How Often to Replace Hydraulic Lines?

[40_acre_mule]

Do any of y'all replace your hydraulic lines on a regular basis?
Do you just wait til they look bad?
Or do you wait until they fail?

 

[grsthegreat]

i wait till they fail. my last tractor started to lose a few loader lines around 12 years old.

 

[Tractor Seabee]

HYD hoses are like all rubber goods; it is not whether they will fail but when. They all have a service life that varies with a lot of different reasons. I will do like I do with belts and radiator hoses. The first time a failure occurs I replace all of that kind at once; as soon others the same vintage will fail also. It then saves time and frustration and only one fluid change.

Ron

 

[techwrtr2]

Fail. On my oldest tractor, I have hoses in place for 30 years... Why replace them before they break? Granted, I don't make my living on my machines nor are lives at risk if they're down so there's that to ponder as well.

 

[2458n]

I take them to failure. Only seem to break when you need the tractor for something. At that time it is a quick patch and go. Have bought a complete set of hoses for a White Field Boss, but have not had time to wrench on it. It is stupid to do it my way as nobody needs a hot oil bath.

 

[crazyal]

The first thing that will happen is the outer rubber jacket will dry rot. That will allow water to get to the steel braiding and it'll rust. From there it really depends on how many layers of reinforcement wire braiding your hose has. I've had single braided hoses fail just after the first sign of rust on the steel while I have several quad braided hoses that half of the rubber jacket has rotted and fallen off yet still hold fine. If you don't want to run to fail I would say two to three years after you can start to see the steel braiding.

I was a replace when it broke kind of guy. But that always meant dealing with a local parts store making up a hose for me. I would have to spend over an hour dealing with getting a replacement while looking plenty of oil. Now I just buy them on-line. A lot cheaper once you add in all the costs, the inflated price at the local store ($50 vs $20, gas and my time, and extra fluid lost when it bursts and what leaks out as it sits. Plus I can find a place to change the hose with plenty of pans to catch as much fluid as I can vs having it leak allover the place.

 

[Looking4new]

When I see my hoses (Hydraulic) start to weather check then I get replacements and change them out at my leisure. I used to be a when it breaks fix it kind of guy. Not any more.

 

[Gary Fowler]

I have never replaced hoses till they fail. I also have never had one get weather checked, show braid etc before failing. Most of my hose breakage came from my Yanmar FEL that had 2200# rating hoses and they always failed when I over exerted the FEL which was just about every time I used it. All the replacement hoses have 3000 PSI rating and never had an issue with them.

I am lucky enough to have a Mom and Pop place only about 5 miles from me that makes up all my hoses and they are fairly cheap. They have a little hardware store that carries just about anything anyone will need as long as you don't need it after 12 on Saturdays or a Sunday but that is not unusual for around here. Lots of place close on weekends here except for the chain stores. I always check there for hard to find items and they usually have it and sometimes cheaper than Lowes for hardware or hydraulic shops for hoses. I recently had to replace one for the bucket cylinder on my backhoe that was about 24" long and cost me $23 with the majority of that cost being in the $8 each fitting cost. All my back hoe failures have been breaking the fitting off from rubbing against a tree and I have never busted a hose itself but that does require new hoses when one breaks as they are never long enough to cut off the end and replace.

As long as I wont be sitting straddle of a hose, I wont replace it till it starts leaking or shows worn braid and even then a few wraps of electrical tape will keep out the water. The outside rubber coating is only protecting the braided wire and adds nothing to the strength of the hose.
A little spraying of hydraulic oil on the machine makes it shine like a wax job and prevents rust.

 

[oldnslo]

In industry where they are being used every day the rough rule of thumb is 5 years or less for replacement. For the weekend home owners like others have said. When they look bad or break, whichever comes first.

 

[grsthegreat]

and MAN is there a difference in quality of replacement hoses out there. Pay for the best when replacing. The hoses i replaced on the JD870 were of far better quality than the ones i replaced them for. higher psi rating too.

Find a good hydraulic shop near you and check the prices. I have 2 in my area ....great prices, USA made materials and very friendly staff.

I actually found the need to replace the air line in one of my shop 50' self retracting air hose units. I bought a chinese hose set from Lowes and was going to install it..... when i noticed the threaded end wasnt quite the same size. I went to the hyd shop out of curiosity and asked if they could do air lines... sure, no problem.

They made me a 50 foot set of US made hose with both proper US made ends. Cost was Less THAN THE LOWES HOSE.

 

[ishiboo]

I would wait until there is noticeable, bad wear or a break. This is how most equipment operators seem to work as well. Our local farm store sells VERY inexpensive, Made in USA with all USA components (hose and fittings) hoses so I have a few spares on hand, but the only time I've had to use one is when I injured a hose myself. The hoses on my Kubota loader I think are probably original.

However, I would NOT have a worn hose anywhere near my body. Hydraulic fluid leaks under pressure are no joke. At the same thing, if I was letting a kid or wife or someone similar operate it, I would want to make sure the hoses were all in excellent shape to help prevent mistakes.

 

[/pine]

Others probably do the same (I didn't read every post) but to me it makes sense to have a few spare hoses of varying lengths etc and a a good supply of fittings/adapters...
When a hose fails I usually have enough hoses and fitting/adapters to make the repair...sometimes using 2 or more hoses to make one (that works)...once I take the failed hose the shop for a new one it gets tossed...

If you don't have stash of hydraulic fittings or hoses...sometimes you can find "lots" on ebay where you may get bags/boxes full of usable fittings (including QD's) for what you would pay for one SAE swivel fitting at TSC etc...hoses are the same...search for lots...I once got an OEM set of all five loader hoses for $60....(used them to plumb my bucket grapple)...

 

[john_bud]

I'm a glutton for punishment. Replace when they fail.

Usually, that's when they start seeping. But had a Kubota FEL bucket hose pop loose from the end and squirt a bit. Also had a TLB loader hose that ran by the control split and burst under pressure while lifting a 3/4 yard bucket of wet clay. Sprayed me with a gallon of fluid and kept on squirting as the bucket dropped. Yuck.

By the way, my TLB has about 14 different hoses and the full set made by the very reasonable local shop (way cheaper than anywhere else) was close to $1000 back in 2005/6. I really don't have the pocket depth to change a hose that can last 30+ years after only a lustrum.



I'll let you broaden your vocabulary by looking up "lustrum"

 

[aginn]

I have slightly less than 200 hours on my Kubota and have had 2 failed hoses. One on the FEL and one on the grapple. Replace on failure. But have a spare for each line on hand. No more 2 hour round trips for a quick replacement for me. As other posters have stated, you can get lines that are better rated than what most tractors were originally equipped with.:2cents:

 

[7879fordman]

Replace when they fail .

Heck this old dump trailer has a 14' hose that I just replaced because it blew . It's been on there since 1972 its a old grain trailer . Here it is get'n used the next day with the new hose .




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[flusher]

Do any of y'all replace your hydraulic lines on a regular basis?
Do you just wait til they look bad?
Or do you wait until they fail?

I check my hydraulic hoses on the Mahindra 5525 regularly, especially the hoses closest to me near the driver's seat. These are the lines that run from the FEL control unit to the triple rear remotes. Don't want one of those to fail under pressure and possibly squirt high pressure fluid on my bare skin. That type of accident can lead to severe medical problems.

The other thing I do is keep the tractor parked under the carport out of direct sunlight especially during our hot months (Jun-Sep) when the sunlight is most intense and the temperatures are in the triple digits. So sense in stressing the rubber part of those hoses unnecessarily.

 

[grsthegreat]

I had a hose on a rented mini excavator blow last year on my at a jobsite....blew hyd fluid all over me. what a mess. The unit was only a few years old. Luckily it was a rental. made a call and they sent a guy out to the field to manufacture and replace one onsite. credited me time lost.

sometimes its nice to rent.

 

[hdmyers]

I had a hose on a rented mini excavator blow last year on my at a jobsite....blew hyd fluid all over me. what a mess. The unit was only a few years old. Luckily it was a rental. made a call and they sent a guy out to the field to manufacture and replace one onsite. credited me time lost.

sometimes its nice to rent.

Have had same issue with rental... we traded up from a small mini-ex to enclosed one...nice as it was a cold fall day and rainy My bud makes all my lines for me... which is nice for sure.. we wait until it fails...although major cracks (on forklift mast) will result in early repairs. cheers

 

[Tor Arne]

Since I own press to crimp hydraulic hoses, I use to wait until it breaks before I replace the hoses

 

[hdmyers]

Since I own press to crimp hydraulic hoses, I use to wait until it breaks before I replace the hoses



that's the way to do it man.>>> having the right tools is a nice thing. hydraulics can get pricey. cheers