Quick connects aren't

   / Quick connects aren't #1  

GlueGuy

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 24, 2001
Messages
1,659
Location
San Francisco Bay Area California (CA)
Tractor
Kubota B7500
Quick connects aren\'t

What's going on here? As is quite normal, my FEL has quick connects (or quick disconnects) for the hydraulics. A week or two ago, I disconnected the FEL as a trial to see how it went. No problem. Re-attached everything and moved on.

Well, this last weekend I had the chance (finally) to use the new brush mower. I disconnected the FEL again to make the whole rig more maneuverable. Did the mowing. Came back to re-attach the thing, and one of the quick connects (the red one) wouldn't.

I cleaned the connectors inside & out about 6 times. Looked inside (clean as a whistle) yet I still could not get the darn thing on. I pulled off the yellow connector & it easily slipped onto the fitting for the red connector. The red connector would (still) not go on the yellow fitting. Sheesh. What gives?

Finally, in desparation, I got out my wrenches, and took the quick connect completely off the hose. I used a bungy cord to hold the now open hydraulic line up high so I wouldn't get hydraulic fluid all over the place. Then I tried to put the (now loose) connector onto the fitting. Lo and behold, it slips right on! /w3tcompact/icons/shocked.gif Very confusing. I re-connected the quick connect to the hose. Now I can slip it on and off easily (again). What in the heck is going on here?!?!

The GlueGuy
 
   / Quick connects aren't #2  
Re: Quick connects aren\'t

Same thing happened to me the first time I took of the FEL. After I thought about it, (awhile I might add) I figured it out. The female/male connectors have a ball in them to stop the fluid from leaking once the connectors are taken apart from each other. You MUST turn off the tractor, lower the FEL and move the stick in all directions. This will allow the cylinders to come to a natural resting position and will allow the fluid to move thru the hoses, past the check balls, into the loader valve, on its way back to the sump. Then there is no pressure behind the ball that stops you from butting the connector back togehter again. When you disassemled the connector, YOU let the build up pressure out so that the ball would move back allowing the connector to mate.

In the future if this happens again, leave the coupling end alone, and follow the hose back to the metal tubing on the FEL. Then crack open the fitting anywhere along that line to let a little of the fluid/pressure out, then tighten back up.

But it is best to just allow the pressure to equalize by moving the stick in all directions. Also note that if the FEL is moved after it is disconected you can force the cylinders to extend/retract causing the pressure to build up in the couplers.

Hope some of this makes sense.
Jason
 
   / Quick connects aren't #3  
Re: Quick connects aren\'t

Glueguy, I have quick release fittings on my dozer blade/snowplow.

Most of the time I can't get it to go together unless I push in the ball on the end of the male half first. (ENGINE OFF!!!) It releases some oil (use a rag) and releases some pressure I guess as then the fittings go together as easy as pie.

Hope the fix for you is as easy as this.
 
   / Quick connects aren't #4  
Re: Quick connects aren\'t

Hello GlueGuy,

I just wanted to start this out to see if I have half a clue here. Which I probably don't but always try to talk like I know what's going on...Just ask the wife..ha,ha./w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif What I thought I read here before was something to do with the pressure in the line holding the connector from being able to completly close. Someone said try to relieve the pressure by just operating the line that is giving you trouble weather it's the dump, roll back, lift, or etc. I don't have any of these quick connects except for on my dump truck plow but those would give me trouble because they would freeze. You might try and use some penetrating fluid if it's rusty or some lube just to keep it moving freely. Well I think that's all I can think of and hope this is of some use.

Darin

p.s.- As you can see from the times these posts were posted we were think about and writing or comments at the same time. Plus I am sorta typing and eating at the same time /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1>Edited by DarinRay on 04/16/01 07:02 PM (server time).</FONT></P>
 
   / Quick connects aren't #5  
Re: Quick connects aren\'t

/w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif/w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gifGlueGuy, you've just encountered something we've all been puzzled by at some time in our tractoring experience. I'll bet when you tried to reconnect the FEL, the ambient temperature was higher than when you disconnected it. As the temperature rises, the oil expands just enough to put pressure in the line, and you can't push hard enough to release it. When that happens I take a big drift pin and stick it in the connector; one sharp tap with a hammer and the pressure's released. And you probably won't lose 3 drops of oil, but before I tap it with the hammer, I wrap a rag around it just in case it should spurt any out. Another alternative is what you did, except you didn't need to completely remove the connector from the hose; just as soon as you loosened it a bit, you relieved the pressure and could have tightened it back. I took my FEL off early this morning to do some mowing and it's in a metal skinned shop building. I'll bet I'd have to do just what I said if I wanted to hook it back up right now on a sunny afternoon, but if I wait and put it back on early in the morning while it's cool, they'll just snap right on there./w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

Bird
 
   / Quick connects aren't #6  
Re: Quick connects aren\'t

That would work too, but I sure wouldn't want to mess with fittings everytime. Probably hard on fittings over time too. For me all I've done is push in on the ball, usually I have to cover it with a rag to catch the oil and to protect ball, and push the ball against a hard object i.e my forehead or the loader frame, a little SPLOP and it's ready to connect.

Again (with ENGINE OFF)

led
 
   / Quick connects aren't #7  
Re: Quick connects aren\'t

led, I see a bunch of us answered at about the same time. You say you have to push the ball on the male end, whereas I have always had to tap (at least I can't just push and push hard enough) the one in the female end. I'm not sure which kind of connectors you have, but on most tractors with rear hydraulic outlets, the female coupler is on the tractor and the male on the implement hose, so my neighbor has to push the one on the male coupler as you say. However, my Kubota FEL has the male coupling on the tractor control valve and the female on the hoses. Either way, every time I've seen this little inconvenience occur, it's been pressure in the hoses on the implement, whether male or female.

Bird
 
   / Quick connects aren't
  • Thread Starter
#8  
Re: Quick connects aren\'t

<font color=blue>Either way, every time I've seen this little inconvenience occur, it's been pressure in the hoses on the implement, whether male or female.</font color=blue>

Mine are the ones with the male connector on the FEL control valve assembly, and the females on the FEL side. The funny part is that I thought I had relieved all the pressure before I completely disconnected everything.

I was able to push the little nubbin on the male connectors with my finger, and they were all free. Guess I spaced the concept that there was another little nubbin (neither side actually has a "ball" on my connectors, they look more like "nubbins" to me /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif) on the female side.

Yes, you're right Bird (as usual /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif), I had disconnected the FEL around noon, and came back around 3PM, the hottest part of the day.

This all makes sense though. I now realize that pressure had built up (however) in the side of the hydraulics with the red connector. In the future I'll just try to depress the nubbin with something blunt to relieve the pressure.

Thank you all again! This TBN thing is just amazing!

Now go give me some advice on mowers too (I was posting another question while you all were solving this one). I'll keep 'em coming if you can keep answering! /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

The GlueGuy
 
   / Quick connects aren't #9  
Re: Quick connects aren\'t

This is an age old challenge with hydraulic hook-ups. All hydraulic connections develop the back pressure problem and it's as common as the sun coming up in the East every day. Bird's solution for pressure on the female side of the connection is the way I've always handled it. When the pressure is on the male side of the connection, I always wrap a rag around the connector and "whack" it (that's a technical term in tractoreze) against something hard to push the pin in. Done it for years with farm equipment without any ill effects on the connectors.

Bob Pence
18-33782-bobsig.gif
 
   / Quick connects aren't #10  
Re: Quick connects aren\'t

As a personal preferance here, I would suggest using a brass drift pin(punch) or a hardwood dowel to set against the ball. It pays to use something softer than the steel ball to prevent any flattening, or marring of the ball (for those of us who have a tendancy to be a little more aggressive than others) when you 'thump' that little *&^%$#@!* so and so.
 
 
 
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