Hi All, I have a bad hydrolic leak somewhere around my swivel joint. I had my guy clean up the area of years worth of grease, dirt and grime. I just started it up to see where the leak comes from but the fluid just seems to fill up the area around the boot and spill over all around. Does anyone have any experience with swivel joints? Are there common leak problem areas I can zone in on? Thanks for your help.
Yes, the swivel itself leaks and is most likely the culprit.
But shouldn't that leak below the deck of the cab? My leak in from somewhere on top around where the 5 hoses connect. It almost looks like from the small hose by the cover. I tried to get down in there but without removing a mess of hoses you need to be a snake to do it.
Not necessarily. There is an o-ring at the top and bottom and then 5 slipper seals in the middle. Could be the swivel, and they do wear out often. It could also be oil leaking from the swing motor, or any other hydraulic line. Kobelco uses compression fittings on those components in that area. It could be a ferrule is split and is leaking. Could be a hose crimp too. Process of elimination at this point. I feel your pain...it's a mess of hoses and hardlines.
Ok here is what I found. On the swivel joint top side there is a smaller low pressure port with a hose leading from it. I was able to reach down with an adjustable wrench and found the nut was loose. I tried my best to tighten it and got maybe a 1/2 turn but it feels tight. Started up the beast and worked all the sticks and pedals. I then checked up top and no new oil seems to be leaking. My tank is low so I didn't want to run it too long until I get a chance to top it off and really put it through it's paces. Basically I think my problem is solved without out too much pain. My fears of a swivel joint rebuild seems to be over.