I am new to this forum, new to owning a backhoe and of course new to replacing hydraulic hoses. I have a 1996 Ford 555 that blew a hydraulic line for the stabilizer on the right side. Can you fellas recommend what wrenches/tools I need for getting these hoses off? The space is tight and I can't get a grip on the housing near the machine. Also, manual states i will need to replace the o rings, I am unable to find the size needed. Would these o rings be standard size? I knew that I would have some issues like this just want to have the right set of tools handy. I am in the process of clearing land for a future home and it's not close to any machine shops or stores. Thanks for all your help. Much appreciated! Tim
Usually standard wrenches work fine, if they're really tight then flare wrenches help. If the access is terrible, you might need to get crowfoot wrenches. Your best bet is going to be taking the old hose to a shop that can match up the fittings, Napa, etc. They should have the O rings for the fittings. You can use a kit of O rings, but it's not ideal.
And sometimes you may need to bend or weld a wrench so it will get in the right place to work, another thing is to get a service manual for the machine you are working on as it will have invaluable time saving info for what you are doing... and usually list any special tools.
Thank you for the help. I am on a steep learning curve here. I figured out how to attach a few pictures. Once I get the busted hose out would you recommend pulling the ones close and replace them?
I did purchase the serivce and operator manuals. They have the torque I need for each hose attachment. It didn’t give any specifics tools needed for this job. Thanks Again for the help!
If you have O-ring fittings as in ORFS (Deere likes them) An o-ring kit specific to hydraulic fittings has saved me a few times... Instead of a trip to the dealer to get a new O-ring. Run of the mill O-rings are 70 durometer, ORFS rings are 90 durometer.
I'm not sure if all your fittings are going to have O-rings. Standard wrenches should get the fittings loose and just snug them tight. You don't have to reef them as tight as you can. Look at the other hoses to see what shape they are in before replacing them. The place that makes the hoses up should have the O-rings if you need them. Sometimes you need to remove covers and such to be able to get at the fittings or get a wrench on them. In extreme cases you have to take off a bunch of other hoses and parts off to get at the ones you need to replace.
Welder Dave and hosspuller Here is what was in the manual. I will check to see if they have the O rings. They are ORFS according to the manual page. Thanks for the replies.
The shop that makes the hose will have the O-rings for the fittings.
DON'T THINK YOU CAN FIND HOSE FITTING WITH ORINGS EASY, I HAD GO TO HOSE WITH FULL FLARE,, AND CHANGE THE ADPT THAT HOSE SCREWS ON TOO I GOT 555A FORD TBL YOU CAN PROBABLY BUY NEW FORD HOSE WITH ORINGS EXPENSIVE
Not sure about the 555D but my New Holland 555E has an Italian flat face fitting on most of the hoses. They look like a metric flat face fitting but according to my local hydraulic shop have a few oddities of their own. The best tools I have for hydraulic lines is wrenches from 6mm stubby, to 2 3/4", to include 12", 18", and 24" crescent wrenches and a 12" and 18" pipe wrench. Over the years they have all earned their place. John
Yikes .. 24 inch ! Besides a flare nut wrench. how do you keep from distorting the fitting when it won't budge using a big wrench ?
Usually that's for very large fittings. I had to replace the return line to the tank on my 555E. It was a metric male hose fitting that was bigger than anything I had in an end wrench. That big crescent wrench is also nice vecaube it's long and wide which allows it to be used somewhat like a small vise to split hoses apart. Just prop it up on it's back on the trailer deck and you can slide a hose fitting in it and break them down. It's also a terrible hammer and a knuckle buster if you let it jump. John
Thank you for all the help. My crowfoot wrenches are too small, will return to get bigger sizes. Also, I must tell of my “dumb ass” move. The bolt that I was focused on went through the side of the tractor and had a nut on the other side. Yep, I was an idiot for that move. So got that puppy off and was a able to get the hose off the cylinder and now need to the the bigger crowfoot wrench and then should be good to go. Will update you once I get this all done.
I made my own larger crows ft wrenches for a couple bucks a piece from wrenches out of a pawn shop just heated up the end and bent them.
I have changed three lines since you helped me with this question! made one custom wrench and found the right size crowfoot at local NAPA store. Thanks for the help.
Bringing this back from the dead as I have my first hydraulic hose leak as well... Mine is on my New Holland lb75b, and it looks to be a short one which I hope will be less expensive to replace. My question is do I need to do anything with the hydraulic fluid? Will I lose a bunch/all of fluid when I take the leaky one off? I remember reading somewhere that there are bleeders on these also, so I assume once I get the line replaced I'll have to bleed out the air?
The short ones always cost more... Depends on where it's connected as to whether or not it will lose a lot of fluid or there will be pressure... ie...if it's on the boom up line then make sure you stretch out the boom... Also If you know what size or type the fitting are have some caps/plugs on site, ebay/amz has tons of cap sets for standard stuff and others. Usually try to have a couple buckets/short tubs around so you put them where ever the fluid starts to leak... and some rags
The cheap cut off wrenches are worth the money if anyone has to work on hydraulic lines much. I have a set from 3/4 up in each toolbox. Cut them in the middle and use a cheater pipe. My favorite wrenches are actually some spring loaded pipe wrenches and most of the time that is the only wrench that comes out. They come in several sizes from a few manufacturers. These I find quite helpful with stubborn new lines where you have use most of your strength to line up and start a fitting and it has enough pressure to require a wrench every turn. An impact (hammer the wrench) is always about more useful than continuous hard pressure like you get with a cheater pipe though.
Oh yeah, sometimes your new line will come with plastic caps on the fittings. Save these and use them to keep oil from draining next time you have a line blow.
Cool, thanks. This one, if I'm remembering correctly, goes from a manifold to the bottom of the boom, I think. It's a little shorty, kind of right underneath (on the outside of the machine) the backhoe end controls.
Gottcha one other thing is always blow out the new line and visually check for debris as best you can just before you install it because if there's any for crud to find it's way in there it will
The only time you need to worry about bleeding air is if the pump sucked air because you lost all the fluid. If the pump was still working when you shut it off, then you should be able to put the new hose on, top up the fluid, start it up and go. Operate that function several times most of the stroke without hitting the stop, you don't want to compress the air to hydraulic pressure, you want to flush it out at low pressure.
Thanks gang! Lots of good info!