SnoWay hydraulic problems

[coolgreen]

My 6.8-foot SnoWay ST is slowly coming down on its own. It takes about 10 minutes from fully up to fully down.

I've looked for a leak, but I can't find one. Could it be a valve of some kind? I have a limited knowledge of hydraulic systems.

The plow is only one year old and was only used as a backup last season, so there is not much use on it. This season, however, it is working full-time, so I need to figure this out.

[wyldman]

Most common problem is the lift cyl.It will slowly leak across the piston,and the plow slowly goes down.It's a special double acting cylinder,which I believe is proprietary to Snoway.Princess Auto has some that are close,but would take some work to get them to fit.

Both of our Snoways do it,we just live with it.They have been doing it for a while now,and don't seem to be getting any worse.If it fails,I will replace it then.

If you do it,check the linkage for cracks\bending,as well as the little bushings.

Last time I checked,they were $367 or so.Cliff's small engines in Oakville has them in stock.

[coolgreen]

Thanks. Sounds like it's just a SnoWay thing.

But it seems kind of early for a problem like this to be popping up. I wonder if this thing is still under warranty?

[wyldman]

I know they have a 5 year structural warranty,but not sure what it covers as far as other stuff.Call your dealer to find out what they will cover.

[Earthscapes]

I've had the same problem for the last 3 years, so this year I took my cylinder and my 2 other double acting backplow cylinders to a local rebuild shop. He replaced the seals in 1 of the backplow cylinders and the shaft and seals in the other 1. For the snoway he replaced the shaft and seals. This guy makes his own shafts so it worked out great. All of these plows now stay raised. For $300 I think I got a great deal. I'd have to say if you have time pull it off and take it to a local rebuild shop and Chris is right I called Sno-way (10/04) and the price new was $380 plus shipping/tax.