Flat face couplers

[Pumpkin Steve]

Put a quick-tach adapter on my JD158 loader and bought a grapple attachment. It came with flat face couplers so when I ran lines to the front of the loader, I terminated with flat face. Never used them before and I can hardly get them coupled together. Usually one goes on okay but I really struggle getting the second one on. Shouldn't be any pressure on them, tractor is always off and I relieve any pressure with control valve. Today it was so difficult I finally loosened all the fittings to make sure there was no pressure fighting me. There was next to no pressure. Finally got them coupled after much grunting.

Am I doing something wrong?

 

[300jk]

Put a quick-tach adapter on my JD158 loader and bought a grapple attachment. It came with flat face couplers so when I ran lines to the front of the loader, I terminated with flat face. Never used them before and I can hardly get them coupled together. Usually one goes on okay but I really struggle getting the second one on. Shouldn't be any pressure on them, tractor is always off and I relieve any pressure with control valve. Today it was so difficult I finally loosened all the fittings to make sure there was no pressure fighting me. There was next to no pressure. Finally got them coupled after much grunting.

Am I doing something wrong

 

[300jk]

We have that style on many pieces of construction equipment we have at work. Loaders, skidsteers, excavators, ect. Generally if there is no pressure the work ok. Some go together easy, some put up a real fight and are extremely aggravating. Ours have a small nub that must be lined up with a certain place on the sliding collar when unhooking, but you probably already figured that out. The male ends sometimes get dinged up and the slightest ding or lip will also cause them to not couple. If you can feel it with your fingernail it’s probably going to cause frustration. I just take the lip or burr off with a file. Very common for some I work with to unhook something and have the end hit a rock or a piece of the equipment causing a ding or burr.

 

[Buffalo Pete]

Have them on my Kubota. Yup....there is a small pin that the sleeve must line up with, but ya can't have any pressure in the line. Turn the tractor off. Cycle the valves. That helps a bunch.

 

[ttown chuck]

yea hey can be tough sometimes with the engine off lower the loader move the joystick around push on the 3rd functional switch be sure to close the grappler try not to store in the sun flat faces are harder to bleed off but easier to keep clean

 

[Jim.ME]

Put a quick-tach adapter on my JD158 loader and bought a grapple attachment. It came with flat face couplers so when I ran lines to the front of the loader, I terminated with flat face. Never used them before and I can hardly get them coupled together. Usually one goes on okay but I really struggle getting the second one on. Shouldn't be any pressure on them, tractor is always off and I relieve any pressure with control valve. Today it was so difficult I finally loosened all the fittings to make sure there was no pressure fighting me. There was next to no pressure. Finally got them coupled after much grunting.

Am I doing something wrong?

It is not uncommon that you can equalize/relieve the pressure on the tractor side couplers, but not the attachment. Attachments build pressure as temperatures change or settling occurs, even if the pressures were relieved before unhooking. Sun shining on a cylinder will increase pressure in the cylinder.

We got a grapple with flat face couplings and changed them to the common ISO ball/poppet type couplers on our other equipment and remotes. It is easier to relieve those if needed and there are some sources for tools that use a screw to open and relieve them if needed. Unless everything else I had used flat face couplers, I know what I would do with those FF couplers if I had your grapple. Do you have other hydraulics using FF couplers?

 

[showcrop]

Have them on my Kubota. Yup....there is a small pin that the sleeve must line up with, but ya can't have any pressure in the line. Turn the tractor off. Cycle the valves. That helps a bunch.

The OP told us that he has been doing what you suggest.

 

[jwal10]

I put a pet cock like this in a T on one hose on the attachment to relieve the pressure. I have a can of vinyl pipe caps and plugs to fit, to keep dirt out....James

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[Fixingfarmer]

The other thing a lot of Skidsteers with that style hookup have is a pressure relief in the line built in if you push on the coupler itself it will kick back half an inch or so and dump the oil. My caterpillar has this since you can’t easily relieve the pressure to the auxiliary attachment with engine off. As far as the attachment side building pressure your options are the messy relieve it in the same manner as has always been done push on a piece of metal nearby although that takes more talent as there isn’t a nice ball that sticks out. Or you can build a female coupler to put on the attachment with a t handle to push and a hole drilled in the side I made one for an iso coupler then you can release the pressure with the hole over a bucket. It’s still plenty close to my hands for comfort but it does the job.