Crap, I wrote a reply and it didn't show up. Those two lines wound up under the aux spool cap. I don't remember where they were to begin. I only used her for a few minutes, because of rain.I hate to say it, but i'm so glad it was you doing the work and not me! I did it all with engine and pumps out, it was so much easier. With that said...... i do have to jump in again to try and stop a leak in the aux. section, rite at the bottom with 2 tube lines in the way making it so i can't get the rotten spool out.
I'm not sure how the new load checks will seat in, they are hardened so i would suspect they may get a little better in time. As for air causing drift, it may cause a small amount, but i would doubt it would cause the 10" per hour you describe. I would change the tilt ram seals when you work on the bobtach pin, then you know everything is how it should be.
Air in the system will take a little while to beleed out, but it will usually just make groaning in your pumps and spongy action on your rams. Mine took quite a while to get rite, it took me about a week of starting and moving around for a few minutes then shutting down and leaving it for a few hrs. Mind you, my ENTIRE system was empty, tube lines, pumps, rams, the lot! Yours was just the spool and attached lines
Now the bobtach pin, do you have access to an oxy cutting setup, lathe and welder? if so you can do it. You said there is alot of play, your best bet is to remove the 2 bosses that hold the pin and make and weld 2 new ones in (or you could buy ones from bobcat). Just make sure you locate the bosses correctly and push the pin through so you know its tracking straight before welding. Replace the bushing inside the end of the cylinder where the pin goes through, and your pretty well set!
You only need to replace the old bosses if they are worn, if they are ok, you can just replace the pin and bush inthe end of the ram.
One modification i did to mine was to drill only 1 side of the boss and drill and tap a matching hole in one end of my pin. Unlike bobcat's one, they drill right through, but there is no way to stop the pin from twisting slightly causing wear. My way you tighten the bolt and it locks the pin so it will never move and wear (i can post a pic to make things clear). Its up to you if you go this way or not, i just felt it was better
If you need any more info just give me a yell.
OOH the hose that wasn't tight, don't feel alone there, i have done it too. I was fiddling with a hydrostatic motor and removed a hose and needed to tilt the bucket a bit so i started it and tilted it a tad. Ran for maybee 10 seconds and had a massive pool of oil on the floor!!!
I would appreciate any pictures you can come up with. I haven't looked in the service manual yet. It seems to be a bit vague about things.
I only have a MIG welder, no lathe or torches. I have a friend with a set of mini torches. There isn't a machine shop nearby.
If anyone is going to try to get the valve out, clean it well even if you think it's clean enough. Get a 1" stubby combo wrench and a 1" flare nut wrench, and replace the detent balls and springs. I spent 2 partial days disassembling and 1 partial day reassembling for this. I'm thinking that capping off the rear hyd ports on the valve might be the way to go. I spent about 2 hrs reaching around the engine to get that one fitting off, and an hour getting it back on.
