How to remove the pickup tube on a Bobcat 853

thetool said:

That's good to know, conc. I struggle with them, too.
Getting it back in.......I put some grease on the grommet, grease on the tube, grease on the elbow, and push, cuss, push, cuss, push......I have used a small prybar levered onto the head of the elbow to pop it in that last 1/4".
When I have an engine out, I look at the grommets on a fuel tank, an if they look old and dry, I try and sell a pick-up tube job.....=).

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perry said:

I pulled everything including tank for parts replacement and cleaning on my 853, if I had to go back in I would loosen engine mounts and remove other items that get in the way. Used a small jack or porter power and raise hydrostatic drive, I believe that would allow ample room to remove/replace pickup hose?.

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Fishfiles said:

Well , today I came across a fuel pick up problem on a 853 , and having done it before I was some what ready , NOT < I found out there are different setups on 853 hydraulics and tank pickup placement , this 8 was not what I was use to , it was right in the middle of and under the sunstrand transmssion pump and almost in the middle of the machine , I had a new style hard plastic tube and grommet with me but even if I would have gotten the old tube out puttting it back in would have been possible without kinking the tube so I was looking for another way , I am thinking plug the old pick up tube off and drill a new hole in the tank , push the grommet in , use a new 90 and fuel line , I had the battery out and the drill out and when cleaning the tank I see a grommet and a plug in top the tank right at the edge under the fan belt cover , I have never seen a Bobcat tank have this extra hole plugged off but took advantage off it and istalled the pick up there , I figure if it wasn't stock from factory that maybe someone could have repaired a hole in the tank that way , which is a good idea to remember on how to fix a small hole in your plastic tank , well it worked out very quick and I will never fight the pickup tube out an 853 again , I'm drillling a new hole behind the battery where it is easy to get to after looking for that mystery plug

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perry said:

Good job Fishfiles, I thought about doing the same thing, but it's shallow on the rear and a long pickup tube would be needed. Also the pickup would set on the bottom of the tank which might cause dirt problems. Of course, you can easily pull your pickup anytime and clean her up!. Should I have future problems with my pickup, I'll do the same.

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Fishfiles said:

I hear ya Perry , looks like a post is missing or edited , aye , I seen that , I only use the hard tubing when replacing pick up tubes and what I did was stick the tube in till it hit the bottom of the tank and came an inch up and cut it , I always buy the longest tube and cut it that way , so I don't have to carry a bunch of different sizes ---------it was stupid on their part to put the pickup where they did on that machine and the place on the next seril number break ai't much better , there are lots of other places where it would have been easier accessable ---------when you first posted to this thread I was kinda lost , then when I ran across that 853 I realized that is the serial number break you must have --------what I went there for was a bad hydraulic leak and steering hesitation problems , which I was thinking travel motor seals causing the hesitation then surge , the seals on the pintle steering shafts were leaking bad , probally the worst i ever seen , after changing the 4 seals and 4 back up rings the leaks stopped and the steering was fine , I changed the light bulb and bulb holder socket as the led dash was unreadable , while test running the machine I found it starving for fuel , they had a clear in line fuel filter and I could see the air bubbles building in the filter so the soft plastic tubing must have been cracked cause after putting a hose in a gallon of diesel and to the primer bulb the bubbles disappeared , that is a good test , a clear in line or a clear piece of tubing , i have used clear tubing on my outboards motors testing fuel problems but never did use it on a diesel before

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