Hydraulic hoses source

[Fiddlestix 0]

I tried to search the various forums here at Red Square and have come up with no discussion on where to source obsolete hydraulic hoses.

My '78 C161A is drooling badly from the fittings at the cylinder (has been for about 4 years which was OK since it kept the deck nice and lubed tho' messy!). It has gotten to the point where it is threatening control of the hydro oil level.

Anyway, the parts look ups at various places state it is no longer available. I suppose I could take it off, measure the length and select a newer hose from say a 520H that measures a similar length. But that sounds sketchy and it still means a $60 hose... that somewhat fits the compact confines of this tractor. I have a shop available locally to crimp a set up, but those swivel, crimped on O-ring boss fittings may be troublesome for them... I do not know as I hadn't asked them since this is a Sat. and they're closed. I do not know if there is room available to use a standard 45* ORB (O-Ring Boss) to pipe or JIC fitting and then use a standard straight end pipe or JIC hose. These fittings can be had if that works. I just thought I would throw this out there and see what others have done about these doodads.

While we're at it... what is the nominal inner diameter of these hoses?

Thanks and have a Happy Easter everybody! :omg:

[stevasaurus 22,243]

I haven't had to do hyd hoses on a tractor yet, but I did have an 85 hp Mercury outboard on a ski boat that had shot hoses...and were discontinued. I ended up going to a hyd place like you are talking about. They had no trouble building what I needed. If your place can't help, I'll bet they can point you in the right direction.

good luck

[wingrider 21]

I had the same problem with my C160, I went to a Place called Hose Headquarters locally and they made some up for me. They had a little short fitting to screw into the cylinder ports with orings on them then they made up hoses to screw to that fitting and into the valve no problem Good Luck

wingrider

[C-Series14 15]

Did you look in the Red Square Vendors section? Mats and oddball parts?

Page 2.... :omg:

[defed 0]

i used an adapter to convert the oddball size fitting that WH uses to pipe thread. SAE 5 ORB is what the WH cylinders/valves use. if you have space to use adapters, it would be the best way to go in my opinion. then it makes it so much easier to find pre-made hoses.

surpluscenter.com has tons of pre-made hose, cheap (or used to, haven't checked in a cpl yrs). i didn't need exact lengths when i was doing mine, so i got 'close enough' lengths.

i did have to get the adapters at a hydraulic shop tho.

[Fiddlestix 0]

Bump....

Well, after thinking options thru, I chose to use a different approach. I am not new to making my own hoses using JIC fittings and especially aircraft type. This coupled with the fact that in this day and age there are nothing but complete idiots or ignorant sloths hired to man the counters of hydraulic hose supply houses. There was a day when I could walk into a local hose supplier and have a problem resolved... oh well. Thanks to the internet and mail order, I needn't their blank stares. In any event, here are some pics you all may find useful of our solution.

The tractor is a '78 C161A and all the swivels were seeping and the two on the cylinder were badly drooling. These 4 hoses all needed replacing after some 1100 hours and 32 years. They all are obsolete also. As mentioned earlier, I could have wadded up some slightly longer 520H hoses. But these were $60 ea and the results uncertain. There is a vendor here that offers a set that I am sure would be a great solution for those with less intestinal fortitude or desiring more original look (for reasons that escape me).

I really was not interested in wadding those big ol SAE 100R2 hoses in that little valve area next to the rockshaft...mitee titee in there. Besides, this hydro only runs at 700PSIG so a 2500 capacity hose seemed very much overkill to me. This pretty much eliminates all the standard industrial hose sources. So I elected to use an aircraft style hose. Now most will recoil in horror thinking that means dollars! Let's not be hasty. I chose Earls Speed Flex which is modeled after Aeroquip 666 teflon hose but is much more affordable and very common in the hotrod and bike arena. The Speed Flex uses a series of fittings and I chose the economical straight ends (8 pcs) and -4 (1/4" ID) size. The original hoses are also 1/4" hose and must be 5/8" OD... this Speed Flex is but 3/8" and very flexible. I adapted all the hoses to the valve, cylinder, and hydro with common SAE ORB to JIC fittings that were commercial quality forged steel. Here are some pics....

This shows what we need for the supply/tank hoses...

here they are 15 minutes later all set...

No tools other than what you see. Not even a vise. Eezy Peezy Lemon squeezy!!

Notive the much much smaller OD of the Speed Flex vs. the old stuff. Much easier to snake around. Has a 1500 burst rating... should be just fine.

This is the valve with the three straight ORB to JIC adapters. The fourth port gets a 45* fitting. The two middle ports that are on the valve spool are the cylinder ports and are -5 SAE O-Ring Boss(ORB) and tapped 1/2-20 thread. The outer two ports are supply and return ports and are -6 SAE ORB (9/16-18). These port sizes are also duplicated on the other ends of these hoses... the cylinder has -5 and the hydro has -6.

Here's the valve all hosed. All made up and final at the valve end. I have not finished the cylinder ends... they are cut but the "compression olive" is not present in the fitting. This allows a trial check of length without risking damage to the olive. It was fit and trimmed a tad and then final assembled.

Here's the supply/tank hoses at hydro...

(yes, all my safety switches are present and operative!)

And then the whole mess installed...

As can be seen, I chose not to install the 45* at the rod port of cylinder. It just didn't seem needed so I used a shorter hose and less costly straight adapter.

It all fits with much much more rooom than the original hoses. Fired it up and cycled everything and dry as a toad first shot.

I didn't choose this stainless sleeved hose for its gawk factor. You cannot even see them when everything is buttoned up. I selected them so they would fit better and be more serviceable into the future. Best of all it is almost the cheapest route to take short of used hoses... I have $85 in this installation. All fittings 6 feet of hose and shipping. :omg:

[defed 0]

where did you get your supplies? when i needed my SAE 5 ORB fittings (couple years ago), i couldn't find them anywhere online. also be interested in the hoses and "crimpless" fittings you used.

[rickv1957 70]

Very nice hose set up there !! Rick

[Fiddlestix 0]

where did you get your supplies? when i needed my SAE 5 ORB fittings (couple years ago), i couldn't find them anywhere online. also be interested in the hoses and "crimpless" fittings you used.

I can detail that out tonite.

Right now I have to get going with my 20 ton "lawn" mower ...

The weeds they are a growin'! HumHumHummer!!! :omg:

[catman81056 3]

Last year I found a place in Champaign Il that does nothing but hydrolic stuff. They are DOT certified and test all hoses at the max rated burst pressure. I told him what I had(4 hoses on my 1968 Electro12) the lengths of each hose and he quoted me a price of $65.00 for all 4. Needless to say I didn't wait around for inflation to take hold.

[Fiddlestix 0]

where did you get your supplies? when i needed my SAE 5 ORB fittings (couple years ago), i couldn't find them anywhere online. also be interested in the hoses and "crimpless" fittings you used.

Here is where I get the SAE ORB adapters (and just about any other adapter).

Hose And Fitting dot com

Browse around their site. It is very complete and I have found their prices very reasonable, stocks good, and terrific variations.

The hose is Earls Speed Flex and theie fittings for this hose are called Speed Seal.

These and copies thereof are sold by nearly every auto enthusiast house like Summit Racing or Jegs all the way to eBay. Either Earls, Russell or Aeroquip (or even Chicom cheapo) often can interchange for low critical stuff like this. Used or surplus fittings can be had very inexpensively on eBay.

However, you likely won't have the time to wait for eBay so mail order may be best. For this I use these folks:

AN Plumbing dot com

Again, very good stocks and prices. Browse around and look at the different items.

Now they even have a good video on Speed Flex hose assembly.

Speed Seal & Speed Flex Assembly Video

The video shows pretty anodized aluminum fittings. I used steel for the above non-weight critical application. I think it will also be more durable down the road for such a dirty environment.

That should answer most of your questions. The beauty of installing reusable fittings is you will not be dependant on that stoog at the hose shop. You can blow a hose some Saturday and if you have a 10' coil in the drawer and a couple spare olives, you can fix up a new hose and finish up well before dinner! Again and again. Plus, unlike synthetic or natural rubber used in standard hoses, this teflon material will not degrade on the shelf... not sure what the shelf life is...it may as yet still be undetermined!

:omg:

[catman81056 3]

I guess we all have our own opinions.

[jackhammer 544]

Thanks catman81056

 

I realize this is an old post of yous, Will try to get a hold of you thru email if your still active

.

I live in Westville,Il  and would like to know the name of the place that fixed you up with hoses

[Jeff-C175 7,195]

Hi Jackhammer,  things are more expensive here on the east coast perhaps, but I was recently quoted $25 per hose.

 

I instead did exactly what Fiddlestix did with his machine, using the braided steel line with adapters, etc for very close to that same price. 

 

If the hose shop I was working with came down to $65 for a set of four, I would have been on it in a heartbeat.

 

Good Luck!

[jackhammer 544]

Thanks for the response Jeffpicks, I realize that the post he quoted from is 3 years old. -- and things have risen in $$

 

Was going to follow up on the business  ,,,   beings that  "The Bubble City " is only 30 min away.

 

 

 

 

[CasualObserver 3,406]

Sorry jackhammer, but your not going to be able to get a hold of Tim (catman), he never came back after RedSquare had to switch servers about two years ago.  Everyone's logins had to be reset and email addresses didn't make the conversion.  Lots of members never re-registered or signed in.

 

I will tell you he was from around Paxton, so you could check with shops in that area.

[jackhammer 544]

Thanks  Casual Observer