Stubborn oil leak

[marrt]

Thanks for all the input guys. I appreciate the safety concerns as well. When concentrating on something like this, it’s all too easy to not pay attention and do something stupid. Read the safety forum on this site enough and you’ll see even very experienced people make “common sense” mistakes when their mind is elsewhere.

I went to Costco and found this stuff called “Oil Eater.” The smell of the stuff brought back memories of spending time with my father at service stations as a kid. Fortunately, the huge layer of grass in the tub soaked up a lot of oil over night. Once I cleaned the grass out and hit it with Oil Eater and a Pressure washer, it looks like new in the tub. I mean really new. The paint is worn off many areas in the tub from the hoses vibrating. I may need to add oil back to the tub as a corrosion preventative when I’m done.

I did find one hose that was lodged under the wheel motor. I saw “lodged” because I can’t move it. I’m suspicious this may be where the problem lies.

I let everything dry overnight and am ready to start looking for the leak again. I really like the florescent dye idea. I called a couple napa stores but they’re all closed today. When reading the posts above, I had an idea. Why not wrap all the hoses in the immediate area of the leak with aluminum foil. If it’s a pin hole, the oil will break through the foil and help pin point the leak. At the very least, the other hoses would stay relatively dry when unwrapped and should give me an indication of what is not leaking.

 

[marrt]

Thanks for all the input guys. I appreciate the safety concerns as well. When concentrating on something like this, it’s all too easy to not pay attention and do something stupid. Read the safety forum on this site enough and you’ll see even very experienced people make “common sense” mistakes when their mind is elsewhere.

I went to Costco and found this stuff called “Oil Eater.” The smell of the stuff brought back memories of spending time with my father at service stations as a kid. Fortunately, the huge layer of grass in the tub soaked up a lot of oil over night. Once I cleaned the grass out and hit it with Oil Eater and a Pressure washer, it looks like new in the tub. I mean really new. The paint is worn off many areas in the tub from the hoses vibrating. I may need to add oil back to the tub as a corrosion preventative when I’m done.

I did find one hose that was lodged under the wheel motor. I saw “lodged” because I can’t move it. I’m suspicious this may be where the problem lies.

I let everything dry overnight and am ready to start looking for the leak again. I really like the florescent dye idea. I called a couple napa stores but they’re all closed today. When reading the posts above, I had an idea. Why not wrap all the hoses in the immediate area of the leak with aluminum foil. If it’s a pin hole, the oil will break through the foil and help pin point the leak. At the very least, the other hoses would stay relatively dry when unwrapped and should give me an indication of what is not leaking.

 

[marrt]

Didn't get a chance to work on the tractor today. Will get to it tomorrow. Thinking of using plastic wrap on the hoses instead of aluminum foil. Will let you know how it works.

 

[marrt]

Didn't get a chance to work on the tractor today. Will get to it tomorrow. Thinking of using plastic wrap on the hoses instead of aluminum foil. Will let you know how it works.

 

[Barryh]

I was thinking maybe a bead of silicon over the seam on the plastic wrap might help you seal it air tight. /forums/images/graemlins/ooo.gif

 

[Barryh]

I was thinking maybe a bead of silicon over the seam on the plastic wrap might help you seal it air tight. /forums/images/graemlins/ooo.gif

 

[marrt]

Found the leak. It was in the hose that supplies pressure to release the brake. I did put plastic wrap on several of the hoses. Not sure if this would have helped or not. My “gut” is that it would. Will try it again next time.

I also bought a Tracerline leak detector kit from the napa store. Got the kit at an “ebay-like” price of $45 because it was excess inventory. Looks like a very nice kit. Comes with the light, dye for oil, A/C and water, special glasses, and injector accessories. Details can be found here: Tracerline. Off to the local tractor store tomorrow to see if they can make a hose for me.

 

[marrt]

Found the leak. It was in the hose that supplies pressure to release the brake. I did put plastic wrap on several of the hoses. Not sure if this would have helped or not. My “gut” is that it would. Will try it again next time.

I also bought a Tracerline leak detector kit from the napa store. Got the kit at an “ebay-like” price of $45 because it was excess inventory. Looks like a very nice kit. Comes with the light, dye for oil, A/C and water, special glasses, and injector accessories. Details can be found here: Tracerline. Off to the local tractor store tomorrow to see if they can make a hose for me.

 

[bjustice]

Marrt,
I take it your profile is not up to date? It indicates you have a PT425, but you said you had diesel smoke blowing in your face, and also that the leaking hose was for the brake release, which tells me you have been lucky enough to upgrade to a much larger machine. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

 

[bjustice]

Marrt,
I take it your profile is not up to date? It indicates you have a PT425, but you said you had diesel smoke blowing in your face, and also that the leaking hose was for the brake release, which tells me you have been lucky enough to upgrade to a much larger machine. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif