I just noticed on my new used John Deere 310c backhoe that the left stabilizer arm has two lines going to it and they both are 1/2 inch........ then the right stabilizer arm has one 1/2 inch and the other is I'll guess it's 7/16 inch size hydraulic hose. Then I noticed the clamp that holds the two lines together feeding the one arm was made for the (3/8 or 5/16) inch hose as if all the stabilizers had 3/8 inch when new... Is this true? Its way too crowded and stiff under the floor behind the seat with all the 1/2 lines..... I have to replace all of them because they all were rubbing and worn thru and are ready to pop soon, so why wait... I took out the seat and pulled up the floor, and its still a pain in the butt to get at them all... I'd like to hear what you have to say if I should put back the smaller 7/16 inch line that looks like it was the original lines when new because the clamp that hold the lines the clamp is the correct size for the smaller hose, not the 1/2, so this is why I say that the stabilizer arms must have come new with the smaller line.... should I keep 1/2 going to the arms?
I don't know if using heater core hose and nylon tie straps is still the best method to wrap the hot spots where the hoses rub... because that sure didn't work well for this machine...
I seem to remember that one of my JD backhoes had smaller diameter hoses on the stabilizers... I had to replace one of them with standard 1/2" hose from Napa one time and I remember being concerned about whether it would take the tight radius bending that it had to endure... I never had any problems with it though. I couldn't tell the difference between the bigger and smaller hoses as far as speed went, so I 'd say if you can find the original small diameter hose, then use it, as it does take up less room and bends much easier. However, I wouldn't use smaller hose on any of the other functions... just the stabilizers, as the other functions DO require more capacity and flow. srs_mn
Yeah srs_mn.... I was going to put back the smaller hose, but the only place around that makes hydraulic hoses has only the 1/2 inch hose, which is really the 3/8 inner diameter.... and the smaller hose that was on it must have been 1/4 inch inner diameter... So I'm at the mercy of the only place around that don't charge a fortune... so I'll try to figure out a way to wrap more heater core hose around the hot spots that rub together..... this is the only reason why they needed replacement, they were not all that old where they would blow a hole from being weak...