BX Hydraulic Line Ruptured :-(

[Danner]

Cut about 4 acres today, and when I parked the 2660 (270 hours on the clock), there was a puddle of hyd-oil under the front end.

Turns out, one of the line to the steering cylinder rubbed the side of the engine and sprung an abrasion leak.

The part will be a hose assembly, but getting to the flair fitting on top of the steering cylinder might be a hassle.

Anybody done this?

 

[sea2summit]

Nope, but could you post a pic or two so we can see exactly where/how it happened?

 

[gwdixon]

Hose failure in the BX series is fairly common. Do a search of TBN to find more posts.

Mine leaked and I bought aftermarket specially made hoses of heavier material. That made them very hard to install since the openings are cut for smaller diameter hoses.

The major problem I had was dealing with the fittings on the underside of the dash. Very tight working conditions.

 

[JOHNTHOMAS]

I've had 2 hose leaks on my Kubotas. One, I think, was on the BX2660 and it was a line that rubbed thru enough to seep and it was caused by the drive shaft rubbing the hose because the rubber boot had slid forward, check those points where the drive shaft is going in and out of the housings but it was a fuel line. I inserted a coupling the diameter of the inside of the hose and two clamps on the ends that tightened down with the built in bolt.
The front hose on my BX25 also sprung a leak because every time I'd roll the bucket the hose would rub the metal. I loosened each end which was easy to reach and easy to do. Had a local Industrial Supply company make me a new hose for 1/3 of what Kubota charges for the hose. Gary at Barlows also gave me some hose sleeve to put over the new hose which I had already installed.....the hose sleeve is around here some where. I recommend everyone look all around your tractor and see if your fuel and/or hydraulic lines are near any moving parts on your tractor especially the functions of your FEL. Could save you some time and money to move or cover the rubbing spots.

 

[Danner]

OP back again.

I ordered the hose form Messicks, it was $ 31.83, which isn't that bad. I will do the install myself, and ordered a set of metric crowfoot wrenches to get to the flare nuts (wish me luck LOL).

Here are three pictures. First is a side view of the BX2660, showing the route of the two lines from the steering wheel valve, through the firewall and down below the fuel filter. Second photo is looking up under the steering wheel, to show how tight it is. Third is looking down the side the engine, looking toward the top of the from axle steering cylinder. You can see the flare fitting connected the the left side of the steering cylinder, and the ruptured hose that is turning toward the right side of the steering cylinder. That abrasion occurred where the line rubs against the oil pan of the engine. It's going to be tight to get at the connections down there too.

Wish me luck.

 

[Danner]

I've had 2 hose leaks on my Kubotas. One, I think, was on the BX2660 and it was a line that rubbed thru enough to seep and it was caused by the drive shaft rubbing the hose because the rubber boot had slid forward, check those points where the drive shaft is going in and out of the housings but it was a fuel line. I inserted a coupling the diameter of the inside of the hose and two clamps on the ends that tightened down with the built in bolt.
The front hose on my BX25 also sprung a leak because every time I'd roll the bucket the hose would rub the metal. I loosened each end which was easy to reach and easy to do. Had a local Industrial Supply company make me a new hose for 1/3 of what Kubota charges for the hose. Gary at Barlows also gave me some hose sleeve to put over the new hose which I had already installed.....the hose sleeve is around here some where. I recommend everyone look all around your tractor and see if your fuel and/or hydraulic lines are near any moving parts on your tractor especially the functions of your FEL. Could save you some time and money to move or cover the rubbing spots.

That's good advice. I am going to look around to see any other potential issues, and do some "garage engineering", hopefully preventing future issues.

 

[Danner]

The hose came in from Messicks and my son and I changed it out on Saturday. To get to the steering cylinder fittings, we removed the end mounts and that let us drop the cylinder a inch or so, and also shift it from side to side. This let us get an open end wrench on the flair fitting nuts. It was a 1/16 of a turn at a time job, so it was tedious, but doable. The connections under the steering wheel valve assembly weren't to bad, we had a crowfoot wrench to do that. Anyway the BX is up and running, I cut the 4 acres again yesterday afternoon.

 

[dstig1]

The worst part of dealing with fittings like this that you can only turn a tiny bit at a time is not removing them, it is getting the new ones started. Without the ability to turn them a reasonable amount, starting a thread is a huge PITA. Hard to get them lined up and hard to get the thread going. It will help that both are steel. I ran into this once on a power steering rack that was aluminum. I probably spent an hour or two getting those 2 hydraulic fittings going while trying not to strip the threads on the rack. Hopefully this is not as bad to do...but be advised of what you may be in for.

 

[Convery]

I just had this happen to mine, at 170 hours. Kubota covered it under warranty, and they also had to replace the oil pan. Sines my lines were rubbing on it the whole time.

 

[Danner]

The worst part of dealing with fittings like this that you can only turn a tiny bit at a time is not removing them, it is getting the new ones started. Without the ability to turn them a reasonable amount, starting a thread is a huge PITA. Hard to get them lined up and hard to get the thread going. It will help that both are steel. I ran into this once on a power steering rack that was aluminum. I probably spent an hour or two getting those 2 hydraulic fittings going while trying not to strip the threads on the rack. Hopefully this is not as bad to do...but be advised of what you may be in for.

You are correct about starting the threads on the reinstall. There is a bit of luck involved. LOL.