Case 450 B Hydraulic leak

[450John]

Doing a little dirt work today and noticed while backing up I was leaving a little liquid trail on the dirt. I got back to the shop and could see a consistant dribble of hydralic fluid from the middle back of the machine. I'm guessing a hose is has broke, but really hard to tell. I'm assuming the hoses to and from the front pump run below the engine and protected by the bottom plate. I don't have a manual, which would probably answer my question, but I don't have one, so what are my options?

 

[obsolete]

Pull the belly pans and floor boards, best view and access that way, it can be quite tight under there, and if the hoses are original, you may want to replace all of them at once, when one of the ones down there fails, it's often due to age more than abuse like exterior hoses, and another will soon follow and your back there again.
I like to pressure wash that interior area after pulling the pans, makes finding and fixing much easier, good time to do the filters, etc, as well.
Label hoses and take pictures before dismantling, makes reassembly less frustrating.

 

[Tinkerer]

The online parts book is full of valuable info.
450B Parts Book
Colored zip ties make good long lasting connection markers for hydraulic lines.

 

[450John]

Pull the belly pans and floor boards, best view and access that way, it can be quite tight under there, and if the hoses are original, you may want to replace all of them at once, when one of the ones down there fails, it's often due to age more than abuse like exterior hoses, and another will soon follow and your back there again.
I like to pressure wash that interior area after pulling the pans, makes finding and fixing much easier, good time to do the filters, etc, as well.
Label hoses and take pictures before dismantling, makes reassembly less frustrating.

Thanks for the reply, I've not taken off the belly pan before, any special tools or lifts I might need?

 

[obsolete]

Floor jack and impact wrench, safety glasses for all the debris that wants to fall on your face while you are under there taking out the bolts.

 

[Tinkerer]

On some machines with belly pans, using a chain and come-along to hold it up when removing the last couple of bolts will prevent it from falling on you.
A couple of pieces of all thread in the bolt holes will make good guide pins to align it when reinstalling it.

 

[obsolete]

The way I do it is, take each bolt out all the way, one at a time, as you go, thread the four corner bolts (or which ever ones work best) back in a couple threads, then center the floor jack under the pan and snug it up, the remaining bolts come out without having to be under there with with the impact, and slowly lower it down.
It's also pretty common for the belly pans to be stuck from debris or sprung, so it may not just drop down, might need a little prying or get to it through the floor pans, you can do this when the bolts are loose and prevent it crashing down all at once..

 

[Bote]

What are the jack support locations for the 450? On my 450C, I planned on lifting the front with the blade and cribbing under each side of the crossmember for the C-frame; then jack up and crib under the drawbar. Can you also support under the pivot shaft for the final drives?

 

[Coy Lancaster]

If you have big enough blocks just run the dozer up on them. Cross ties work really well.