blew an hydraulic line - how to clean the tractor

[GaryS]

I blew a hydraulic line over the weekend and it sprayed oil everywhere. What do folks recommend to clean it up?

I have big puddles on floor of the the barn and all over the tractor itself.

gary

 

[BruceWard]

Working in the dirt soaks it up.

Cat litter is good for getting it off the floor.

Degreaser (simple green) and a water hose would work on the tractor.

 

[Ductape]

On the tractor I'd use Simple Green. It won't harm your paint like the more powerful degreasers such as Purple Power.

 

[jlrsn]

A word of caution regarding Simple Green. It is known to cause Corrosion to Electrical Components, Corrosion of Aluminum, and Hydrogen Embrittlement to Highly Stressed Metals. It became such a known issue in the Aviation World that its use was prohibited even though some people continue to use it.

Simple Green finally came out with Extreme Simple Green Aviation Cleaner. See: Extreme Simple Green

Other high alkaline cleaners such as Fantastic and Formula 409 should also be avoided.

What can you use? I really don't know anymore! I personally used Stoddard Solvent for over 50 years but that is now known to be very toxic. The new Extreme Simple Green Aviation Cleaner is supposedly non-toxic. Turtle Wax Zip Wax Car Wash was approved to wash the Main Rotor Heads of my Helicopters. Another cleaner that has Boeing and McDonnell Douglas approval is HydraSolve that is readily available online from Aircraft Parts and Pilot Supplies, see:
HYDRASOLVE from Aircraft Spruce

Before we knew better in the 60s after every landing we'd wipe down the oil streaks from the nacelles of our R2800 Radial Engines using shop towels soaked in Hi-Octane Leaded Aviation Fuel without using protective gloves while waiting for our passengers to arrive. That was SOP when I got into aviation back in the 50s. As times have changed!!
Good luck,
Jim

 

[BarryinMN]

Dove dish soap will cut the oil & grease

 

[Tig]

Here is an old recipe that I found one day and used to brew up and keep handy.
Equal parts amonia, water, dish soap. Spray on, let it soak.
Cuts engine grease, kills bugs on plants, supposed to be good for the lawn.
I have not used it for a while and never did research it looking for a down side.
When I did use it I found it killed plant eating worms, aphids etc and did a good job on my engine.

 

[jaquetarr]

Hyd oil is pretty light oil and is usually clean. I would think any common dish soap would do the trick. Mix it up, spray it on, let it sit and hose off. If you missed a spot, retreat. Nothing exotic required.
Rgds,
tim

 

[GaryS]

thanks folks.

I'm gonna try a bit of each of these. After the line started to spray, I had to dump what I had in the bucket and put the tractor back in the barn. I have a lot of oil sprayed everywhere and a huge puddle in the barn.

 

[Ford850]

Dawn dish soap.

 

[clemsonfor]

once it blew you should have just stopped there. And got the hose and fixed it in place. I would not have parked an oil leaking machine on my concrete floor in my shop unless i could catch all the oil with a drip pan or i had a nuge nasty oily floor already. The dirt would have absorbed it out side. Yess it would kill the grass but this happens all the time i work with loggers and you would not beleive the hundreds of gallons of Hyd. fluid that is sprayed through the woods each year by one crew.

That being said i am not condoneing it or endorsing it, just the cost of doing business. They can only afford to fix things in slower times or between jobs or the weekend when the mills are closed. A leaking hose may have to wait for 3 days for the weekend to get repaired.