I rebuilt all three cylinders about 6 months ago and no leaks. I did have a similar problem when the gear was up which is why I did it. I found the leak in the right main cylinder but did the other two anyway. People tell me that ball dump valve is crap and I'd like to go easy before I get real messy if at all possible.
Thanks for the input.
Hi Matt,
Why do you think that you don't have an internal leak in a cylinder? I had a similar problem
a few years ago and it turned out to be a very small scratch in one of the cylinder walls. In the down position, the seals were over the scratch and allowed a minute leak. In the up position the seals were over smooth wall and worked perfectly. It doesn't take much, the smallest leak will cause this problem.
My suggestion is to get a bunch of caps and plugs and isolate cylinders one at a time. You can also cap the lines going to the dump valve to isolate it. It's an easy (if a little messy) way to find out for sure where the leak is. Be sure to stock up on paper towels and rags before beginning this operation :-) Let us know what you find out.
Bill Harrelson
N5ZQ 320 1,400 hrs
N6ZQ IV
under construction
My hydraulic pump turns on when the gear is down at regular intervals about every minute and it stays on for about 1 second.
It does not do this when the gear is up.
I don't think there is an internal leak in the cylinders.
I do have the original crappy ball emergency dump valve which I do suspect.
Anyone else have any ideas?
Thanks.
Matt