Warning, potential hydraulic leak on metal line on the B3030 LA-403 loader

[WaxMan]

Sorry for the title but I thought others should check the lines on their B3030.
Cleaning the grease off the FEL today I noticed the fold up stand wore a groove in the metal hydraulic line in the loader arm. I never would have notice it if the loader wasn't all the way up. Not only in the arm but both sides of the loader frame.
I took it off and brazed the groove, it was pretty deep and would have blown out at some point soon. If that broke last Friday in the 18 inches of snow we had, I would have been in trouble. Also the plate that covers the lines along the bucket should be removed and the dirt cleaned out before that causes problems. I'm going to drill another hole above the stand and add another cotter pin to prevent the base of the stand from hitting the arm and line. 757 hrs on the tractor.

 

[Gordon Gould]

Hmmmm .. Good warning to people. I have the 482 loader but went out and checked my lines anyway.
Looks like you saved yourself a pile of trouble by spotting that early.

 

[AStanton]

Thanks for the heads up, Waxman.
You are right. If my line let go during that last snow storm, I would of been in the out house with no tiolet paper. I'm goin to check the bucket on my B3030.

 

[nspec]

I just checked mine, and I can't understand how your stand is contacting anything at all. Gravity holds mine away from the loader arm - it's resting on the cotter pin that keeps it from dropping off the storage pin. In fact, if I push mine up all the way so it does contact the loader arm, the hydraulic line is so far inside the arm that it could never reach it. There is a fastener which holds the hydraulic lines up inside the arm. Perhaps check the bolt on it to make sure it is holding the lines up far enough.

I'm still scratching my head though. What has forced your stand up into the loader arm to wear a groove in the arm like it has? I think your idea of a second cotter pin is a good idea in any event.

 

[Bladehauler]

I dont have a Kubota , but I think Im gonna just take my fel kickstands off and put them in the shed, just in case !

 

[WaxMan]

I just checked mine, and I can't understand how your stand is contacting anything at all. Gravity holds mine away from the loader arm - it's resting on the cotter pin that keeps it from dropping off the storage pin. In fact, if I push mine up all the way so it does contact the loader arm, the hydraulic line is so far inside the arm that it could never reach it. There is a fastener which holds the hydraulic lines up inside the arm. Perhaps check the bolt on it to make sure it is holding the lines up far enough.

I'm still scratching my head though. What has forced your stand up into the loader arm to wear a groove in the arm like it has? I think your idea of a second cotter pin is a good idea in any event.

I know what you mean. The other side there was no marks as it was not hitting on the other side. The line hold down was tight, you see it also wore the sides of the loader arm the same amount, it's not that the line was hanging down.

 

[srs]

WaxMan, first off thanks for this warning and your other thread on the soundproofing near the transmission. I just checked my loader arms and I do not have any contact with the fold up stands. Is it possible your fold up stand has been bent in any way? Just a thought. Thank you again. Stanley

 

[WaxMan]

WaxMan, first off thanks for this warning and your other thread on the soundproofing near the transmission. I just checked my loader arms and I do not have any contact with the fold up stands. Is it possible your fold up stand has been bent in any way? Just a thought. Thank you again. Stanley

Thanks Stanley, Good point, I wonder if you manually push up on your stand, does it touch like this?
This picture was taken with me pushing up the stand and holding it, about a 1/2 inch of travel.

 

[srs]

WaxMan, If I manually push up the stand it will touch the loader arm. There is some "play" between the loader arms and the cotter pin just like yours. But I noticed my hydraulic lines are tucked up inside the loader arms so that even if the stand touches the loader arms there is no contact with the hydraulic lines.

 

[My Hoe]

Sorry for the title but I thought others should check the lines on their B3030.
Cleaning the grease off the FEL today I noticed the fold up stand wore a groove in the metal hydraulic line in the loader arm. I never would have notice it if the loader wasn't all the way up. Not only in the arm but both sides of the loader frame.
I took it off and brazed the groove, it was pretty deep and would have blown out at some point soon. If that broke last Friday in the 18 inches of snow we had, I would have been in trouble. Also the plate that covers the lines along the bucket should be removed and the dirt cleaned out before that causes problems. I'm going to drill another hole above the stand and add another cotter pin to prevent the base of the stand from hitting the arm and line. 757 hrs on the tractor.

Waxman,

No need to apologize for the title, my friend--from what I understand, hydraulic fluid injuries can be pretty horrific! And I don't even want to think about if someone got hit in the face (as I knock on wood three times, and urge you all to do so, as well--yeah, I'm superstitious/OCD--LOL). So THANK YOU for your vigilance and public spirit!

I enjoy brazing repairs myself, and I know it's a lot stronger than some folks realize. (My welding book has an example of two pieces of [1"?] strap steel brazed together, and holding up 3,000 lbs!) Having said that, I was just wondering:

a) if brazing will be strong enough and, since you've got the oxy-acetylene torches,

b) whether gas-welding it with steel was an option? Is welding/steel just "hotter enough" (than brazing) that you risk compromising the temper (or other integrity?) of the steel tubing? I'm not being critical at ALL--just curious. Because when I braze, I get the base metal (assuming it's steel) hot enough to get "wet" and j-u-s-t start to "puddle." So if I were getting it that hot, well, that's hot enough to weld (i.e., with steel) right?

Or maybe I'm brazing hotter than I need to?

And lastly, would you please post a link to your thread about sound-deadening the HST, that was mentioned? I'd be very interested in reading that!

Again, thank you for thinking of all of us.

Welding/brazing class begins NOW!

My Hoe