Hydraulic leak is certainly the most frequent cause of failures on quick-release couplings caused especially by wear and tear, by the impact of external contaminant or by stress applied on the seal compound from pressure and temperature cycles.
Internal o-rings are often not serviceable components for two reasons: first of all their replacement can be a way too complicate operation because it would make necessary the disassembly of nearly the whole quick coupling plus a re-assembly of many components that have to be properly placed into their grooves exerting also tightening torques known by the manufacturer company only; further, it could turn out to be an operation taking considerable time, being hence not convenient in comparison with the replacement of the whole quick coupling.
When it comes to external o-rings instead, their periodical replacement is a pretty quick and easy operation; therefore it’s a kind of maintenance strongly recommended by quick-release couplings manufacturers, who generally make service parts available at catalogue. A constant and careful use of dust protection caps reduces of course the amount of contaminant that gets in contact with seals, prolonging their life time.
How do you fix a leaking hydraulic quick connect?
The replacement of external o-rings can be made therefore in few minutes by completing a short sequence of operations:
- Remove the damaged o-ring seal and backup ring;
- Clean carefully the groove;
- Insert the new backup ring in the correct position, taking care not to damage it;
- Make the backup ring adhere to the external surface of the groove;
- Lubricate and insert the new o-ring seal in the groove.
To pull out worn o-rings and backup rings and put new ones into their seats a kind of metal pick tool is necessary; that is not generally included into o-ring service kits as it’s a widespread tool. Each spare kit sold by Faster contains instead instructions guiding end users through the o-ring replacement process.
What type of O-rings for hydraulic quick connect?
Serviceable components are shaped polyurethane seals assembled under the front valve of flat faced quick coupling halves (either compliant with ISO 16028 standard, or screw-on types, or belonging to Multifaster series) as well as o-rings and PTFE backup rings usually assembled into retracting sleeves of female quick coupler halves of different series (as far as Faster is involved, we mention here series compliant with ISO 7241 A and B standard, with ISO 14540 and ISO 14541 standards, plus proprietary profile series NV, VV, VVS and FLV).
A complete list of Faster service parts for o-rings is available on the general catalogue and on the company website at the following address.