Hydraulic Hose Field repair

[BAMster]

I have a 931 Cat loader with a backhoe attachment. I've damaged the main hose going to the backhoe attachment. It looks like a real bear to remove the hose to take in to have a new fitting installed on the hose. Are field repair fittings a viable option?

 

[02Dmax]

Probably not. There's a 99.9% chance the hose has to come off and be totally replaced.

 

[John C.]

Fixing blown hoses is not something anyone I know would recommend. They are meant to be replaced when they no longer hold oil. Bite the bullet now as a repair will only prolong your aggravation.

 

[Welder Dave]

I have a 931B with a factory quick att. backhoe. I don't know if a 931 is the same? Do you mean the steel line going from the loader valve to the quick connect for the backhoe valve? Mine wasn't clamped properly and wore through. I would have had to remove a lot of stuff to get it out, so what I did was take a small hacksaw and cut the middle of the line out and leave the complex, tight bends coming from the loader valve area and the other bends were it's clamped at the back of the machine. Then I had these steel pieces flared and used 2 hoses, one with a 90 deg. to make up the section I cut out that goes along the side of the hyd. tank and then across the back.

I've also had to replace the main hose from the pump going up to the loader valve. It was way worse!!! Somebody used a non cat hose with the cat fitting and had a piece of metal stuck in it to make up for the smaller dia. hose. The fitting pulled right off and the hose was still perfectly skived. I replaced the hose and also used a swivel 90 so I wouldn't fight it if the angle was a little off. The bad part was that I was using the hoe in soft ground and had to fix it right there. Belly pan wouldn't drop down down enough to slide backwards off the cross member. After playing for 15 minutes finally got the belly pan out of the way. Then the fun began... I had barely enough room to get under the machine and had to lay in 60 litres of oil to get at the hose.

Replace the entire hose. You don't have to reuse the cat fittings and can use standard crimp on fittings from any good hyd. shop. Don't scrimp here! If you blow one of the main hoses supplying oil, you can't run the machine at all or you will damage the hyd. pump. My machine has a piston pump for the hoe and one shop estimated it would be over $2000 to replace. A hose on a cylinder isn't nearly as bad because it isn't pumping oil all the time.

 

[DMiller]

Hose is cheap compared to the remaining equipment that can be damaged as stated above. Is also easier to replace a hose then to replace that and a pump later after a patch fails.

 

[Nige]

I have a 931 Cat loader with a backhoe attachment. I've damaged the main hose going to the backhoe attachment. It looks like a real bear to remove the hose to take in to have a new fitting installed on the hose. Are field repair fittings a viable option?

Why would you think of simply having a new fitting installed on the hose..? Hoses normally blow right at the crimp on the fitting anyway, so it would appear that your hose is already "tired" as well. I know some hoses can be a real pain to remove and reinstall but at the end of the day it's time well spent in what it saves you further down the road.

 

[ianoz]

If it disappears into the machine Once you have worked out which is the other end Tie a wire to the hose then pull it through , Hopefully then will be able to pull the new hose back though .

 

[kshansen]

If it disappears into the machine Once you have worked out which is the other end Tie a wire to the hose then pull it through , Hopefully then will be able to pull the new hose back though .

I'll second that idea! Some times it's possible to use a fitting to connect the new hose to the old one and pul one out while pulling th new one in.

Also I know they can be a major pain but if there are any holdowns on the line always reinstall them! Too often I've worked on a machine where someone was lazy and left them off only to have the loose hose vibrate around and damage other hoses or wiring harnesses. I have no problem with someone quick hooking up the hose just enough to get machine to move and maybe clean it off before finishing the work but do your self and maybe ME a favor and install the holdowns!

 

[kshansen]

Why would you think of simply having a new fitting installed on the hose..? Hoses normally blow right at the crimp on the fitting anyway, so it would appear that your hose is already "tired" as well. I know some hoses can be a real pain to remove and reinstall but at the end of the day it's time well spent in what it saves you further down the road.

Reminds me of a truck driver we had years back, had the hose to the hoist cylinder on his trailer spring a leak while trying to dump a 30 ton load of stone. He "fixed" it by wraping a full roll of Duct Tape around the hose I realy like handling a hose that has yards of oil soaked Duct Tape on it, talk about snoty mess:Banghead

And no it did not work to dump the load, just made a bigger mess!

 

[Old Magnet]

I have a 931 Cat loader with a backhoe attachment. I've damaged the main hose going to the backhoe attachment. It looks like a real bear to remove the hose to take in to have a new fitting installed on the hose. Are field repair fittings a viable option?

I don't agree with all the nay sayers. Cat (and others) offer screw type reusable, non-skive type fittings. I agree they are not the best and hose match size and condition is critical but it sure can get you out of a fix.
Myself I would not consider it to be a permanent fix but I know some installations have become permanent.