Trust No One!
It isn't just the motto of a cancelled Fox TV Show (X-Files), it's also good advice I should have followed ....
Put correct adaptors on the hydraulic hoses last Friday, bought 10 gal of hyd fluid and spend the day trying to get Hoe and Tractor to be friends. I have to say, Don't let your hoe fall over or off it's stands!! What a bloody pain in the rear. I had the back picked up and sort of on some cut logs. then used the Kubota to pick up the boom. Naturally, the swing cylinders swung and the hoe went down. Worked on it for about 5 hours (alone) and got the hoe bottom mounts onto the saddles on the tractor (lower mount). Should be easy to use the hydraulics to push the hoe into alignment, right? Hoses are too short, and they are 4" longer than factory. Had to use the Kubota to pick up the front of the dipper stick and lift drive foreward. Got one top mount on pretty quick. Much scrambling for the correct wrench... Couldn't get the other one. Could get the hydraulics connected. The Stabilizers, swing and boom operated. Yippie. Ran out of fluid filling cylinders. Put in 6 gallons. Couldn't get the bucket cylinder or the dipper stick to work right. Finally used a ratcheting binder to pull the hoe in to the box and get the last top link. Whew! It's starting to rain now, so I pick up the stabilizers and raise the boom to drive to the barn. Blammo! The boom hose fitting splits and gysers oil everywhere. Spits out about 1 1/2 gal. It's raining pretty hard, so in I go.
It quits raining, so I take off the hose. I notice that the stack of adaptors (which I didn't muck with) is so long, it hits the swing post. Doh! Get a new hose with 45's on each end so that they won't whack into stuff. Had to hold the hose with one end on and rotate the other end into what I thought was a good alignment for the other 45 degree hose end. THen they clamped it down into position. Heh! It actually fits! Correct alignment, correct length and no slamming into the swing post.
BUT, the dipper stick and bucket cylinder don't work. Finally I figure out that the prior owner swapped 2 hoses. Had to mentally go over the flow diagram to spot that. One side would pressurize, but the other side of the cylinder was blocked as it's spool (wrong hose location - wrong spool) wasn't moved! Instant actuation of the relief valve. Took off one - major gyser! Took off the other - major gyser! Soaked me pretty good. Oh well. Quick swap and they work!
Greased the zerks and got grease into all but 3. May need to take the pins out to get grease in those.
Here's a look of it on the yellow tractor. Notice the yellow paint on the areas that were weld repaired. I do that so that any cracks that form will be easier to spot. I think a U shaped piece of custom bent steel will be placed over the weak part of the boom and welded. Should be a more permanent solution.
Here's the tractor and hoe mostly in the barn
Here's a shot of the hoe on the yellow tractor in the barn looking out at the donor tractor. Hope she's not the jealous type!
