DK Rear remote leak

PEJ5 · Sep 11, 2023

I have a minor leak at the single rear remote on my DK5010. It is just a few drops and it only occurs while the system is under pressure. I believe I have narrowed it down to the black cast iron end cover. The other side of the remote valve appears dry as are the tube connections to the remote connectors. I was able to tighten the two bolts (less than a quarter turn) with a short wrench, but that has not stopped the drip.

According to the Kioti parts diagram on the Michigan Iron website there are three O-Rings between the cover and the remote valve assembly and another four O-Rings between the valve and the block.

My plan is to replace the three O-Ring as the cover appears very easy to remove by removing the two bolt. I estimate that the valve will not move much, being held in place by the rigid tubing so hopefully those O-Ring will not fall out of place. I plan to purchase factory O-Rings from the dealer if available.

I have no real experience working with the hydraulics thus the newbie questions in my head. Would anyone with experience recommend a different plan. Maybe start with proper torquing? Should I replace the other four O-Rings at the same time? Seems like much more work and prone to issues, unless they are going to immediately fall out anyway. What sort of cleaning should I do while the cover is off? Am I crazy to attempt this without removing the wheel?

Does anyone with a service manual have the torque specs for those two bolts?

Sage advice appreciated. Regards.

ptsg · Sep 11, 2023

I suggest that you spend a little bit more time and loosen the hard lines so you can pull the valve out and replace all the O-rings. That way you'll have the peace of mind that you did all the o-rings.

A little trick when assembling it is to coat the o-rings with grease. This way the o-rings will stay in place while you fight the valve into place.

Also, either you can figure out the sizes of o-rings and buy then online, or take the current o-rings to an hydraulic shop and have them match the size. You can probably buy all the o-rings and some for the cost of a couple OEM ones.

I tried to find the torque specs on the service manual but couldn't find it right away. Maybe you have better luck.

Here is the link for it. I uploaded it to Google Drive, it's 300+ mbs, so it may take a while to download. Definitely download it as I may have to remove in the future to storage space reasons.

EDIT: Forgot the link: DK4510_5010_5510_5810.pdf

PEJ5 · Sep 11, 2023

ptsg said:
I suggest that you spend a little bit more time and loosen the hard lines so you can pull the valve out and replace all the O-rings. That way you'll have the peace of mind that you did all the o-rings.

A little trick when assembling it is to coat the o-rings with grease. This way the o-rings will stay in place while you fight the valve into place.

Also, either you can figure out the sizes of o-rings and buy then online, or take the current o-rings to an hydraulic shop and have them match the size. You can probably buy all the o-rings and some for the cost of a couple OEM ones.

I tried to find the torque specs on the service manual but couldn't find it right away. Maybe you have better luck.

Here is the link for it. I uploaded it to Google Drive, it's 300+ mbs, so it may take a while to download. Definitely download it as I may have to remove in the future to storage space reasons.

EDIT: Forgot the link: DK4510_5010_5510_5810.pdf

Thank you! I assume I need hydraulic pressure quality O-rings and that a 200 pack from Princess-Auto or Harbour Freight is not advised.

I see that they do sell Nitrile quality. Thoughts on those? I expect they will be metric sizes. So many questions.

ptsg · Sep 11, 2023

PEJ5 said:
Thank you! I assume I need hydraulic pressure quality O-rings and that a 200 pack from Princess-Auto or Harbour Freight is not advised.

I see that they do sell Nitrile quality. Thoughts on those? I expect they will be metric sizes. So many questions.

You need O-rings made out of NBR (Nitrile Butadiene Rubber) since these handle hydraulic fluids, oil, etc.

I'm saying these because I once bought on of those cheap kits that ended up being only good for water pretty much.

PEJ5 · Oct 6, 2023

Problem solved!
I had no experience working on hydraulics but I decided to try to repair it on my own. I decided to describe the process here in case someone else is interested.
From what I read, I would likely have to remove the fender and maybe the rear tire. I did not have to do either. I did have to remove the seat and plate it is bolted to in order to access the valve. The rear remote valve is sandwiched between the tractor block and a cover and held in place with two bolts. If you have two remotes it would be cover - valve - valve - block and longer bolts. Very straightforward.
Based on wise advice from PTSG above, I removed the tubes between the valve and the rear connectors and the R-pin holding the control handle linkage on. I removed the two bolts and both pieces came out easily. I found that the large o-rings on the cover was pinched, likely because it was not the right size - dealer error seven years ago.
I lightly sanded the four mating surfaces with 400 grit and then polished with 600 grit as there was some rust between them. I replaced the o-rings with new ones from my local transmission shop and bolted it all back together. I could not find torque specifications so I tightened it with a 14mm wrench as hard as I could with its short length.
No drips so it appears to be problem solved! I wonder if I should spray paint everything as it was at the factory in order to seal the seams and keep moisture out????

Peter

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ptsg · Oct 7, 2023

Thanks for the update. I'm glad you it solved and it was a cheap fix, just required a little bit of labor. Looks like the pictures didn't load properly, unfortunatly.

I like your old school vernier calipers. I have one just like that somewhere.