What usually ends its life

Cylinders commonly fail through seal wear, rod damage (scoring/pitting), contamination, and internal leakage that shows up as drift or weak/erratic motion. Cylinder drift is frequently tied to internal leakage and pressure imbalance caused by seal wear.

Replace it when you see

• Steering drift / wandering that repeats after valve checks and air purge

• External leakage at seals that returns quickly after reseal (often rod wear or contamination)

• Scored/bent rod (this is usually replacement territory because it eats seals and won’t stay tight)

The replacement line

If the rod is damaged or the cylinder won’t hold position under load after basic hydraulic checks, replacement prevents repeat failures (and safety risk).