Let me start by saying Thanks Teg! The hose was the problem and the new hose fixed all of the problems. You saved me lots of diagnosis and no doubt money.
The hose had moisture but not enough to make me think it was any more than a loose clamp. I was ready to order the hose but thought I would put a hose clamp on the rear end just to see if it would help. I had been suffering some jerky hydraulics and steering until that point and come to think of it, it had been slowly getting that way for probably more than a year or two. Starting with the hydraulics seeming to slow down, more and more.
When I installed the extra clamp things went bad fast. I had apparently pinched the area that was leaking. It went from jerky to almost non-existent hydraulics and from jerky steering to no power steering, not fun. At least I then knew I had pinpointed the problem.
I bought the Kubota part locally (about 25% more than Messicks including delivery) because I wanted it now.
Replaced the hose in about 5 minutes with little loss of UDT and it was fixed! After removal it was easy to see the split near the original clamp at the 90.
Thought I would have to work to get it bled but I started the tractor while I was cleaning up and when I sat in the seat a couple minutes later, it was perfect. The hydraulics were back to new condition and the steering was flawless.
Thanks again for the tip!!
Brad Wiechelman
until I got my new hose. The replacement should last a lot longer...
