48 Year Old Grove RT60S

[ichudov]

So I have a 1974 Grove RT60S crane that actually works. This picture is from yesterday.

Something happened yesterday though that made me think. A hydraulic oil return hose on the way to the radiator broke because of age and made a mess. We kind of plugged it to use for the day, but it is obvious to me that I have a problem with hoses.

Some hoses in this crane are still original yellow painted, although some have been replaced.

Obviously rubber hoses are not meant to live for 48 years. Should I replace all of them? This would be crazy expensive? Any experiences?

This is not a show piece or hobby piece, I am a rigger and I use it occasionally to make money.

What do you think?

 

[hosspuller]

It's a business call. A burst hose means delay on the job and a mess on the client's property. Repair would be hasty, perhaps not the most economical, and under pressure. Equipment failure also gives your client an impression you may not want.

Contrast a hobby machine... My hobby backhoe has sat several weeks waiting for injection pump rebuild. Then I took a week waiting for the weather to reinstall it... Wife thought it an eyesore in the driveway.

 

[Toolslinger]

I'm mostly through replacing all the soft lines on my hobby crane. Yes, it's expensive. On the other hand, dropping something I need a crane for, because an old line burst is likely going to be expensive as well.
Add to that, you're using your machine to make money, I'd lean real hard at doing the soft lines.
That said, some of our loader's lines are original. They worry me, but not the same way a crane's lines would.

 

[tractormech]

Hoses are expensive. So is being broke down. So is cleaning up a big oily mess on a man's job site, along with digging up contaminated soil. I'll tell you up front-It is a J-O-B to replace the hoses in the cab going to the hydraulic control valves . They are old, curved and bent around and stacked in there, usually all twisted together, and stiff as a board. I have literally taken the front cover off and pulled them out with a come-along. (RT 63S, so very similar) You're in for a treat. Get some JIC caps and plugs to keep the mess to a minimum. Weld a washer to the end of the plug and tie a pull back rope to it to reinstall the hoses the hoses. It's a slow go type of job. Get a bunch of colored zip ties to mark everything. Take pictures too of routing. If there's any way you can afford it do them all while you have it apart. If not replace the boom hoist cylinder hoses and the winch hoses to start in the cab. Then the pressure lines coming off of the hydraulic pump would be next. Any high pressure lines as you can Good luck with it.

 

[hosspuller]

Good idea for reinstalling the hoses... If I remember it.

 

[tractormech]

Good idea for reinstalling the hoses... If I remember it.

When you start pulling hoses through outrigger beams and excavator track frames it makes a big difference.