hydraulic hoses

[screaminghollow]

I'm gonna need to replace a half dozen hoses on a back hoe. There's o-rings and fittings, etc. Do I use a sealant on the threads, just screw it in and pray? I plan to remove them one at a time and take them to get new ones. Are there caps I can screw on or plugs to go into the fittings to keep the fluid clean and from leaking out? This is all new to me.

 

[Joe(TX)]

Use sealant only on pipe threads, and be careful there.
Plugs and caps are available, both metal and plastic.

 

[Anonymous-0]

If lucky you can unscrew and reuse the end and save a bundle. Look for a octagon or hexagon for a wrench on the metal tube that compresses the rubber onto the barb.

 

[El Toro]

Use the sealant only on pipe threads as Joe suggested. Any hydraulic store or shop can make new hoses for you if you take the old hose along. Here's picture of some hydraulic hoses I made for my garden tractor with hydraulic lift. You need a bench vise to hold the hose when installing the hex nut that has left hand threads and for installing the swivel nut with the tube fitting seat. Hal

 

[ZacsDad]

I just replaced about 14 hoses and the spool valve on my MF 220 loader. All were shot. I considered using the Northern Tool Chinese mass produced ones but elected to go to my local hydraulics shop. Was well worth the extra $$ (actually not a whole lot extra). Got a LOT of great advice and (IMHO)a much better grade of connector/hose. They told me to put teflon tape on pipe fittings (but keep the tape back 2 or 3 threads). For everything else they said to let the connector supply the seal. Everything went back together easily and nothing leaked (probably due to the better connectors). Loader works like a champ.

BTW, some of my connectors had some pretty tight spaces for a wrench. Standard wrenches wouldn"t work and I had to break out my tappet wrenches. Probably not news to most, but was something I encountered.

 

[JMS MN]

Some hoses are NPT, so pipe caps and plugs work. Others are 0-ring. You can LIGHTLY install an NPT plug or cap. Some new hydraulic hoses come with plastic caps, similar to battery terminal covers. Save all of them you run across. Your hydraulic shop may have cheap plastic caps/plugs of various sizes. Can also cap with a plastic bag held on by rubber band. Might close some with a length of plastic hose, plugged by a bolt. Cycle the cylinder so the end to be disconnected has a minimum of oil in it, will work fine since you"re doing one hose at a time. I use plastic ties to ID multiple hoses. Backhoe swing area is hard to work in- I ended up torching a good wrench to get one short enough to work in there.

 

[souNdguy]

The ORB ( oring boss ) threads are straight.. use no thread sealant... not taper threads.. don't force a npt plug in one... a bolt ( for instance..a short 9/16 fine will fit 3/8 orb.. with a old oring under the bolt head if you just want to keep dirt out..


soundguy

 

[Gun guru]

I would make sure that you have the right threads with the right hoses etc. If you cross thread it your screwed. Are you anywhere near Flint Mi. (probably not) I could figure out what you have. You may be able to go to a hydraulic hose warehouse place and see if a tech from there can come to your house, it may well be worth the $50 for the guy to give you 10 minutes of his time.

 

[Charles (in GA)]

Look around for a traveling hose man. In the Atlanta area, there are a number of people with at truck full of hose and fittings that work the construction sites, making new hoses for equipment. Downtime is money. One call and in a few minutes a guy appears with all the stuff.

With several hoses to make, it probably would be worth it, and might not cost any more than the time and gas to take each one to a hose shop.

Charles

 

[greygoat]

Teflon tape or sealant acts as a lubricant, and
can reduce friction to the extent that you
misjudge, and overtighten, sometimes breaking
fitting, or stripping threads. Don't use tape
or sealor on any flare fitting

 

[Anonymous-0]

you wont need any sealant or tape on the fittings from the hose to the nipple as they are compression type fittings, they have a concave and a convex end, so they self seal,,

the fittings that have the O ring do not need any sealant or tape either, as the O ring seals against the valve body or whatever it is going into,,

I have replaced all the hoses on my backhoe at one time, on the boom , it was easier to get them all changed as most were close to each other,[and of course the blown one was in the middle of the cluster],, You can take them all off at once and take them down in one shot to the hose place,,

all you need to do is number each end on the hose ends and the HOE end,, the shop will keep them together with a wire tie or something similar,, as they do this all the time, or ask to make sure they will keep them together,then get home and put them on,, that is the easist way,

have a great day pat