Suggestions on how to bend the steel hydraulic lines on case 580k

[rdavison39]

The bracket that holds the steel hydraulic lines tight to the boom shaft had fallen off long before I got a hold of the machine and I guess over the years with the lines moving around they have gotten a tad bent. I bought the brackets and nuts/bolts to secure the lines to the side of the boom but they are pretty bent ouf of shape. Any suggestions on how to bend these back into shape. is it a matter of taking them off and getting a pipe bender and trying to restore them? (New ones are crazy expensive.)

Thx

 

[NH575E]

One of my lines got a hole rubbed in it from not being secured. I was able to find a good used line at a tractor salvage yard for a hundred bucks.

If it can be secured so it isn't rubbing on anything I wouldn't worry about it.

 

[Tinkerer]

I have straightened Tubes like your’s in vice using just my hands.
The one you have with the radical bend/ I cwould do the same way.
But, I would apply heat to it until it can be bent without putting a kink in it.
Then quench it in cold water.

 

[HarleyHappy]

You can get away with quite a bit, just bending by hand or in a vise.
It when they are already kinked, that your going to have problems.
I have put in hydraulic rubber lines a couple of times to replace the hard lines but I don’t like doing that unless it can’t be avoided.

 

[John Shipp]

Last time I made up some "dies" to fit the pipes, used a press. Did it cold. Straightened them up pretty good.

 

[Welder Dave]

I have straightened Tubes like your’s in vice using just my hands.
The one you have with the radical bend/ I cwould do the same way.
But, I would apply heat to it until it can be bent without putting a kink in it.
Then quench it in cold water.

You want to heat it just enough it's easy to bend, just barely orange, but I'd let it cool naturally. Blowing some air from a compressor would help cool it. I'd be worried the water quench might cause it to crack or become brittle. I used a conduit bender to straight the lines for my 4 in 1 bucket. Not perfect as I didn't want to press my luck. I got them where I could at least clamp them.

 

[Willie B]

If you have a lathe, you can make a bender. I wonder if a V belt pulley would work? Might wrap it with copper wire to make it fill a 1/2" EMT bender.

 

[56wrench]

I just finished removing and straightening all the steel lines in the boom on my 580K. Same problem—- previous owner ran it with most of the clamps loose or missing. I already had the dipper cyl out to reseal it which made it easier to get at the tubes. I spent about 20hrs to get them right. I made my own clamps which are heavier than the factory ones. I used an 8” vice on a heavy steel table and about a hundred trips back and forth test fitting to get them to fit in the lugs on the inside of the boom. It took a massive amount of patience