was I supposed to use thread sealant?

[scobrado]

I bought the rear hydraulics kit from JD for my 3038E. Progress is slow because of weather and I lost a rear tire.

I have followed the instructions to a "T" so far, and they seem pretty good. I have installed the controls/valve but not yet installed the lines to the tractor hydraulics yet. I have zero experience with hydraulics, but I'm reasonably handy around the farm. I remember thinking, "Hmmm, no pipe tape." I read somewhere the pipe tape was not good for hydraulics, but my question is, should I have used a pipe sealant on the install of the valve/controls and the forthcoming connections to the tractor? No mention of it was made in the JD instructions, just torque on the connections.

Thanks,
ScoBraDo

 

[JimRB]

I wonder if sealant does much with a 1,000 PSI or even higher. I do not see any sealant on my tractor or any I have looked at but I might be unobservant. If the instructions say nothing then they expect you to properly torque and that is that. I guess. ;-)

 

[MtnViewRanch]

You only use sealant on pipe threads that seal on the threads them self, not on any chamfer. All SAE threaded ends seal on a chamfer or with an o-ring or some type.

 

[MtnViewRanch]

I wonder if sealant does much with a 1,000 PSI or even higher. I do not see any sealant on my tractor or any I have looked at but I might be unobservant. If the instructions say nothing then they expect you to properly torque and that is that. I guess. ;-)

Yes, sealant is needed and works, even at higher pressures.

 

[jonbt]

It depends upon the style of fitting. Most do not, since they use either a metal to metal seal, or an o-ring seal. A very handy reference can be found at DiscountHydraulicHose.com -- on the left menu, Quick Links, choose "Thread size and identification", and download their pdf file on "How to identify fluid ports and connectors." Your JD probably uses modern fittings which require no pipe sealant on the threads, and using it will just make a mess.

Best,
jonbt

 

[murphy1244]

It depends upon the style of fitting. Most do not, since they use either a metal to metal seal, or an o-ring seal. A very handy reference can be found at DiscountHydraulicHose.com -- on the left menu, Quick Links, choose "Thread size and identification", and download their pdf file on "How to identify fluid ports and connectors." Your JD probably uses modern fittings which require no pipe sealant on the threads, and using it will just make a mess.

Best,
jonbt

Thanks much!

 

[Furu]

Most Deere hydraulics (but not all) are either ORB or ORFS depending upon what the connection is to. Neither one requires the use of sealant and further more using sealant would be very bad with those two hydraulic seal methods. ORB uses an O-ring that seats in a recessed lip on the female side and at the back end of the threads on the male connection. ORFS is for O-ring face seal and the o-ring is embedded in the face of the male coupler and mates to a flat lip on the opposite side of the connection which has a female cap. Both use SAE threads.

If you have a NPT fitting then a lot of folks would recommend a good sealant that is hydraulic oil compatible. Do not use tape!!!! NPT is not compatible with SAE, you would have to have a coupler to convert the connection type.

 

[scobrado]

Thanks for all the pointers. The connectors supplied by JD all had rubber seals, so I am going to continue without sealant until I get mfg. instructions to use it. We'll see what happens when I hook a grapple and a top link to this thing.

--ScoBraDo