Actuators - Cylinders & Motors

STUDENT MANUAL

The components in hydraulic systems that make things go up and down, back and forth,
or around and around are generically referred to as actuators. Actuators are the “final
drive” in fluidic systems.

The two basic groups of actuators are:

Cylinders (produce linear motion) Motors (produce rotary motion)

Linear Actuators (Cylinders)

Cylinders are for the most part very simple devices.
They can, however, be subjected to some very dy-
namic operating conditions. As a result they live a
hard life and can fail early if not properly monitored
and maintained.

Maximizing the life of a cylinder can be achieved by Figure 1. Many cylinders are exposed to less than ideal
solving system problems quickly and making proper environmental conditions through their normal opera-
repairs as early as possible. tion.

Maintenance Inspections
When examining a cylinder the basic points of inspection include:
• Rod • Tie Rods (if applicable)
• Gland • Cushion Components
• Cylinder Tube • Mounting Hardware
• Piston

Let’s look at each point separately.

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Cylinder Rod
The cylinder rod should be examined for any sur-
face imperfections. These may come in the form of
scratches and dents from undesirable contact with
tools and other hard materials.

Small scratches that are barely noticeable may be

polished out with crocus cloth or very fine emery pa-
per. If it is necessary to use a coarse abrasive to polish
out deeper imperfections, then a full repair involving
machining and re-chroming may be imminent and
the polishing will only be a temporary stop-gap.

With the cylinder fully extended and all possible

Figure 2. Very fine grit emery cloth can be used to polish
imperfections on cylinder chrome. motion hazards secured, the straightness of the rod
can be examined. A significant bend in the rod may
be responsible for uneven cylinder motion and may also explain some gland leakage if it
is occurring. Slight bending in a rod will accelerate wear on other parts.

Figure 1. This gland style features an o-ring wiper seal

and is secured against the bore with a snap ring.

Figure 3. Cracks often develop first near the rod end and at the piston mount, due to machining features that introduce a
weakness.

In machines with high shock loads the rod may crack and ultimately fail near the very
end, especially if it is threaded. The rod may also break near the piston mount on the
inside of the cylinder. Improper machining operations are also a significant cause for this
type of failure.

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Gland
Many cylinders can have the gland bushing Cylinder Barrel
removed without full cylinder disassembly. Other Snap Ring
designs will require complete disassembly. Without
disassembling the cylinder, the gland can be inspect-
ed to see if oil is weeping or leaking from the gland’s Gland
rod seals or from any other points around the gland
or the cylinder’s rod end. Leaking from around the
wiper seal may indicate that the pressure rod seal has
failed (possibly from rod scoring, dents or contamina-
tion.) If the gland bushing has excessive wear it may
cause seal failure. A badly worn gland bushing will
O Ring
likely indicate cylinder alignment problems or a bent
rod.
Figure 4. This gland style features an o-ring wiper seal
Some cylinders use a gland that is threaded or com- and is secured against the bore with a snap ring.
pressed by cap screws and may only need to be
tightened to achieve proper compression of the packing style seals.

Cylinder Tube
The cylinder tube (often called the barrel) should be
examined for any obvious dents from the outside
that may cause a pinch point for the piston on the
inside. It may also need to examined with a straight
edge or inside micrometer to detect any whiskey
barreling near the middle of the tube. This condition
needs to be investigated further to determine the Figure 5. A cylinder with exaggerated whiskey barrelling.
cause. Two likely scenarios are improper honing or
excessive pressure. A tube that has swollen near the middle is likely being subjected to
excessive pressures and should therefore prompt an inspection of pressure controls in
the circuit.

Tie Rods
If the cylinder is of the tie rod type, the tie rod nuts
should be checked with a torque wrench from time
to time. Tie rod cylinders that are mounted horizon-
tally at the rod end flange only may cause the tie rods
to stretch unevenly after many pressure and heating/
cooling cycles have occurred. Figure 6. Tie rod ends should be checked from time to
time, and adjusted as necessary.

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Damaged piston seal

and seal groove
Pistons
The piston is the part of the cylinder that actu-
ally moves. Pistons come in a variety of design con-
figurations, and each needs special considerations.
Many performance issues, however, stem from com-
mon malfunctions.
• Seal grooves should be inspected for wear accumu-
lated by system contamination or scratches made
during previous seal removal.
• Indentations made at the point of contact with the
rod can cause previously torqued retaining nuts to
work loose.
Normal piston seal
and seal groove • Inspect for evidence of contamination embedded
into the piston surface that mates at either end.
Figure 7. Seal grooves should be inspected frequently for
wear and contamination.
Cushion Components
Rod End Main Port Cushion Sleeve Cap End Main Port

Needle Screw Cushion Sealing Cushion Spear Needle Screw

Adjustment Ring Adjustment
Figure 8. Seal grooves should be inspected frequently for wear and contamination.

Cushion components are often overlooked during inspections. Remove all needle valves
and check balls if applicable. Inspect cushion bores & sleeves for scoring, as these can
dramatically affect cushioning functions.

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Cylinder Mounts
Pillow Block

Overhanging Cylinder

Adjustable Trunnion
Threaded Rod Mount

Figure 9. Overhanging and trunnion mounts are among the most common methods of securing a cylinder.

There are many types of cylinder mounts. It is important to check that mounts are cor-
rectly torqued and that bearing surfaces (trunnion mount) and support pins are rotating
freely but without excessive play that might lead to misalignment problems.

Long overhanging cylinders that are flange mounted only may need additional support.
The support should be adjustable and secured once the proper alignment is made.

Solving Problems
Alignment

A cylinder’s alignment to fixed and moving members is a significant factor in achieving

long life. As an example; if a fifteen inch (15”) stroke cylinder is subjected to 10 lbs of
undue side loading when fully extended, it may result in 150 lbs of pressure forcing the
piston against the cylinder wall. This may cause a scuff in the cylinder near the rod end.
The piston seals may then become damaged as they wipe past this scuff, and fluid that
leaks across the piston as it travels past the scuff may cause uneven motion.

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Scuffed Cylinder Wall

150 lbs force on

cylinder wall

15 inches
10 lbs

Figure 10. Too much side loading force will cause scuffs on the cylinder wall.

If it is safe to do so, you may wish to periodically disconnect the rod end from the ma-
chinery it pushes and pulls, and run the cylinder back and forth to see if it still lines up
with its matching machinery parts. Alternately a long straight edge or laser tools may
help establish cylinder to machine alignment. The perpendicularity of the mounting pins
of flange surfaces that cylinders may be connected to must also be maintained.

Path of Machine
Member

Cylinder Centre Line

Figure 11. A cylinder mounting in need of alignment

Rod Damage
Rod damage primarily occurs from one of two main causes. Hard materials that impact
or abrade the rod surface is one issue. The other issue
is a bent rod, caused from machine misuse (or incor-
rect design/engineering).

The first issue is simple enough to solve if you keep

the rod protected from contact with material scraps
and dropped fasteners or tools. Selecting the correct
tools to work with the wrench flats when fastening
Figure 12. Use a proper spanner in the wrench flats the rod to machinery is also important. Locking pliers
when working with the cylinder rod. Using a wrench or and pipe wrenches will easily damage critical rod
pliers anywhere else will damage the chrome. sealing surfaces.

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If the cylinder is rarely fully retracted and in fact spends most of its time extended, you
may consider a flexible rod boot to protect the rod’s surface.

Flexible Rod Boot

Figure 13. A rod boot can help protect a cylinder rod against contamination.

Distortion
Good Condition
If the cylinder is distorted in some way you may
choose to examine mountings more closely to make
sure the cylinder is properly supported.

As mentioned earlier, tie rod torque should be Loose Tie Rod Ends
checked periodically to prevent binding and distor-
tion which may lead to uneven motion and leakage.
Loose tie rods may cause the blocks or heads at the
rod and blind end to twist slightly out of alignment. Figure 14. Tie rod torque must be checked regularly to
avoid cylinder distortion.
If the cylinder has taken on a whiskey barrel shape,
the system pressures or pressure spikes are likely
exceeding the cylinder’s pressure rating. Consider Cylinder
installing or readjusting pressure reducing valves to Blind End
drop to the lowest pressure level that still allows the
largest load to be moved. Improper honing tech- Cylinder
niques, performed during repairs, can also cause a Rod End
whiskey barrel effect by not allowing the hone stones
to extend to the ends of the barrel. The opposite
effect can also happen if the hone stones are allowed Figure 15. Loose tie rod ends have allowed the rod and
to remain at the ends of the barrel for too much time. blind end cylinder blocks to twist out of alignment.

Figure 16. Honing must be done properly to avoid creating a whiskey barrel shape or an hourglass effect inside the cylinder.

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Bent Rod

Assuming that the cylinder was correctly specified for the application, a bent rod primar-
ily indicates machine misuse. Again, a correctly set pressure reducing valve may help to
alleviate recurrence.

Broken Rod

A broken rod may indicate machine misuse, poor engineering, or simply that the rod
has reached the end of its life. In the case of rod life where a potential runaway load is
supported, period checks and non-destructive testing may be required to ensure worker
safety.

If the machine cycles a heavy load quickly, it may be necessary to adjust the cylinder’s
cushions or to switch over to a cushioned cylinder.

Figure 17. A cushioned cylinder extending at normal speed, shown with the ISO symbol for adjustable cushioned cylinder.
The white arrows indicate flow paths.

Flow Control

Figure 18. Adjustable cushioning valve (flow control) restricting flow at rod end. The white arrows indicate flow.

The cushion components are often overlooked during repair inspections. Ensure all seats
and cavities are in good working condition and clear of debris.

Piston Seals
Leakage at the piston typically occurs in one of two places. Either fluid leaks through the
clearance between the piston and the rod, or fluid leaks across the piston seals in the
clearance between the piston and the cylinder wall.

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External Internal
Leakage Leakage

Figure 19.  Leakage at the piston is usually in one of two places.

External evidence of piston seal leakage usually comes in the form of inconsistent linear
speed as the load changes. In other words, the cylinder will slow down when the load is
heavy and speed up when the load is lighter.

Figure 20. Square and o-ring seal Figure 21. A single t-seal with a pair of back up rings

Figure 22. O-ring and two back up rings Figure 23.  U-cup style seals

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Figure 24. Dual cup piston seal Figure 25.  Crown seal

Figure 26. O-ring seal Figure 27.  Cast iron piston seal

 Troubleshooting Tip: The other

external clue is heat. Without fluid
flowing right through a cylinder, as when the
seals are holding, the cylinder will run no-
ticeably cooler than when the seals develop
a leak. High velocity oil shooting across
leaky piston seals will heat up the cylinder
above normal levels.
Knowing your normal component tempera-
tures can be very useful when troubleshoot-
Figure 28. Fluid leaking across a missing or damaged piston ing.
seal will cause the outside of the cylinder to heat up.

A common test for leaking piston seals involves fully extending or retracting the cylin-
der.

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!
Caution: From a safety point of view, removing the hose while operating
the system is not the best procedure. Some technicians have been sur-
prised by the amount of oil that flows out when the seals are completely
destroyed. While this flow may not necessarily result in a fluid injection
injury, it may cause you to move quickly to get out of the path of the fluid. This fast
action may open up the possibility of other injuries and close calls. Instead of removing
the hose to observe the system, take the time to test properly, as described below.

If it is necessary to test piston seal leakage by

measuring flow in the return hose then consider
installing a flow meter. Flow meters are available
that can begin to measure at 0.02 GPM (75 ml
per minute, 2.5 oz per minute). If the leakage you
need to detect is less than the lowest reading on
a flow meter, then it may be safer to observe the 0.05 GPM
discharge from the return hose by dangling it into
a bucket and by introducing fluid into the cylinder
from a hand pump.

By using only a hand pump, you can control the

rate of fluid flow into the cylinder and avoid the
potentially dangerous volumes supplied by the
Figure 29. Installing a flow meter to test return flow is one
main pump.
option.

For the sake of safety, always introduce a pressure gauge between the hand pump and
the cylinder being tested so that the test does not exceed the cylinder’s maximum pres-
sure rating. Many hand pumps used for shop work can supply fluid at pressures as high
as 10,000 PSI where your cylinder may only be rated for 2000 PSI or perhaps 3000 PSI.

200 PSI

0 10 0000

Figure 30. A safer setup when testing piston seal leakage uses a hand pump and pressure gauge.

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Cylinder
rated for
maximum
3000 PSI

Relief
Valve

Figure 31. This is the safest test setup. It includes a relief valve to protect sensitive components (and humans!) from high
pressure.

Caution: Incorrect use of hand pumps has resulted in serious injury and

! death. Follow all instructions in your hand pump manual, and verify that
all of your tests are safe as per your company and government regulations
before conducting them.

If you tested the cylinder in the extended position, you may wish to retest with the
opposite hose when the cylinder is fully extended. Some pistons have two or four seals
with one or two sealing only on the extend stroke with one or two more seals for the
retract stroke only. In addition, it may be a cylinder barrel scuff at one end only that
allows fluid to leak across the seals.

Caution: Some technicians attempt to use the above test for suspected

! leakage at mid-stroke. However, safely blocking the cylinder at mid-stroke is

not easy. For all suspected piston seal problems, the safest measure may
simply be to trust the uneven motion together with the new high tempera-
ture readings on the cylinder barrel, and not to do
open hose (open to atmosphere) testing of any
kind.

Cylinder Drift
It is commonly believed that a vertical cylinder
that drifts downward when the directional valve
is closed (blocked ‘A’ and ‘B’ ports) indicates leaky
piston seals. Unless the cylinder is of the double
rod type (with both rods of the same diameter)
this is not likely to be the case.
Figure 32. Many people forget that the cylinder rod displac-
es a large volume of fluid.

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A single rod cylinder uses a considerably higher volume of fluid for extension as op-
posed to retraction. This is because the rod occupies much of the cylinder’s volume on
the rod side of the piston. Therefore, in order for the cylinder to drift when its flow ports
are blocked, the rod end would have to accept more fluid from the blind end than it has
room for (assuming that rod is pointed upwards). In short, the cylinder would have to
make room internally for a volume of steel (the rod) that was previously out in the open
atmosphere.

If the cylinder’s rod is pointed downward, the oil leaking across the piston from the rod
end would not be sufficient to fill the void being created in the blind side. After a very
small amount of drift, the vacuum levels on the blind end of the cylinder would become
very high and the rod motion would stop.

Air
Piston seals
in good
condition

Gland is
leaky Air Entering

Figure 33. Even though the gland is leaky, the cylinder will Figure 34. The gland is open, and the piston seal has been
not drift down if the piston seal is intact. damaged (removed). The cylinder rod drifts down.

 Key Concept: If piston seals are to blame for cylinder drift then you must
examine the gland and its seals. Oil must be leaking out during the drift
(retracting) or air must be sucked in (extending).

More often than not, cylinder drift can be attributed to leakage across the directional
valve when closed, a load lock valve (pilot operated check) that won’t seat (contamina-
tion) or a counterbalance valve that is failing or is out of adjustment.

Again, all of this assumes a single rod cylinder. A double rod cylinder with rods of equal
diameter will use the same volume of oil for travel in both directions. As a result piston
seal leakage can indeed be the cause of drift.

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Gland

If you have changed to a synthetic fluid from a straight mineral/petroleum fluid, rod end
leakage may occur from seal incompatibility.

Gland leakage that occurs during extension only (single rod cylinder), and where a flow
control has been installed on the rod end port for meter-out flow control, may indicate

pressure intensification beyond the cylinder’s rating.

The shoving force

against the blind end of
the cylinder rod is 1000
Pressure Intensification
2000 PSI x 4 in2, or PSI
8000 lbs.
This topic is closely tied to the material on Flow Con-
4 in2 2 in2
6000 trol Valves. It may be helpful to brush up on Flow &
pounds
2000 PSI Directional Control Valves as you learn about pressure
intensification.
The extra 2000 lbs of
force is stored in the
8 GPM rod end, in the form of If you examine this circuit, you will notice that the
4 GPM pressure, where 2000 pressures are within a normal range. They are certain-
lbs ÷ 2 in2 = 1000 PSI.
ly not above the relief valve setting, as the cylinder
2000 PSI
(actuated)
moves a 6000lb load.

Pressure Key 6000

2 GPM Vacuum 4 in2 2 in2 pounds
Atmospheric
Pump
Low
(10 GPM) 8 GPM in... 4 GPM out...
Medium
High Figure 36. Some important numbers - there are 8 GPM
going in, and 4 GPM coming out, which makes sense
with the 2:1 surface area differential. (2:1 was chosen for
Figure 35. A circuit with pressures within the normal
this example to keep the math simple.)
range. Meter-out flow control on the rod end induces a
series back pressure on the cylinder. This pressure value
With the rod end flow control calibrated for 4 GPM
may fall within an acceptable range if the rod is always
working against a load.
meter-out flow, only 8 GPM’s can enter the blind end
Therefore the pressure on the blind side of the piston
is 2000 PSI. Why? Because the relief valve is open to dispose of the 2 GPM’s that cannot
be allowed into the cylinder.

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Wait - the relief valve is open but the

cylinder is still moving?
4 in2

x
The pump is attempting to send more flow
into the cylinder than the flow control on

= 8000 lbs
of force
the rod end will allow out. This extra flow
must go somewhere, so pressure builds
until the relief valve opens at 2000 PSI to
2000 PSI return the extra 2 GPM to tank. This turns
Figure 37. Force is equal to pressure x area. Here, we see
the relief valve into a load in parallel with
that the pressure is 2000 PSI, and the area is 4 in2, which
the cylinder, and dictates the pressure of
means that we have 8000 lbs of shoving force available.
the blind end of the system.

How is cylinder extension force calculated? It is calculated by multiplying the PSI times
the piston surface area. In this case we have 2000 PSI x 4 in2. This means that the cylinder
is exerting a shoving force of 8000 lbs. The load, however, is only 6000 lbs.

The extra 2000 lbs of force not used to move the load 2000 lbs
8000 lbs of 1000 PSI =
is transferred over to the fluid between the rod side force 2 in2
of the piston and the flow control. In this case, the
flow control is a load in series with the cylinder and
so that unused 2000 lbs of force divided by the 2 in2 6000 lbs
of piston surface on the rod side equals 1000 PSI on
the rod end gauge. 4. ...is transferred to
here, with pressures
intensified because 1. With the rod not
There’s no problem here, we just need to be sure that of the smaller piston 4000 yet contacting the
area. load...
we understand the math and principles involved. 3. ...all of PSI
the force 6000
pounds
here...
Pressure Intensifies
Figure 38. Force x Area explains the 1000 PSI reading at
A slight modification to our system has caused the the rod end. 2. ...and fluid
2000 PSI
from the rod
rod end gauge to read 4000 PSI while the cylinder end port forced
is extending. How can this be? The relief is still set at through the
2000 PSI. flow control...
2000 PSI
(actuated)
Pressure Key
What else has changed? The rod is not yet contacting
Vacuum
the load and so it is doing no useful work. This means Atmospheric
that the 8000 lbs of force is all transferred over to the Low
fluid on the rod side of the piston. 8000 lbs of force Medium
divided by 2in2 gives us 4000 PSI. High

Figure 39. A circuit with an unexpected high pressure

on the rod end due to meter-out flow control. This high
pressure will only occur when the rod is not working
against the load.

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8000 lbs of
force
4000 PSI =
8000 lbs
2 in2  Key Concept: This is known as
pressure intensification due to
meter-out flow control on the rod side. This
can be a real problem if the flow control was
added in as an “after factory” modification
or if the flow control is adjusted to a level
not recommended by the manufacturer. In
either case, the meter-out scenario can often
explain leaking rod end components and can
even explain ruptured rod end hoses, fittings,
or gland retainer damage.
Figure 40. Force x Area finds 4000 PSI at the rod end.

Erratic Motion
 Troubleshooting Tip: Cylinders
are often blamed for erratic mo-
tion that is caused by other problems. A
If the cylinder is to blame for erratic motion, then
scuffing and scoring inside the cylinder may be
directional valve or a counterbalance valve
the cause or it may be some form of cylinder
may be the source of some erratic motions.
distortion. At low speeds some piston seals may
Trapped air can also result in sluggish and
demonstrate an effect called stick-slip where a
spongy motion. Before you go to the trouble
lack of lubrication film between seal and cylinder
of disassembling a cylinder, you may wish to
wall along with static friction may cause some
eliminate these other causes.
erratic or chatter motion.

Working on Cylinders
If you have to take a cylinder apart to service it,
try to establish a clean work area. Any welding or
grinding nearby should cease as the cylinder is
disassembled or as hoses are removed. Wait until
dust settles from any cleaning with compressed
air. Plug the hose ports with a clean plug as soon
as the hoses are removed.

If it is a large cylinder and must be moved by a

crane or rigging of some sort then be sure to use
only nylon slings as chains or wire rope may dam-
age the cylinder. Try to rig the cylinder horizon-
Figure 41. Use of chains for rigging can easily damage a tally as hanging on to a cylinder by its rod when
hydraulic cylinder. Lifting the cylinder from the pin eye may vertical will probably cause it to extend, sucking in
cause the rod to extend. Use nylon slings and lift the cylinder contamination at the blind end port or ejecting oil
in a horizontal orientation for general handling. from the gland end port.

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If after disassembly you see that piston seals have broken up, be sure to change the
system filters to eliminate major debris from the system. Then also inspect the cylinder
and the replacement parts carefully to be sure that you are using the right parts for the
application and that they are installed correctly. You will want to take these steps to try
to prevent seal disintegration in the future.

Caution: A popular method of removing a stubborn cylinder gland has

! been to apply compressed air to the blind end port with the cylinder fully
extended. Don’t do this! It can lead to serious injury or death. Compressed
air decompresses as the gland and the rod come loose. The resulting high
velocity projectile (the rod) can easily maim or kill people and possibly puncture shop
walls.

As an alternate safe method, you may consider using a hydraulic shop hand pump. With
the cylinder sitting level with ports facing up and rod fully extended, be sure the cylinder
is full of fluid. Less oil and a safer condition exists if the cylinder can remain in a retracted
position for this procedure.

Connect the hand pump with a pressure gauge and hose to the cylinder’s port. Don’t
leave out the pressure gauge as the hand pump may pressure the fluid all the way to
10,000 PSI, but your cylinder may only be rated for 2000 or 3000 PSI. Never let pressure
exceed the maximum rating of the cylinder.

2000
0 10 000

3000 PSI maximum

for gland removal
3000 PSI maximum
for gland removal
Snap Ring

Figure 42. Removing a cylinder gland using a hand pump is much safer than using compressed air.

Figure 43. Ejecting the gland while the cylinder is retracted is a little safer, and uses less oil.

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Remove the snap rings or bolts or whatever fasteners secure the gland in place at the rod end of the
cylinder. Using the hand pump, pump slowly and monitor the pressure carefully. When the gland
and rod eject there will be some fluid to clean up with rags or other absorbents, but the rod or gland
will not travel as hydraulic fluid compresses only very slightly. If the gland will not move and you
have reached the maximum cylinder pressure rating, back off the pressure on the hand pump and
reassess the situation for alternatives (i.e help from a machine shop).

Rotary Actuators (Motors)

Motors are very similar to pumps. They can be as simple as a basic
gear pump or as complex as a variable displacement piston pump.

Gear motors are typically used to turn easily started loads, or they
are connected to the load through a gear reducer. Vane motors are
essentially the same as vane pumps except for the springs that are
needed under the vanes to keep them in contact with the cam ring
when the motor is at low RPM or near stall speeds.

Figure 44. A bent axis motor is one The gerotor or geroller element in an orbit motor is a compact high
of many styles of hydraulic motor. torque device.

There are two general classifications of hydraulic motors:

• High Speed - Low Torque
• Low Speed - High Torque

Gerotor style motors, and some piston motors are

LSHT. Gear, vane and some piston style motors are
generally classified as HSLT.

Piston motors share many characteristics with pis-

ton pumps, specifically their high torque capabili-
ties. Radial and axial piston motors can both be of
the variable displacement type. Variable displace-
ment is achieved via a control port where varying
pressures are applied .
Figure 45.  Image Credit - Sauer Danfoss

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maximum displacement minimum displacement

minimum speed, high torque maximum speed, low torque

variable speed
(displacement) port control
Figure 46.  Image Credit - Sauer Danfoss. Sauer Danfoss Series 5 I Bent Axis Variable Displacement Piston Motor. This image
shows how displacement adjustment changes the speed and torque capability of the motor.

Maintenance Issues

Alignment
The reliability of any rotating equipment that is not aligned is compromised. An inspec-
tion of any coupling and the overall alignment should be routine.

Shaft Breakage
A common problem with motors is shaft breakage. A break will most likely develop as a
crack over time due to misalignment, or it will happen from a sudden shock load beyond
the shaft and motor’s design capability.

Shaft Bearing and Seals

If there is misalignment or any uneven loading through the motor shaft’s rotation,
bearing wear will be accelerated. If the seal does not hold, bearing lubrication may be
lost. Take any lubricant weeping from the shaft very seriously. Shaft seals on motors are
usually of a higher pressure rating than pump shaft seals due to higher case drain pres-
sure conditions.

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Case Drain
Case drain flow is not just about allowing some internal leakage to migrate back to the
tank. Most motors that incorporate a case drain use a flushing flow to ensure that lubri-
cation is sufficient and that filings and contaminants are washed away. If the case drain
flow is impeded in any way, the pressure inside the motor may rise to a level that will
push the shaft seal out. Additionally the lack of flow may compromise internal lubrica-
tion. Not all motors require case drain lines.

Internal Cross Port Leakage

As the motor wears, its cross port leakage may increase to the point where the motor
may stall under heavy loads when turning at low speeds. This leakage rate can be mea-
sured with a flow meter in a stall condition through the motor’s return line. Observations
can also be made when the meter is placed in the case drain line.

Control Mechanism
The control mechanism for varying the motor’s displacement will likely include a spring
and a poppet or spool. The spring may fail and a control spool can be subject to seizing
due to contamination.

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