How Often to Replace Hydraulic Lines?

[40_acre_mule]

Do any of y'all replace your hydraulic lines on a regular basis?
Do you just wait til they look bad?
Or do you wait until they fail?

 

[grsthegreat]

i wait till they fail. my last tractor started to lose a few loader lines around 12 years old.

 

[Tractor Seabee]

HYD hoses are like all rubber goods; it is not whether they will fail but when. They all have a service life that varies with a lot of different reasons. I will do like I do with belts and radiator hoses. The first time a failure occurs I replace all of that kind at once; as soon others the same vintage will fail also. It then saves time and frustration and only one fluid change.

Ron

 

[techwrtr2]

Fail. On my oldest tractor, I have hoses in place for 30 years... Why replace them before they break? Granted, I don't make my living on my machines nor are lives at risk if they're down so there's that to ponder as well.

 

[2458n]

I take them to failure. Only seem to break when you need the tractor for something. At that time it is a quick patch and go. Have bought a complete set of hoses for a White Field Boss, but have not had time to wrench on it. It is stupid to do it my way as nobody needs a hot oil bath.

 

[crazyal]

The first thing that will happen is the outer rubber jacket will dry rot. That will allow water to get to the steel braiding and it'll rust. From there it really depends on how many layers of reinforcement wire braiding your hose has. I've had single braided hoses fail just after the first sign of rust on the steel while I have several quad braided hoses that half of the rubber jacket has rotted and fallen off yet still hold fine. If you don't want to run to fail I would say two to three years after you can start to see the steel braiding.

I was a replace when it broke kind of guy. But that always meant dealing with a local parts store making up a hose for me. I would have to spend over an hour dealing with getting a replacement while looking plenty of oil. Now I just buy them on-line. A lot cheaper once you add in all the costs, the inflated price at the local store ($50 vs $20, gas and my time, and extra fluid lost when it bursts and what leaks out as it sits. Plus I can find a place to change the hose with plenty of pans to catch as much fluid as I can vs having it leak allover the place.

 

[Looking4new]

When I see my hoses (Hydraulic) start to weather check then I get replacements and change them out at my leisure. I used to be a when it breaks fix it kind of guy. Not any more.

 

[Gary Fowler]

I have never replaced hoses till they fail. I also have never had one get weather checked, show braid etc before failing. Most of my hose breakage came from my Yanmar FEL that had 2200# rating hoses and they always failed when I over exerted the FEL which was just about every time I used it. All the replacement hoses have 3000 PSI rating and never had an issue with them.

I am lucky enough to have a Mom and Pop place only about 5 miles from me that makes up all my hoses and they are fairly cheap. They have a little hardware store that carries just about anything anyone will need as long as you don't need it after 12 on Saturdays or a Sunday but that is not unusual for around here. Lots of place close on weekends here except for the chain stores. I always check there for hard to find items and they usually have it and sometimes cheaper than Lowes for hardware or hydraulic shops for hoses. I recently had to replace one for the bucket cylinder on my backhoe that was about 24" long and cost me $23 with the majority of that cost being in the $8 each fitting cost. All my back hoe failures have been breaking the fitting off from rubbing against a tree and I have never busted a hose itself but that does require new hoses when one breaks as they are never long enough to cut off the end and replace.

As long as I wont be sitting straddle of a hose, I wont replace it till it starts leaking or shows worn braid and even then a few wraps of electrical tape will keep out the water. The outside rubber coating is only protecting the braided wire and adds nothing to the strength of the hose.
A little spraying of hydraulic oil on the machine makes it shine like a wax job and prevents rust.

 

[oldnslo]

In industry where they are being used every day the rough rule of thumb is 5 years or less for replacement. For the weekend home owners like others have said. When they look bad or break, whichever comes first.

 

[grsthegreat]

and MAN is there a difference in quality of replacement hoses out there. Pay for the best when replacing. The hoses i replaced on the JD870 were of far better quality than the ones i replaced them for. higher psi rating too.

Find a good hydraulic shop near you and check the prices. I have 2 in my area ....great prices, USA made materials and very friendly staff.

I actually found the need to replace the air line in one of my shop 50' self retracting air hose units. I bought a chinese hose set from Lowes and was going to install it..... when i noticed the threaded end wasnt quite the same size. I went to the hyd shop out of curiosity and asked if they could do air lines... sure, no problem.

They made me a 50 foot set of US made hose with both proper US made ends. Cost was Less THAN THE LOWES HOSE.