Backhoe hose replacement

[fatboycowen]

I need some advice before i do something stupid. Stupider than usual, i should say.

I recently bought a Bobcat CT235 with 6TB backhoe. Today, i blew a hose on the backhoe. I removed the backhoe, so i could use the tractor (first time, that was easy as ****). I marked the leaky hose.

I attempted to attach some photos. The hose goes from the controls (easy) to the cylinder inside the boom. The hose end is just inside the covered area by a few inches.

I could probably get a wrench in and disconnect it, but i'd probably never be able to route the new hose up and back to the cylinder. Should i remove the cylinder pin, and try to pull the cylinder forward (compress it) for access? If i do, will it be reasonably easy to push it back up into the boom and align the pin?

Or, do i have to remove both pins, and pull the whole cylinder?

 

[whis]

tie a small rope to the old hose and use it to pull the new one in

 

[boggen]

not a clue about your tractor / backhoe unit you have.

generic statements...
you may need to use a jack or like to push/pull the piston out of the hyd cylinder.

you may need to disconnect hyd lines going to hyd cylinder. simple moving valve back and forth to extend/contract cylinder. may not allow hyd oil to flow freely to the hyd cylinder. (bunch of other stuff in line, such as filter, pump, etc... that may make it that much harder for hyd oil to flow through freely. hence disconnecting the hoses going to the hyd cylinder, to allow piston in the cylinder to move more freely.

would advise re-running hose back through frame. taking extra care to route stuff. hyd hoses can only bend so much before they begin to pinch or begin to collaspe. i am going to assume running hoses through framework = best way to keep hoses from bending into to sharp of a radius. also issue of snagging hoses when outside of frame. backhoes tend to see a lot of abuse. and you are just asking for something to snag hose and pull it out and cut it up for you.

 

[TractorTech]

I don't know that specific backhoe either, but on that type of boom, lay it out flat as possible with the swing tower raised up with the stabilizers.
BLOCK UP the tower. If you can't access the hose at this point, remove the the cylinder base end pin, retract the cylinder.
With the engine shutoff, relieve the pressure on all circuits. You should be able to change the hose. After, extend the cylinder and line up cylinder base end pin with a steel rod or bar. It will probably faster with assistance.

 

[fatboycowen]

Thanks for all the advice so far.

I'm not sure if i explained the situation well enough. The hose is the one you see dangling in the picture above. It dangles because the other end is now disconnected. It runs down the controls into the boom, then does a 180 bend back to the fitting on the cylinder you see in the photo. The connection is a few inches up into the boom, which makes it a pain to get to.

All the other hoses in the photo pass through the inside of the boom and out. This one goes in, does a 180 and connects inside.... It looks to be original, so I think the routing is correct (and i intend to keep it that way) but i can't be sure.

The backhoe attachment is removed from the tractor currently. So, i'm going to give it a shot without laying it out any flatter first. If it doesn't work, that will be my next step.

I'll tackle it tonight and hope it goes smooth. It's my first time really dealing with hydraulic connections, which is why i asked. It was getting dark anyway, and i didn't mind waiting.

I'm really hoping the cylinder moves easily with the hoses disconnected.

 

[Kernopelli]

If I am understanding everything correctly. It sounds like the easiest route would be to relieve the pressure on the cylinder, pull both pins, and slide the cylinder out a few inches to expose the hose connection at the end of the boom. Attach the new hose and slide the cylinder back into the boom and align the pins. You may just be able to remove the barrel end pin to accomplish the same access to the cylinder connection. The cylinder rod would have to be retracted/extended but if you relieve the pressure on the cylinder, the rod should move in/out fairly easily.

 

[fatboycowen]

If I am understanding everything correctly. It sounds like the easiest route would be to relieve the pressure on the cylinder, pull both pins, and slide the cylinder out a few inches to expose the hose connection at the end of the boom. Attach the new hose and slide the cylinder back into the boom and align the pins. You may just be able to remove the barrel end pin to accomplish the same access to the cylinder connection. The cylinder rod would have to be retracted/extended but if you relieve the pressure on the cylinder, the rod should move in/out fairly easily.

That was exactly my intention.

I just removed the hose. Here's what i needed to do. First, i removed the pin from the cylinder housing end, inside the boom. I couldn't move the cylinder, even with it disconnected on both sides. So, i put a pin back in, and i brought the tractor around, and raised the boom and dipper on the backhoe, with the tractor's loader bucket. This compressed the cylinder. Then, i removed the pin, and lowered the backhoe boom. That left me enough room to easily remove the fitting.

I suspect i'll do the reverse to get it back together, but i suspect it will be difficult.

Unfortunately, in it's current position, the cylinder can't be pulled back even with both pins removed. It may need to be laid down completely to remove the cylinder. I'm hoping this method will work. I am dreading when the other hose goes, as that attaches at the other side of the cylinder, and would require removal... I'll plan better next time and extend it all the way out.

 

[fatboycowen]

Putting the hose back was easy. I ended up again raising the backhoe bucket with the loader, which made it pretty easy to align the piston with the pin. Pin went right in. All fixed now. Paid $40 for the hose.

A bunch of the other hoses look pretty beat up. It's going to be expensive to go through them. I wish there was a way to find hose lengths, so i could get them made up ahead of time.

 

[pmsmechanic]

A bunch of the other hoses look pretty beat up. It's going to be expensive to go through them. I wish there was a way to find hose lengths, so i could get them made up ahead of time.

Sometimes hose length's are mentioned in parts books. Just an idea. I've never seen a parts book for a Bobcat so I can't say for sure..