piston rod.

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#5

better to try than to just throw it away. I’ve had 100% success rate bending back piston rods, but to be fair my sample size is 1. Still worth a shot though, considering there are no alternatives.

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