Dirty hydraulic hoses

[jd4310man]

I got a Yanmar mini excavator and I'm replacing the final drive motors. Anyway a long story short, the old motors were pulled off and the machine sat for a while and now the ends of the lines are dirty. Before I install the new motors (Big $$$) What is the best way to clean out these hoses so no dirt gets in and contaminate the new motors?

 

[oldnslo]

The best but not the easiest would be to disconnect the hoses at the source and then somehow run some fund through them from the source end to the motor.

 

[jd4310man]

Thats kinda what I was thinking. There is sand and grit that is all over the fittings and i dont want any of that to wind up in the new motor. Would it be a bad thing if i would give it a good pressure wash and then take the hoses off?

 

[Coyote machine]

I'd cap off the hose ends, then pressure wash, then force some hydraulic fluid through each hose until it comes out clean, and use compressed air to blow out the hoses too. Water is as bad as sand,dirt, etc. to hydraulic pumps/motors. You need nearly surgically clean environment or you will damage those expensive new motors. The hoses must be clean and dry before you hook them up.

 

[arkydog]

I'd cap off the hose ends, then pressure wash, then force some hydraulic fluid through each hose until it comes out clean, and use compressed air to blow out the hoses too. Water is as bad as sand,dirt, etc. to hydraulic pumps/motors. You need nearly surgically clean environment or you will damage those expensive new motors. The hoses must be clean and dry before you hook them up.

i would take a couple can of brake cleaner and using the spray nozzle tube insert tube into hose holding hose upside down spray so all fluid and cantaminants run down and out hose

 

[sandman2234]

Last time I checked, brake cleaner had a disclaimer about being bad for rubber. Been a while since I used it and it may have changed.
I know that hydraulic hoses are not cheap but have you considered a straight replacement? With the price of motors, hoses are cheaper. If replacement costs are through the roof for new hoses (which might need changing sometime in the near future anyway?) I would pull the hoses and flush them from the cleaner end towards the dirtier end.
Good luck with it,
David from jax

 

[bigdeano]

I clean hyd hoses by dumping quite a bit of gasoline in the hose and then blowing it thru with a big air nozzle. The gas gets rid of the oil so the dirt doesn't stick. I do it a couple times. Blow enough air thru so all the gas evaporates before you're done. Gas is pretty cheap, you can use a lot of it.

 

[Coyote machine]

Last time I checked, brake cleaner had a disclaimer about being bad for rubber. Been a while since I used it and it may have changed.
I know that hydraulic hoses are not cheap but have you considered a straight replacement? With the price of motors, hoses are cheaper. If replacement costs are through the roof for new hoses (which might need changing sometime in the near future anyway?) I would pull the hoses and flush them from the cleaner end towards the dirtier end.
Good luck with it,
David from jax

I agree, Brakleen is not good for rubber parts. You could use carb cleaner to dry out the inside of the hoses once you find a good solvent to flush them out with, prior to using the carb cleaner. As stated earlier, they need to be surgically clean before hooking to the new motors or any contaminants will do damage to the motors.

 

[mrmikey]

Not saying you have to use this system but you could get a few of the projectiles and clean it out that way, I'm sure there's an adapter you could make to blow the projectile thru rather than having to purchase the gun.

I've used it before and it does work well, never stuck a projectile in a hose and they were running a very convoluted path, took out a lot of crap.......Mike

Cleaning Hydraulic Hose - YouTube

 

[jd4310man]

mrmikey, thanks for the video link! I never gave it a thought about all the dirt that comes from making a hose. Wonder how many new or rebuilt pumps get ruined because of a failure to thoroughly clean out the hoses before installation. I found this video on how to make a hose cleaner out of a 55 gallon drum. Importance of Clean Hydraulic Hoses - YouTube