743 hose playing hard to get

[oracle_of_ferndale]

There is a bad hose under the cab of my 743B. It runs to the hydraulic control valve from the bottom of the tee-adapter that goes to the port block. In the parts manual page 99 for hydrostatic circuitry (S/N 15001 and above), it is part number 28. I can't get a wrench on the hose where it meets the elbow on the control valve. Can anyone share a tip or a trick for removing this hose? I've already tried cussing at it.

 

[Bobcatdan]

For starters, crowfoot wrenches are a must for bobcats. Northern sells a 1/2" drive set for pretty cheap. If that doesn't help, tapping on the fitting with a blunt bit in an air hammer is the trick for tight fittings. If this is a hose I'm thinking off, its a real bitch. I have cut the fitting off to get a socket on it from the bottom. To install the hose I took a long swivel fitting. Welded it tight and used it as a spacer to put the hose end in a clearer spot to tighten. Job like this is prime example to why I hate 40 series.

 

[billrbg]

For starters, crowfoot wrenches are a must for bobcats. Northern sells a 1/2" drive set for pretty cheap. If that doesn't help, tapping on the fitting with a blunt bit in an air hammer is the trick for tight fittings. If this is a hose I'm thinking off, its a real bitch. I have cut the fitting off to get a socket on it from the bottom. To install the hose I took a long swivel fitting. Welded it tight and used it as a spacer to put the hose end in a clearer spot to tighten. Job like this is prime example to why I hate 40 series.

Although I like my 743, that hose is a bitch, and the procedure above is pretty much the only way I know of to do it without pulling a lot of the machine apart. You will have to cut off the hose and then use a deep-socket. I even had to turn it down to a "thin-wall" type, and then grind away most of one side to make it kind of a "deep crow-foot". Going back, I also made an "extender" for the fitting down there, a welded female-to-male fitting. Going back in the hex on that extender was out from under the Control Valve enough that a standard socket would fit, then a new hose is "easy" to R&R forever more. Oh, wait, I still had to machine the hex on the extender to a smaller size to get it under the Valve? You can't just turn the elbow in the Valve down more, as it will then be too close to the bottom pan for the extender and hose to fit...

 

[oracle_of_ferndale]

Although I like my 743, that hose is a bitch, and the procedure above is pretty much the only way I know of to do it without pulling a lot of the machine apart. You will have to cut off the hose and then use a deep-socket. I even had to turn it down to a "thin-wall" type, and then grind away most of one side to make it kind of a "deep crow-foot". Going back, I also made an "extender" for the fitting down there, a welded female-to-male fitting. Going back in the hex on that extender was out from under the Control Valve enough that a standard socket would fit, then a new hose is "easy" to R&R forever more. Oh, wait, I still had to machine the hex on the extender to a smaller size to get it under the Valve? You can't just turn the elbow in the Valve down more, as it will then be too close to the bottom pan for the extender and hose to fit...

Thanks Billrbg and Bobcatdan. I guess its good to know that I did not miss something obvious.

 

[billrbg]

Thanks Billrbg and Bobcatdan. I guess its good to know that I did not miss something obvious.

I did mine just this last Spring, I still have pictures of the special wrench and extender handy. Want to see? Email me if you do:

 

[oracle_of_ferndale]

I did mine just this last Spring, I still have pictures of the special wrench and extender handy. Want to see? Email me if you do:

Yes, I would like to see. Where do I find your email address?

 

[billrbg]

Yes, I would like to see. Where do I find your email address?

Sorry, I didn't know that this forum program would "prune" something with a "dot" in it. Try this: billrbg AT yahoo DOT com. Change AT and DOT to the usual symbols. When I got a new hose, I used a longer one and had a 90-degree fitting put on for end that goes to the "T". The hose now goes forward past the T, kind of in a "J" shape. As it loops back, the 90-degree takes it back up to the T. That makes it a bit more *flexible* and easier to install.

 

[oracle_of_ferndale]

For starters, crowfoot wrenches are a must for bobcats. Northern sells a 1/2" drive set for pretty cheap. If that doesn't help, tapping on the fitting with a blunt bit in an air hammer is the trick for tight fittings. If this is a hose I'm thinking off, its a real bitch. I have cut the fitting off to get a socket on it from the bottom. To install the hose I took a long swivel fitting. Welded it tight and used it as a spacer to put the hose end in a clearer spot to tighten. Job like this is prime example to why I hate 40 series.

Bobcatdan: Thanks for your reply. Do you recall the size or part number of the long swivel fitting you used to make the spacer?