DennisFolsom
Gold Member
It was my own fault, and I'm disgusted at myself! 
Even without the helpful advice in the manual, I knew that I shouldn't swing a stump into the stabilizer! I was concentrating on getting the beast out of the hole and I let one corner get more than a little too cozy with my right-side stabilizer. When I went to pick the stabilizer up to move, the juice squirted. I had broken the hose clear off (the outside connection, which delivers pressure to raise the stabilizer).
It being early Saturday afternoon, I knew that the local tractor dealers would be closed. However, I thought my nearby Tractor Supply might have the 3/8" x 36" hose I needed. They did! To my surprise, when I got to the counter to check out, the hose was only $12.99 + tax. It's a Chinese made hose, rated at 4000 psi. The hose itself is thicker in diameter than the original. I hope it lasts OK.
It was a bit of a job to replace the hose. The JD 48 Backhoe has a plate over the hose connections to the valves. That plate also supports the swing bumpers. The plate is held on by two bolts which go through the rear frame. The nuts are darn near impossible to get at with the backhoe mounted on the tractor.
So, I decided to dismount the backhoe. I had read the procedure in the manual a few times, but this is the first time I actually did it. I was not in the greatest spot, but did not want to drag the stabilizer along. Anyway, the dismounting went well. The rockshaft lifted the hoe enough to free the pins, and I soon had it off.
After replacing the hose, and the cover plate, I remounted the hoe. I had a slight alignment problem and had to fiddle with it a bit. I think that the remounting would have gone a lot better had I been on nice flat, level ground.
When I put the new hose on, I deliberately left the outer connection loose, so I could bleed air out of it. I did that, then tightened the hose. Everything seems OK.
All in all, I don't think I lost more than about a cup of fluid. I plan to go to the JD dealer on Monday and pick up a couple gallons of their very special Low Viscosity Hydraulic/Transmission fluid. Since I was just above the add mark before this episode, I'll add a quart or two.
After the repairs, I did haul off the stump, but I left the crater for tomorrow. My Green Machine is safely back in the garage. I am approaching 30 hours of use of my new-to-me JD 4600. The tractor now has just under 465 hrs.
For a tractor breakdown, I got off easy. I learned a lesson - KEEP EVERYTHING AWAY FROM THE STABILIZERS!
Even without the helpful advice in the manual, I knew that I shouldn't swing a stump into the stabilizer! I was concentrating on getting the beast out of the hole and I let one corner get more than a little too cozy with my right-side stabilizer. When I went to pick the stabilizer up to move, the juice squirted. I had broken the hose clear off (the outside connection, which delivers pressure to raise the stabilizer).It being early Saturday afternoon, I knew that the local tractor dealers would be closed. However, I thought my nearby Tractor Supply might have the 3/8" x 36" hose I needed. They did! To my surprise, when I got to the counter to check out, the hose was only $12.99 + tax.
It's a Chinese made hose, rated at 4000 psi. The hose itself is thicker in diameter than the original. I hope it lasts OK.It was a bit of a job to replace the hose. The JD 48 Backhoe has a plate over the hose connections to the valves. That plate also supports the swing bumpers. The plate is held on by two bolts which go through the rear frame. The nuts are darn near impossible to get at with the backhoe mounted on the tractor.
So, I decided to dismount the backhoe. I had read the procedure in the manual a few times, but this is the first time I actually did it. I was not in the greatest spot, but did not want to drag the stabilizer along. Anyway, the dismounting went well. The rockshaft lifted the hoe enough to free the pins, and I soon had it off.
After replacing the hose, and the cover plate, I remounted the hoe. I had a slight alignment problem and had to fiddle with it a bit. I think that the remounting would have gone a lot better had I been on nice flat, level ground.
When I put the new hose on, I deliberately left the outer connection loose, so I could bleed air out of it. I did that, then tightened the hose. Everything seems OK.
All in all, I don't think I lost more than about a cup of fluid. I plan to go to the JD dealer on Monday and pick up a couple gallons of their very special Low Viscosity Hydraulic/Transmission fluid. Since I was just above the add mark before this episode, I'll add a quart or two.
After the repairs, I did haul off the stump, but I left the crater for tomorrow. My Green Machine is safely back in the garage.
I am approaching 30 hours of use of my new-to-me JD 4600. The tractor now has just under 465 hrs.For a tractor breakdown, I got off easy. I learned a lesson - KEEP EVERYTHING AWAY FROM THE STABILIZERS!
