Suggestions for small leak on Monoblock

bigmarley98 · Aug 1, 2024

I have posted before about adding rear remotes using the Summit monoblock, primarily for top & tilt. Finally got around to it and finished it yesterday. Everything works as it should, but one small issue. When I first tested it, other than a few connections I had to tighten a bit more, there were no leaks. I had it out in the field yesterday afternoon and found a leak from both spools (one more than the other). There are a couple of metal castings at the end of the spool held by bolts to the main body - it was coming from where two of these castings meet. The leak only occurred when I had a cylinder fully extended and the pressure relief valve kicked in so it was high pressure. I checked the bolts holding the spools together and there was definitely room to tighten then so I did and this significantly reduce the leak. No I only get a very small leak when the cylinders are maxed out, but I have already cranked pretty hard on the bolts and am afraid to go any harder. I really do not want to take everything a part and put in a new monoblock. So a couple of questions:

- Since it is such a small leak that happens occasionally, do I need to worry about it (probably yes I assume)?
- Any chance the residue in the leak will gum up over time and "seal it" (guessing no)?
- Should I continue to crank on the bolts as hard as i can (I am worried about stripping them)?
- Is the right thing to do take it apart and try to rebuild it? If I do is there something (like a gasket) I should put between the castings?

oldnslo · Aug 2, 2024

Can you post a picture of the valve and leak location?
If the leak around the spools where they go into the cast valve body would point towards possibly having something connected wrong. That area should be tank pressure and never see pressure.

Harry in Ky · Aug 2, 2024

Are you sure of your overall plumbing? A leak in that area with a new valve is unusual, and not often caused by loose bolts. The valve has power beyond and a third line direct to sump, right?

bigmarley98 · Aug 2, 2024

I will not be back out until Sunday, so I can get an actual picture of the setup then, for now I have the stock image to show where the leak is coming from. To answer the other questions - correct, I have power coming into the P port, and power beyond adapter (from summit) for the N port, and I have the T port tapped into the tank line on the tractor. I have all for work ports used as well. I have check all the ports, and in particular the tank line (as one of the connections is with the pipe clamp) and they are all dry. However, I can visibly see oil coming from the area indicated on the picture. It only seems to happen on the spool indicated. Before I tightend the bolts on the end it came out of both. After I tightened the bolts on the end it was significantly reduced, and only a bit comes out when the cylinders are maxxed out (and only on the indicated spool).