need advise blown hydraulic steering lines bx2200

[johann]

anyone have experience changing hydraulic steering lines on bx2200? I am not sure which one of the two that are sleeved together is leaking. they are the two that run from under steering wheel through "firewall" and under floor to back of machine. this looks like its going to suck to do, since It looks like I will have to take both out to change either one....(most likely will change them both so I don't have to do it again)
any tips on this job? do I need to drain hydro fluid to change these ? or will only fluid in lines leak out when I disconnect them? any one got a parts diagram for these hydraulic lines? I can't find one any where, I would like to know what these parts are going to cost me....

 

[gimmodog]

release any pressure on the lines then you will only lose the fluid by gravity

 

[diesel85]

I highly recommend you taking them off and bring them to your local hydraulic shop. Get double-walled hoses. I prefer Continental ContiTech hoses.

 

[JWR]

I had the exact same thing happen on our BX2200. Being in a sleeve you could not tell which one was bad. On top of that, the further I dug the more I realized I had to halfway dismantle the sheet metal under the seat area to even get to the aft end of those lines. (or else lower the rear transaxle, etc.) I carted it off to the local dealer and had them replace both lines. That was 5 or 6 years ago and very happy I did that. Unless you have a LOT of time on your hands and plenty of dismantling skills I would not attempt it myself. By the way, the dealer told me that the BX are notorious for failures of those hoses. Also that in his experience (old well established long-term shop) he has consistently seen better life from the replacement hoses he uses rather than the Kubota OEM hoses.

 

[johann]

I got them off.....yup it was not fun ! I had a hard time figuring out which one was leaking, I finally twisted a line just the right way to reveal a very fine split in the outer hose that pushed out some fluid. Since it was so hard to find failure point in hose and disassembly was quite the chore, I really think it will be worth it to buy both hoses....good luck is not something I have a lot of experience with. I'll find out tomorrow what it will cost me to have lines made....

 

[JWR]

Oh for heavens sake YES! DO NOT go through all that and then fail to replace BOTH hoses !! In replacement hoses look for a "good brand name" and see how many layers of reinforcement it has. Any well rated hose should be OK. It is not like this a "tough" application or anything. It remains a mystery why the original Kubota hoses are so notorious for failure there. WHILE YOU ARE IN THERE look-see if there is some source of abnormal twisting or abrasion that might explain it. You might be able to provide extra padding or relief to protect the new hoses.

...and i hope you marked which hose goes where when you pulled them off ! I assume the connectors are all the same.

 

[RaydaKub]

...and i hope you marked which hose goes where when you pulled them off ! I assume the connectors are all the same.

Spoil-sport....

 

[SPYDERLK]

Its the supply side hose that sees high pressure and fails. The other is just a return to sump and never sees high pressure.

 

[JWR]

Its the supply side hose that sees high pressure and fails. The other is just a return to sump and never sees high pressure.

Good observation. But putting hoses back on the OP still has to figure out which connection at the transaxle or pump port is high pressure and which one is dump to the sump. If that is readily figured out, he still has to figure out which is the inlet side of the steering control valve. I do not know if those things are marked or would a savvy mechanic be able to tell on sight ? If it were me, I'd hope I had the foresight to trace one of the two hoses and mark those two locations before I unscrewed a hose from them.

 

[diesel85]

I use a infrared thermometer and see which side starts getting hot/warm first.

I do this when figuring out transmission cooler in/outs.