Thanks for all the replies – The main reason I asked was I was hoping there was some quick fix I could do, since I’m using it at some forest land we have 2hrs from home (where the hydro supply shop and tractor supply are close). Up here for the weekend, and wasn’t expecting anything around here to be open, and did need to keep working..
After sleeping on it and then reading y'alls advice I think I’ll just pull the hose (and a few others) and get new ones & spares. I checked my limited parts in my truck and I don’t have the plugs I thought I had. While I could loop the in/out lines together (bypassing the remote ports), it seems like an odd setup so I didn’t really want to go hacking something I didn’t really understand. Plus, I have a skidsteer and chainsaws with me and there is a lot I can do with that today and tomorrow. All things considered, though I need to keep working, skidding the stems can wait a few days.
Some of you raised some real good questions – like why it is pressurized with the 3PH operation and if it is a standard rear remote. I’ll tell you what I know and maybe we can figure it out.
More detail about when it burst:
- Once it burst and sprayed, the 3PH with about 2000-lb on quickly lowered – it didn’t crash down, but it did go down quickly. I quickly (~1sec) pushed the 3PH lever to the down position and the spray stopped immediately. Being in the cab I had no idea where the fountain of oil came from.
- After shutting off the tractor and finding the (likely) source I restarted the tractor and from beside the tractor very gently moved the 3PH control to up until it tried to raise (and fluid spurted out). By “tried to raise” I mean it just budged. But I didn’t want to apply more pressure since the little flow I was giving it was already running out that burst remote hose.
Q: Why is it pressurized with the 3PH?
Great question. I don’t know. Both lines come out on the front part of the cast iron housing of main gear case (correct me if that’s not what it’s called) that the 3PH linkages come out of. There is no separate directional control for these lines that I can see. I’m guessing the prior owner had put on there to run a 3PH implement. But that’s just guessing – why set up something that only kicked on when upward pressure was on the 3PH? I’ll try to get a pic of the source of the lines shortly.
Q: Is it a standard rear remote?
- Also a good question, but I don’t know this either. It doesn’t look like it to me. The dealer (T&J Equipment in South Hill) didn’t know what it was for when I was getting details before buying. It does look broken, so unless I have a good use for it, I’ll consider just capping it off at the source. From what I can tell, the flow is only one way – pressurizing only when the 3ph lifts. Any theories?
- There is another set of remote ports you can see on the right upper side of the 3PH. The two lines coming out supply the FEL control valve. Not sure what the two empty ports are for, but I may use them for a grapple on the FEL. I think a more protected routing of the FEL lines is in order, especially since this tractor is for woods work.
