Backhoe Pink fluid leak under JD 410 Backhoe

Hi Everyone,

1 yr lurker, 1st time poster. Anyways...

I was trying to push over a tree this weekend with my John Deere 410D Turbo Backhoe, and the backhoe arm was pushing me off the ground as the tree gave me some fight and I came back down on the stabilizers hard a few times when all of a sudden I heard a gushing sound happen. I looked out the window and down and saw a pink/purplish spray coming out hitting part of the tire.

I think it could be a problem with the hydraulic stabilizer on the right, which was weak before this happened. Basically prior to this happening, it wasn't able to push me off the ground very much, felt like low psi ( i never inspected for leaks sadly ). When I felt around the hoses connecting to the valvebody, I didn't feel any tears or rips. Thats my best guess, but the color of this fluid is throwing me off a little bit. I obviously feel like an idiot because of this happening. Anyone who has any guesses or ideas, I'd love to hear them.

Thanks,

By where the leak is I would suggest the hose or the fitting were streached or cracked. Have someone put pressure on the stabilizer and look to see where it is coming from.

Why do things always break when you are working??

One thing to remember, lubricant color means nothing, it's just a dye added during the blending process. I have never personally seen pink oil but it wouldn't suprise me in the least. I know the company I work for makes lubricants dyed in numerous different colors.

Like mfreund said, have someone apply pressure to it and check to see where the leak is coming from. Just be careful, it's high pressure fluid and cut you open if your not careful. DO NOT CHECK FOR THE LEAK WITH YOUR HAND WHILE THERE IS PRESSURE ON THE SYSTEM, IT CAN CUT YOU WIDE OPEN. I would also suggest wearing safety glasses.

I have found 'unchanged' JD hydro oil to have a pinkish tint to it.

I'm not saying anything but....

DieselPower said:

One thing to remember, lubricant color means nothing, it's just a dye added during the blending process. I have never personally seen pink oil but it wouldn't suprise me in the least. I know the company I work for makes lubricants dyed in numerous different colors.

Like mfreund said, have someone apply pressure to it and check to see where the leak is coming from. Just be careful, it's high pressure fluid and cut you open if your not careful. DO NOT CHECK FOR THE LEAK WITH YOUR HAND WHILE THERE IS PRESSURE ON THE SYSTEM, IT CAN CUT YOU WIDE OPEN. I would also suggest wearing safety glasses.

Click to expand...

I just want to second the "be careful" part. Man, that can be dangerous. Use a piece of cardboard to run down the hose to find the leak - NOT your hand even with a glove on.

Welcome, Bishopknight, to TBN. You'll fnd lots of help here and probably have that leak fixed in no time and be up and running with your backhoe before you know it.

Keep those pics coming, too.

Thanks for all the suggestions and advice everyone! I'll use a piece of cardboard and safety glasses. Unfortunately Im not going up again until next weekend ( june 6th ).

Btw, I failed to mention that when I relieved pressure off the stabilizer the day I took that picture, the spraying decreased slightly. I should have pulled the stabilizer all the way up to see if it would stop.

I know that hydraulic fluid works in 2 directions, like a muscle. Although I didn't retract the stabilizer arm completely up, is there a scenario where the spraying could stop? In other words, does the PSI ever drop to zero in a hose or is there always a constant PSI?

Welcome to TBN.

The fluid may stop depending on what it is and if there is any load on it.

It looks in your picture that the return line is a rubber hose. Usually these are steel lines along the cylinder body leading me to believe it has been repaired before. I've ripped the stabilizer lines on my old TLB as well & brazed it back together.

If the leak is in the stabilizer circuit it will stop when you retract it and take the weight and hydraulic pressure off. Chain the leg to the machine for transport.

In any case if you find the problem and are not prepared to fix it, that old 410 holds a lot of fluid allowing you to run it up on your trailer & take it to a local welding or hydraulic shop.

These things are heavy & be very cautious of stored energy. We don't want our new TBN member getting crushed.

Thanks Barry,

I have the John Deere Technical Manual for the hydraulics and it details how you can remove the floor panel and bucket boot to get access to the stabilizer valve. When I go back up there next weekend. First I'll try to retract the right hand stabilizer fully up and see if the pressure stops. Next I'll stop the engine and fully release any hydraulic pressure in all levers. Then i'll remove the floor panel, wipe the hoses and suspect areas clean, then wrap a few rags around suspect areas, cover the floor with cardboard and restart. That should allow me to localize the problem.

I'll try to take a few pictures of the process, and wear safety glove/goggles/clothes.

The question for everyone now is......if its a hose...... and I've relieved all the pressure in the system sufficiently....can I cover it with a rag ( for spraying ) and remove the hose with a wrench?

Last question: Is it possible that air could get in the hydraulic lines after I've removed the hose? And if it does, could that cause any damage or can it be worked out?

Here are more pics from last weekend by the way.

To replace a hose, just turn the machine off, and cycle the levers to relive all the pressure-be sure the stabilizer is resting on the ground. Then just undo the fittings and replace the hose...no pressure should be there. The system is self-bleeding, so after the hose replacement just cycle the cylinder a few times to get the air out.