Rotten oil leaks!

[Tazza]

Well, my 743 i have been re-building has let me down, it has an oil leak from the control block. Its the aux spool, the one right at the bottom that will be horrible to pull and replace the seals again.
Has anyone had much luck replacing the spool O rings while the block is still attached to the machine? the only way i can see that i can do it, is to bend the 2 tube lines for the lift arm rams to allow me to pull the spool out. This is all after i had the fun of replacing the detent balls with the block still attached to the machine.
Why me, ooh why!!!!
The leak is pretty small, but its just something i really want to be rite. I just want it to be all leak free.

 

[140mower]

He he, I hear you on how those little leaks can drive ya nuts. I've got one on the Boss o-ring on the charge pump that I've tried addressing several times over the past few months, and every time it has re-appeared within a couple hours. Today it went with a gush and I've addressed it again, this time I used plenty of grease on the o-ring, hopefully this is what I was doing wrong previously. When I first got my machine it was so grungy that the oil was blocked from getting to the drain holes, so it looked leak free. Once I got the drain holes cleared, it became obvious how much I was leaking. Now that I've re-sealed the chain case, this was my last major leak and hopefully I've got it this time. If this time it doesn't hold I might have to pull the pump and make sure the housing isn't cracked, I've already replaced the o-rings several times and the fitting once. So far two hours and no leaks.

Don

 

[Tazza]

He he, I hear you on how those little leaks can drive ya nuts. I've got one on the Boss o-ring on the charge pump that I've tried addressing several times over the past few months, and every time it has re-appeared within a couple hours. Today it went with a gush and I've addressed it again, this time I used plenty of grease on the o-ring, hopefully this is what I was doing wrong previously. When I first got my machine it was so grungy that the oil was blocked from getting to the drain holes, so it looked leak free. Once I got the drain holes cleared, it became obvious how much I was leaking. Now that I've re-sealed the chain case, this was my last major leak and hopefully I've got it this time. If this time it doesn't hold I might have to pull the pump and make sure the housing isn't cracked, I've already replaced the o-rings several times and the fitting once. So far two hours and no leaks.
Don

They do drive you insane, i still haven't attacked mine yet. I have other problems that are kind of scaring me a bit, i keep getting air in my radiator. Its either the head is cracked or a leak between the head gasket.....
I hope your leak is fixed this time!.

 

[140mower]

They do drive you insane, i still haven't attacked mine yet. I have other problems that are kind of scaring me a bit, i keep getting air in my radiator. Its either the head is cracked or a leak between the head gasket.....
I hope your leak is fixed this time!.

Yeah, here's to hoping, I'd hate to have to replace the pump.
Sounds like you've got your hands full too. While both scenerios are a bear to deal with labour wise, here's to hoping it's only a head gasket. It's always nice to have a buck or two left in the pocket at the end of the day.
Don

 

[140mower]

They do drive you insane, i still haven't attacked mine yet. I have other problems that are kind of scaring me a bit, i keep getting air in my radiator. Its either the head is cracked or a leak between the head gasket.....
I hope your leak is fixed this time!.

Well I'm now of the opinion that my pump is toast, as the leak is back with a vengance. Talked with a Bobcat tech and he agreed the housing is likely cracked, as this is aparently quite common with these pumps. So a little over a thousand bucks later a new pump will be here in the morning. One of their salesman is going to bring it over in the am (dealer is almost 200 miles away) and he's going to drop off a Landplane for me to try-out for a few days.
Any luck narrowing down your head/gasket problem yet?
Don

 

[Tazza]

Well I'm now of the opinion that my pump is toast, as the leak is back with a vengance. Talked with a Bobcat tech and he agreed the housing is likely cracked, as this is aparently quite common with these pumps. So a little over a thousand bucks later a new pump will be here in the morning. One of their salesman is going to bring it over in the am (dealer is almost 200 miles away) and he's going to drop off a Landplane for me to try-out for a few days.
Any luck narrowing down your head/gasket problem yet?
Don

Thats not what you needed to hear.... I guess thats not too bad of a price for a complete pump though.
I haven't had time to work on the engine yet, i'm busy fixing a few things on my 731 to get it ready to sell. I hope to get time tomorrow afternoon to re-tension the head and see how we go.
Its a pain when you get different advise from different people. One person said to re-assemble the engine and don't bother checking head bolt tensions. Another says it should be done after about 10 hours, and another says to do it as soon as its warm. ARGGG i'll work it out, it may just take a little time.

 

[140mower]

Thats not what you needed to hear.... I guess thats not too bad of a price for a complete pump though.
I haven't had time to work on the engine yet, i'm busy fixing a few things on my 731 to get it ready to sell. I hope to get time tomorrow afternoon to re-tension the head and see how we go.
Its a pain when you get different advise from different people. One person said to re-assemble the engine and don't bother checking head bolt tensions. Another says it should be done after about 10 hours, and another says to do it as soon as its warm. ARGGG i'll work it out, it may just take a little time.

Well the salesman just left, so now I've got my work cut out for me. I should have pulled the old pump last night, but it really wasn't raining hard enough, not like today at all, and it's down to 12 deg C and supposed to drop to 8 by this afternoon so conditions in my roofless shop are just about perfect.

If this dang thing still leaks after all this IT's going to heat the house this evening.

I'll let ya know how she works out.
Don

 

[140mower]

Well the salesman just left, so now I've got my work cut out for me. I should have pulled the old pump last night, but it really wasn't raining hard enough, not like today at all, and it's down to 12 deg C and supposed to drop to 8 by this afternoon so conditions in my roofless shop are just about perfect. If this dang thing still leaks after all this IT's going to heat the house this evening. I'll let ya know how she works out.
Don

I've got the old pump out and the housing is definetly cracked so I figure success is on the horizon. Dang rain wasn't making for a good afternoon, and true to the forcast it certainly cooled off as the day wore on. Now that I'm 1/2 warm & dry and me belly's full, I'll go put the new one back in.
Don

 

[Tazza]

I've got the old pump out and the housing is definetly cracked so I figure success is on the horizon. Dang rain wasn't making for a good afternoon, and true to the forcast it certainly cooled off as the day wore on. Now that I'm 1/2 warm & dry and me belly's full, I'll go put the new one back in.
Don

Well i managed to find time today after work to check the head bolts.......
They were all pulled down to the correct tension when i put it back together about 12 months ago. I have only really used it within the last 4-6 months. The bolts were really loose, when i let the tension off on each bolt before tighthing they all let off a PFFT as the gas behind would escape. I ended up turning each bolt down between 1 and 2 full turns more than they were before. They were so very loose, no wonder i had bubbles in my radiator.
I'll give it a few weeks and see if the air problem is gone or not, if not i will need to replace the head gasket. It seems alot better, before i could turn the machine off and you could hear the over flow tank bubble, you can't hear it now.
So anyone that replaces a head be warned, let it warm up, then re-tension the bolts or you could have the same problems as i had.
Let me know how you go with the pump installation.

 

[140mower]

Well i managed to find time today after work to check the head bolts.......
They were all pulled down to the correct tension when i put it back together about 12 months ago. I have only really used it within the last 4-6 months. The bolts were really loose, when i let the tension off on each bolt before tighthing they all let off a PFFT as the gas behind would escape. I ended up turning each bolt down between 1 and 2 full turns more than they were before. They were so very loose, no wonder i had bubbles in my radiator.
I'll give it a few weeks and see if the air problem is gone or not, if not i will need to replace the head gasket. It seems alot better, before i could turn the machine off and you could hear the over flow tank bubble, you can't hear it now.
So anyone that replaces a head be warned, let it warm up, then re-tension the bolts or you could have the same problems as i had.
Let me know how you go with the pump installation.

Well, I got the pump in last night just as night fell. The service manual says you have to modify your allen wrench to remove the pump bolts, and what I found was that I needed to cut the short end off so there was just enough left to fully insert in the head, but not have the bend interfere. This was because the suction line fitting is in the way and can't be removed until the pump is out. I haven't seen any leaks yet, but the rain has kind of kept me away from it today. Took until about 2:00 this afternoon before the temps got into the double digits and it didn't stay there very long, weird year, seems like just yesterday we could barely stand the heat. Only thing I could do on the jobsite today was hand dig some small drainage ditches so hopefully I can get back in by Sat if the rain lets up over night.
The head bolts being a little loose is possibly a good sign that the head is probably OK, however I'm not sure I'd trust the head gasket too much having been run loose for a while. I prefer to run the engine for about 5 to 10 minutes, then change oil and filter, re-torque the head , let cool and re-check valve lash before buttoning up the valve cover after a rebuild. In a car, I like to go with another oil and filter change after about the first 100 miles or so; seems like alot of good oil being wasted, but cheap compared to what was just done.
Good luck with it and let us know how it works out. These things sure do get annoying from time to time, don't they.
Don

 

[Tazza]

Well, I got the pump in last night just as night fell. The service manual says you have to modify your allen wrench to remove the pump bolts, and what I found was that I needed to cut the short end off so there was just enough left to fully insert in the head, but not have the bend interfere. This was because the suction line fitting is in the way and can't be removed until the pump is out. I haven't seen any leaks yet, but the rain has kind of kept me away from it today. Took until about 2:00 this afternoon before the temps got into the double digits and it didn't stay there very long, weird year, seems like just yesterday we could barely stand the heat. Only thing I could do on the jobsite today was hand dig some small drainage ditches so hopefully I can get back in by Sat if the rain lets up over night.
The head bolts being a little loose is possibly a good sign that the head is probably OK, however I'm not sure I'd trust the head gasket too much having been run loose for a while. I prefer to run the engine for about 5 to 10 minutes, then change oil and filter, re-torque the head , let cool and re-check valve lash before buttoning up the valve cover after a rebuild. In a car, I like to go with another oil and filter change after about the first 100 miles or so; seems like alot of good oil being wasted, but cheap compared to what was just done.
Good luck with it and let us know how it works out. These things sure do get annoying from time to time, don't they.
Don

They sure do.....
I'm not sure how the gasket will go either, especially being a diesel, the compression is way higher than a *normal* petrol engine is. I'll give it a little time and see how it goes, but it is looking good. Its a pain that i just drained the oil last weekend...... I was very carefull as to not let any junk fall around but i will be changing the oil again within 5-10 hrs. I made sure the sockets were spotless before i started. I never knew you warm the engine then re-tension the bolts.... things you learn!
I hope your pump fixes the problems, as for access, i know just what you mean. I have had many repairs that were a total cow because of access problems. Oil leak under there, but you need to remove ALL of that first *sigh*.

 

[skidsteer.ca]

They sure do.....
I'm not sure how the gasket will go either, especially being a diesel, the compression is way higher than a *normal* petrol engine is. I'll give it a little time and see how it goes, but it is looking good. Its a pain that i just drained the oil last weekend...... I was very carefull as to not let any junk fall around but i will be changing the oil again within 5-10 hrs. I made sure the sockets were spotless before i started. I never knew you warm the engine then re-tension the bolts.... things you learn!
I hope your pump fixes the problems, as for access, i know just what you mean. I have had many repairs that were a total cow because of access problems. Oil leak under there, but you need to remove ALL of that first *sigh*.

The joys of "compact" equipment.
Ken