power steering hose

wam2 · Jul 28, 2005

Just had a high pressure power steering line fail while moving many piles of topsoil at our local volunteer ambulance building.
Drats hydraulic fluid dripping everywhere! I bought my DK35 in Oct. 2003 and it only has 244 hrs on it. It looks like the hose sprung a leak where the line snakes under the radiator hose inside the left side cover. Seems funny since this section of hose has a metal coil around it to protect it. I will pull the hose off today and inspect it a little better. Has anybody seen this kind of thing before? /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

DK35vince · Jul 28, 2005

You never know about hydraulic lines, they can fail when you least exspect it.
If you find the hose was rubbing that caused it to fail, make sure you tie it, reroute it or cover that area with some rubber hose, Etc. Whatever it takes to keep it from rubbing/failing in the same spot again.

TractorLegend · Jul 28, 2005

I posted about an observation on the CK30 where the steering hose on the left side hits the exhaust pipe therefore needing better insulation?? Is this the case on yours??

KiotiJohn · Jul 29, 2005

Please be very careful when that fluid is under pressure. Put on some gloves, and get a piece of cardboard to run over the hose looking for spray on the cardboard.
I suspect that the leak may instead be coming from a leaking fitting. Check those first. It wouldn't hurt to put on some safety glasses as well. The fluid under pressure can penetrate your skin, put out your eyes, etc.
John

wam2 · Jul 29, 2005

Thanks for the responses guys. Removed the hose and the rubber
had been worn away by the metal coil that is supposed to be
protecting it. Like you said you never know when a hydraulic line
is going to surprise you. I called the dealer and a new one is ordered. Have to get running again so that I can finish digging out the old bushes around the pool
with my backhoe as my wife requested. Actually I suggested the job as she was getting tired of trimming them because of their size and I wanted to do something with my backhoe. It's been about 3 months since I last got to play on it. Backhoe withdrawal I guess. Can't spend all my time just mowing 7 acres.
I will have to do a little thinking about how to prevent this from happening again. Maybe an extra shield between the coil and the hose. At least it will give me a warning before the hose gets damaged again.

KiotiJohn · Jul 29, 2005

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( I will have to do a little thinking about how to prevent this from happening again. Maybe an extra shield between the coil and the hose. )</font>
As was suggested earlier, a piece of garden hose or similar wrapped around the hose, then the metal should do the trick. I'm not sure that the black wrap that comes on some of the hoses is strong enough to prevent the problem.
John

depratt_equip · Jul 29, 2005

The best thing to do to prevent it from doing this again is to secure the hose the best you can to the tractor to keep it from working back and forth and wearing a hole. The less movement in the hose the less it can wear. So far we have not seen this happen on any others, and might just be an isolated case.