Hydraulic hose replacement

[Swblack1216]

been a long time. My tractor has been sitting for way too long. I was hoping I could find somebody reasonable to replace my hydraulic hoses for my backhoe. I couldn’t. I have to do it myself. I have a 4500 Ford industrial with 755 backhoe The hoses that go under and up to the manifold seem very difficult to get to any suggestions ideas tools needed any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Engineer42]

Looks as if you can remove about 4 bolts and remove the rear cover of the control panel. The holes in either side of the mounting plate should allow you to poke an arm thru.

Get a 5 gallon bucket, set it by rear tire. Fill it with patience. Take your time, and when you find yourself running out of patience, reach in the bucket and grab some.

Not being mean. I've done these jobs before. Wish someone had told me about the bucket way back when.

Actually, Dad always did, just in a different way. "Slow down, take your time, getting rammy won't fix it, sometimes you have to walk away, take a breath, and it will fall right into place".

Miss his wisdom.

 

[DJ54]

A crowfoot line wrench of proper size like pictured below can save a lot of frustration with the lines so close together. You'll want it thin walled like this to get between lines. A breaker bar/flex handle or even a 1/2" ratchet will work with it. Usually a 1/2 turn and you can probably loosen it the rest of the way with your fingers. May have to wiggle it a bit while turning. They are a bit pricey, but worth it for the frustration they save.

I bought tags with wires to wrap around connection points and the hose(s) I was replacing. Simply mark "1", "2" "3" etc. on them. Have whoever is making the new hoses transfer the tag to new hoses as they are made. Makes it a lot easier to put in the proper place.

If you have a smart phone, take pics of how hoses are routed, unless you have a photographic memory.

Usually there are some clamps in there that all the hoses go through to hold them in place. A lot of times oil has leaked enough the bolts come loose easy, and others have a lot of paint on them. A 50/50 mix of Acetone and ATF makes a great penetrate, and the Acetone will dissolve the paint. I mix it in a small dish detergent bottle with a snap lid to keep the Acetone from evaporating. It will separate after setting for a few minutes. Give the bottle a quick shake, and you're good to go. A small wire brush will easily brush the paint off. Buy a quart of each to try it, more than likely you'll be buying Acetone by the gallon, and ATF in large jugs too. Wal-Mart brand ATF works great.

I've found like everything else fittings have gone up a lot since Covid, hose not so much but has increased too.

 

[Carl_NH]

Tom - that's a good one - bucket of patience! Gotta remember that and you are so right on for this job,

But to the OP question - tips and tricks to change BH hoses in the boom:
- Lift the BH rear tires as high as possible with outriggers to make the boom and bucket as straight as possible so the bend at the bottom of the boom is open as much as possible. This makes it easier to get around that bend.
- If you are going to replace all the hoses then take pics and mark them all then pull in some good rope to put the new hoses back in.
- If selective replacement I found its easiest to pull the new hose in when you are pulling the old hose out using a coupler - but you need to have the new hose lenght correct - you may be able to get those lengths on line if you search.

 

[oosik]

Can't tell by your picture which side of the state you are on. Wet or dry. Over here I'm ~ 25 miles from Spokane and a company called - House of Hose. Their business is hydraulics and everything to do with hydraulics.

They can make up any type of hose you need and at a reasonable price.

 

[Swblack1216]

Can't tell by your picture which side of the state you are on. Wet or dry. Over here I'm ~ 25 miles from Spokane and a company called - House of Hose. Their business is hydraulics and everything to do with hydraulics.

They can make up any type of hose you need and at a reasonable price.

Thanks very wet side

A crowfoot line wrench of proper size like pictured below can save a lot of frustration with the lines so close together. You'll want it thin walled like this to get between lines. A breaker bar/flex handle or even a 1/2" ratchet will work with it. Usually a 1/2 turn and you can probably loosen it the rest of the way with your fingers. May have to wiggle it a bit while turning. They are a bit pricey, but worth it for the frustration they save.

I bought tags with wires to wrap around connection points and the hose(s) I was replacing. Simply mark "1", "2" "3" etc. on them. Have whoever is making the new hoses transfer the tag to new hoses as they are made. Makes it a lot easier to put in the proper place.

If you have a smart phone, take pics of how hoses are routed, unless you have a photographic memory.

Usually there are some clamps in there that all the hoses go through to hold them in place. A lot of times oil has leaked enough the bolts come loose easy, and others have a lot of paint on them. A 50/50 mix of Acetone and ATF makes a great penetrate, and the Acetone will dissolve the paint. I mix it in a small dish detergent bottle with a snap lid to keep the Acetone from evaporating. It will separate after setting for a few minutes. Give the bottle a quick shake, and you're good to go. A small wire brush will easily brush the paint off. Buy a quart of each to try it, more than likely you'll be buying Acetone by the gallon, and ATF in large jugs too. Wal-Mart brand ATF works great.

I've found like everything else fittings have gone up a lot since Covid, hose not so much but has increased too.




View attachment 2147456

Thanks so much. I have regular crows feet.I can see how that would be better will the opening get around hose?

 

[DJ54]

Regular crow feet may be a bit wide to get in between fitting, but there's always that chance they will.

 

[Swblack1216]

Regular crow feet may be a bit wide to get in between fitting, but there's always that chance they will.

I’m trying to find the crows feet that you pictured and some 30/60 wrenches. it looks like I need a 7/8 a 1 inch and a one and a quarter. Everybody was very encouraging and it doesn’t look as bad as I thought. Thanks again. Wish me luck. I will keep everyone posted.

 

[DJ54]

Although a 3/8" drive here's an SK 1" on ebay that won't break the bank SK Hand Tools 42232 1" ,,, 3/8" Drive Fractional Flare Nut Crowfoot Wrench | eBay And a 3/8" drive 7/8" Armstrong Armstrong 11-846 7/8" 3/8" Drive Flare Nut Crowfoot Wrench USA | eBay

And a 1/2" drive two-fer 1-1/4 & 1-1/2 older Utica brand made in USA Older Utica Loc-Rite 1-1/2" Head & 1 1/4 Head 1/2" Drive Crowfoot Wrench | eBay All on ebay if you deal there.

Looks like you can nearly buy all of them for the price of one Wright brand I pictured earlier new.

Even though the first 2 are 3/8" drive a breaker bar should easily break the hose connections. Most swivel ends I've dealt with aren't torqued all that tight, just the initial breaking it loose, which isn't all that hard to do, you're home free.

 

[Williy]

You can loosen all the hoses on one end and then go to the other end and do the same BUT only remove one hose and then replace it so you don't mix up the connectiions

willy