I was knocking down some trees and developed a major leak in the flared fitting going to the left hand boom cylinder. I was working in a rather remote area of NC, no buildings, no tools, nothing near at all. I had to wrap up the tractor for the winter and return to FL. I missed getting the size of the nut and steel tube as well as the size of the fitting it screws into. I actually need the wrench sizes as I plan to buy 12 point crowfeet wrenches. I'm not sure if it is cracked or loose but I had nothing to check it with. I do have the manual and can see all the parts online, no problem there. I just need to know the wrench sizes and maybe some thoughts as to why it is leaking. Thanks for any help.
That's a JIC fitting. Just a wild guess, but likely going to be either 1" or 1 1/4" wrench size. If the fitting happens to be tight, it's probably cracked the tube where it's flared. You have water in your hydraulic fluid as well.
Thanks willie59. I need to keep searching for the exact sizes as those crowfoot's are around $35 a pop. I thought that milky color indicated water and I'm not happy about that. How does water get in there, from condensation???
Mainly from condensation in wet/humid climates. The hydraulic tank is never completely full, even at proper fill level, so as you operate cylinders causing fluid level in tank to rise and fall, it draws in air from the outside. If there's a good bit of moisture in the air, it will condense inside the tank. Also check that fill cap, especially if it's a breather cap, is a tight fit and has no chance of letting water in tank. Another thing that can cause water is ingress at poor hydraulic seals, like bad wiper rings at cylinder rods. It's been a while since I've worked on those hoes, so I can't be completely confident of the size. I'm leaning toward 1 1/4", but can't be certain. But I'll betcha a dollar to a donut that alrman will pop in at this thread and tell ya what size those fittings are.
Most likely a JIC 37 degree fitting. Willie59 is correct, 1 1/4" will do it. It's a dash 12 size. Harbor freight sells a hydraulic fitting wrench set in SAE and metric. About $35 or so. It has every size you need, in a carrying case. Also, they are stubby, so they fit in tight places. http://www.harborfreight.com/hand-tools/wrenches/15-piece-sae-service-wrench-set-93667.html You should also pick a set of these. http://www.rocklinhydraulics.com/jic-cap-plug-kit.html
Wow, thanks a lot I will check them out. Here is another question. I plan on going back up there next month, (more of a vacation) I will get at least a day where I can work on the tractor. Within about 20 miles I have an OReilly Auto Parts store that can make up hoses. Is there any reason why the steel pipe can't be replaced with a hose they can make up? I'm working out in the open with no power, just trees and cows. In order to fix things I have to do a lot of planning and have a "B" and a "C" plan to get things done.
You might get a hose to work in its place, that is, if a hose will fit in the route that piece of tubing is going, tubing can make tight bends that hose sometimes can't. Since you know what pipe it is, how about just ordering a new pipe from Case and take it with you?
Ordering the parts from Case is always plan "A", if something goes wrong I need a plan "B". Years ago I built a house on a barrier island with no bridges. I had a Ford 8N and could not easily jump into my boat and run for parts. (I broke hoses and even snapped an axle but somehow got through it making repairs on a sandy beach). I am in sort of the same situation maybe worse. I see the crowfoot wrenches at harbor freight in only the 3/8 drive size. I'll look more but am planning for that nut to not want to come off.
In most situations, Tubing will last for two forevers. Hose will at some point, dry rot, crack, degrade, rupture, ect. I am actually in the process of replacing hose with tubing, in places where I can get away with it.
nilzlofgren, I understand "two forevers", unfortunately I will not go two more forevers. I am way beyond retirement age trying to do things as if I were an old farm tractor bought back to life. I have one more house to build in NC, move a lot of dirt and create a pond then sell the backhoe and buy a nice smaller farm tractor and watch my wife cut the grass. I didn't see any 1/2" drive crowfoot wrenches at Harbor but found on at Snapon that I know will do the job, one for the price of a set. I'll look again but don't want any Chinese stuff if I can help it. BTW, here is a slide show with photos of my old Ford backhoe. That was such a simple machine to run and fix, times have changed. http://john.bitbun.com/inskeep.html
I understand. Hoses can be used in most situations as willie59 has mentioned. You will just have to support the hose in places where it might sag. The wrenches I was talking about, are not crowfoot wrenches. These wrenches are also made by American tool manufactures as well, you will just pay more.
:thumbsup DING DING! x 1 1/4" for hex & 1 1/8" for fitting ( but include a 1"; 1 1/16"; & 1 3/16" just in case it been played with before!) Crowsfoot really not nessesary - I have only ever used combination spanners on those tubes - they are usually really tight & a crowsfoot just won't do it.
Thank you all so very much for the information. I am sort of working up a plan of attack for our Oct. trip up there, I will have only about a half day to uncover the boom area and disassemble the tube. If I have time I may remove the port boom cyl and bring the entire cyl and pipe back to FL. The cyl has a weep and I have the rebuild kit for it. I also have the means to anchor the ends for dis-assembly in FL. It will be mid summer before I can get back there and our plans are to build a barn for the tractor so it has a place to live when we are not there. Trying to cover it and uncover it with heavy tarps is not an easy thing to do. I had a marine business for 20 years and know how to store equipment that is not in use. The water in the hydraulic oil bothers me but there is not much I can do about it right away. At least it is not salt water like I had to deal with on boats.
This 1 1/4" crowsfoot wrench is available from any Case dealer. I have three different sizes and they are really good tools to get into some of the pipes on Case backhoe's. They are a little pricey but well worth the money.
Tinkerer, is that a 1/2" drive. Does any one have an estimate as to what one boom cylinder weighs empty? In order to get one home to FL I would have to wrap it up and put it on my SUV racks. (Well tied down).
The Broken Tractor website shows that it ways 112 LBS. Also, the nut on the end of the rod that holds the piston on, is usually torqued on, with many hundreds of foot pounds of torque. My 580K is like 1000 LBS of torque. You might need a torque multiplier in order to disassemble and reassemble the cylinder.
I can handle getting the nut off and on but I'm not sure if I could press 112 lbs to the top of my car. Thanks for the info.
All of the tools I purchased, including the one in the photo are 1/2 inch drive. They are perfect for tight locations because they are 12 point sockets.
Tinkerer, Do you happen to have the party numbers for those wrenches?? Thanks, Dave
Because these were cheap and a good brand I bought two of them on ebay. I will still get the ones from Case as they look better. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/LOT-...t=Motors_Automotive_Tools&hash=item4cf9a10b60
Here is a copy and pasted list from the CNH online parts list. D38971 Tool Wrench - Crowfoot, 1/2" Drive (for 1" Nut), D27216 Tool Wrench - Crowfoot, 1/2" Drive (for 1-1/16" Nut), D48865 Tool Wrench - Crowfoot, 1/2" Drive (for 1-1/8" Nut), D28774 Tool Wrench - Crowfoot, 1/2" Drive (for 1-1/4" Nut), They may have more sizes available. I am only aware of these four because they are listed in the parts book for my 680C T/L/B. If anyone reading this has seen the piping on a 680C backhoe valve body you would know why these wrenches are the ONLY ones that will R&R the nuts on the tubing attached to it.