John Deere F932 hydraulic leak from mystery line. Help!!

drb007 · Jan 26, 2016

My F932 has been such a great machine. I got it free 3 years ago, and I have had really great luck with it. Runs like a top and it works great. I decided not to use the 72" mower deck as it is a bit too big for my yard. But as a dedicated snow blowing beast it can't be beat. Until this week. I noticed that I was losing hydraulic fluid all over my driveway. Not just a drop or two, but a trail. Looked like the Cat in the Hat.
I peeked under the tractor and noticed fluid all over the left (door side) lift cylinder. Sure looked obvious, so I got a used one from ebay and installed it last night. The repair went great. Except that wasn't where the leak was coming from. Turns out there is a hard hydraulic line right above and slightly behind the lift cylinder. It goes left-right across the tractor, just in front of the axle, up under the body, with a union in the middle. The line, as I said, crosses just above and behind the lift cylinder, makes a 90 degree turn, and then goes into the hollow of the box frame section and disappears. It looks like there is a rubber grommet up in the frame channel, but the line disappears. I spent an hour at the local JD dealer, and they can't help me. We went through all of there books and schematics and can't really find anything. It looks like the line is leaking right at the 90, and I am guessing it rubbed a hole over the years.
Anyone know what I am trying to describe? Where does the line go? How do I remove/replace it?
Thanks for your help!!

Wherewolf · Jan 27, 2016

I would guess that it's probably a power steering hard line - look on JDparts under the steering and brakes section for the F932 - it even shows the grommet, so I'm assuming the lines go through the frame. Looks like some of the lines are (NLA) but you could probably make new hard lines with a tubing bender or have a hydraulics shops make a hose, if you can route it through size wise.
I hope this helps!