Eaton, Char-Lynn and Danfoss: One Motor, Three Names

Q: Will a Char-Lynn seal kit fit a motor badged Danfoss?

If the model and suffix match, yes. Confirm the full part number and the seal material, because standard, Viton and high-pressure shaft seal versions differ.

Q: Why do parts lists still say Eaton or Char-Lynn?

The service literature shops rely on was written during the Eaton era and much of it was never renamed. Most technicians still search by the Char-Lynn series name.

Q: Do you stock Danfoss-branded parts?

We stock parts for these motors regardless of the era they were badged in, including seal kits, gerotor sets, shafts, bearings and end caps.

Q: What about Sauer-Danfoss piston pumps?

That is a separate line with a separate history, coming from Sauer-Sundstrand rather than Char-Lynn. See the Sundstrand and Sauer-Danfoss identification guide.

If the nameplate on your orbital motor says Danfoss, and every parts list you can find says Char-Lynn or Eaton, you are not looking at three different motors. You are looking at one product line that changed owners twice.

The short answer: Char-Lynn was acquired by Eaton, and on 2 August 2021 Danfoss completed its purchase of Eaton hydraulics for $3.3 billion. The motors, the part numbers and the seal kits carried straight across. A 101-1701-009 is the same part whether the tag says Char-Lynn, Eaton or Danfoss.

How one motor ended up with three names

Era	Name on the tag	What it means for parts
Original	Char-Lynn	Founded by inventor Lynn “Buck” Charlson in Eden Prairie, Minnesota. The original orbital gerotor motor line. Part numbers in the familiar `1xx-xxxx-xxx` format start here.
Eaton era	Eaton, or Eaton Char-Lynn	Eaton acquired the Char-Lynn Company and kept the brand as a product line. Catalogs, service manuals and seal kits from this era are the ones most shops still use.
Since Aug 2021	Danfoss, or Eaton Danfoss	Danfoss completed the acquisition of Eaton hydraulics on 2 August 2021. The line moved into Danfoss Power Solutions. Numbering was retained.

The practical consequence: a search for Danfoss hydraulic motor parts and a search for Char-Lynn motor parts should return the same shelf. On this site, they do.

Find your motor by series

Whatever brand is on the tag, work from the series. These are the Char-Lynn, Eaton and Danfoss orbital motor families we stock parts and seal kits for:

Spool valve and disc valve motors

VIS and torque generator

Steering units

Seal kits

Reading the part number

The Char-Lynn numbering convention survived both acquisitions. A number such as 101-1701-009 breaks into three groups: the first identifies the motor family, the middle the specific model, and the last the design or engineering change code. Only the first and last actually select your seal kit, which surprises most people. The full breakdown is in our Char-Lynn part number decoder.

Watch the seal material. Two motors with nearly identical numbers can take different kits: a standard kit, a Viton kit for high-temperature or aggressive fluids, and a high-pressure shaft seal version. Confirm the full suffix before ordering.

What to do if the tag is unreadable

Orbital motors live in dirty places and the label is often the first thing to go. If you cannot read it, send us photographs showing the port face, the shaft end and the overall body, plus these measurements:

Shaft diameter, and whether it is straight keyed, tapered or splined, with the spline count.
Mounting flange type, 2-bolt or 4-bolt, and the bolt circle diameter.
Port size and type, and whether the ports face the side or the end.
Overall body length and the number of bolts through the gerotor section.

That is normally enough to place the series and displacement. See also our Char-Lynn orbital motor cross reference guide and how to identify the right Char-Lynn seal kit.

Send us the number and we will match it

It does not matter whether your tag says Char-Lynn, Eaton or Danfoss. Send the number and we will identify the motor and the correct kit. Over 40,000 part numbers in stock, roughly 55,000 more we can source, including long-obsolete models.

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Frequently asked questions

Is a Danfoss hydraulic motor the same as a Char-Lynn?

For the orbital motor line, yes. Danfoss acquired Eaton hydraulics on 2 August 2021, and the Char-Lynn orbital motor range moved with it into Danfoss Power Solutions. The motors and their part numbering carried across, so a Char-Lynn part number generally identifies the same component now sold under the Danfoss name.

Will a Char-Lynn seal kit fit a motor badged Danfoss?

If the model and suffix match, yes. The thing to confirm is not the brand on the tag but the full part number and the seal material, because standard, Viton and high-pressure shaft seal versions differ.

Why do parts lists still say Eaton or Char-Lynn?

Because the service literature that shops rely on was written during the Eaton era, and much of it was never renamed. Most technicians still search by the Char-Lynn series name, which is why we index our catalog that way.

Do you stock Danfoss-branded parts?

We stock parts for these motors regardless of which era they were badged in, including complete seal kits, gerotor sets, shafts, bearings and end caps. Send the number on your unit and we will confirm availability.

What about Sauer-Danfoss piston pumps?

That is a separate product line with a separate history. Sauer-Danfoss came from the Sauer-Sundstrand side of the business, not from Char-Lynn. For those, see our Sundstrand and Sauer-Danfoss identification guide.