I have a leak in 1 of the 2 hoses at the top of the dipper so I go about setting up the gantry to support the dipper, and extend the extendahoe (Bucket removed). I disconnect the two bucket hydraulic hoses and move down to removing the hydraulic hoses. Darned if I could get the hose connection broken free, and pulled out 2 three foot pipes for leverage and proceeded to break my 1 1/16 wrench. Pulled out my 12" Crescent and tried again and proceeded to break the Crescent jaw. That stopped all work as I don't have any other tools that large so I ordered some Tekton wrenches (1 1/16, and a 1 1/4) to get back to it. Questions I have are how much heat should I apply to the connection before going back at it and what tool brand should I plan on purchasing in the future to work on this beast. I am just a homeowner on 10 acres and my broken wrenches were craftsman. Lifetime warranty but having a heck of a time dealing with them. Hopefully the Tekton's are stronger wrenches, but I only want my future purchases to be made on tools capable of working on this old machine without breaking. Thanks in advance for your helpful comments. Ron
Ideally, you want to tap the flat sides of the fittings between two hammers , using one as a dolly, but you may not have the space to do so. Use a solid piece of steel as a dolly & tap with a hammer. OR use an air hammer with a blunt adaptor on the flats of the fitting - don't get too carried away with this method as it will deform the hex of the fitting. - it will undo quite easily after that
Since the hoses connect up to the hardline inside of the boom, space is very limited. However, I will try that as best I can, and if that doesn't do it, I will try an air hammer. Should I stay away from taking a torch to it to heat it up?
Absolutely!
I have a 94 580SK, so I understand how stubborn some of the fittings can be. They can get corrosion in the threads and sometimes on the fitting’s flare-taper surface itself. Inspect your fitting once it is broken free, as it might need a little polishing/cleaning up before installing a new hose in order to get a good seal. Alrman gives good advice as to how to break the fittings free. I have never used heat nor anything close to 2, three foot leverage pipes. I actually own the same craftsman wrench which broke on you, but never have had any breakage. I did break a craftsman socket recently. The local Sears hometown store took it, and I had a new one in my mail box about a week later. Out of curiosity are you having trouble replacing the wrench with a local Sears store or dealing remotely?
fpgm04, I don't know if I can say I am having any problem with the craftsman warranty just yet, however, I called them the day I broke both the 1 1/16" wrench and the 12" adjustable, and they opened up a case file on it but said their system was down and it would take an hour for it to go through and to call back in an hour. I called back but it was after their work hours so no connection. I then called back the following day and they said their system was still down and that I wouldn't need to call them back as the representative said he would personally follow the case and email me back once the system was up. That was 3 days ago and I haven't heard back from them so I will check with them on Monday or Tuesday next week. The Sears Hometown closed down in Placerville, CA and the one in Sacramento is temporarily closed so I went ahead and ordered the Tekton's and got those in today, but rain is forecasted through Monday. I will get back on it Tuesday and hopefully will get them broken loose. I will clean and polish all connections before putting it back together. Thanks, Ron