Difficulty connecting hydraulic hose, male to female

dsttexas

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Kubota MX6000
Mar 26, 2022
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Trying to connect my root grapple to front end hydraulics is extremely difficult due to position of connector next to the arm and for some reason the female collar is very hard to hold back far enough to insert the male end. Is there any kind of tool that can be used to pull and hold the collar back far enough to release the connector balls?
 

Bmyers

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Just curious, did you take the pressure of the system before connecting/disconnecting?
 

dsttexas

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Sorry I should have mentioned that I did relieve pressure on both the valve and the hose.
 
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TheOldHokie

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Trying to connect my root grapple to front end hydraulics is extremely difficult due to position of connector next to the arm and for some reason the female collar is very hard to hold back far enough to insert the male end. Is there any kind of tool that can be used to pull and hold the collar back far enough to release the connector balls?
Picture of the connector giving you trouble?

Dan
 

fried1765

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Trying to connect my root grapple to front end hydraulics is extremely difficult due to position of connector next to the arm and for some reason the female collar is very hard to hold back far enough to insert the male end. Is there any kind of tool that can be used to pull and hold the collar back far enough to release the connector balls?
Last year, someone posted a description here of how you can make a simple tool that will accomplish what you need.
It is made by modifying a welders vise-grip type clamp.
It is very simple to make,.....involves just grinding the inside of the clamp a bit to make it push/pull the end of the female collar back.
I modified a welder style vise-grip type clamp from Harbor Freight .

Amazon has these vise-grip type clamps listed for $11.99,...... as "Hobart 770115 "C" Pliers/Welders Clamp".
You will need to modify it!
I would send you a picture of mine, but I am 1,500 miles away until May.
It is a very simple tool and works great!
 

dsttexas

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Kubota MX6000
Mar 26, 2022
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This was a strange one. I had pushed the pin on the male and released pressure there, and use a tool to do the same on the female. then went off and did other stuff until later. After a couple hours in the sun the fluid in the lines must have expanded and make the pin unmovable. Tried banging it hard on metal with results, then undid the other end of hose and released pressure - again. And all is well.
 

Bmyers

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This was a strange one. I had pushed the pin on the male and released pressure there, and use a tool to do the same on the female. then went off and did other stuff until later. After a couple hours in the sun the fluid in the lines must have expanded and make the pin unmovable. Tried banging it hard on metal with results, then undid the other end of hose and released pressure - again. And all is well.
Pressure building up in the sun can be a pain and has happen to me more than once. I try to store my grapple out of the sun when it is off for short periods when I'm using the bucket or forks.
 

edritchey

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When you have the attachment off plug the ends together until you need to hook it up again. If you're connecting to a 3rd function valve remember to relieve the pressure with machine turned off and the 3rd function circuit powered on then while pressing the buttons move your control around to remove the pressure. If the 3rd function isn't powered up pressing the buttons doesn't do anything.

Note: Hooking the attachment hoses together depends on you have a male and female on the attachment... :)
 
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lynnmor

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If much of your problem is the position, then try to change the position. Perhaps you could add elbows or 45 degree fittings to make the couplings more accessible.
 
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motionclone

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my old kubota you had to shut the engine off and operate the controls in all motions to relieve the pressure. My skidsteer has a button that relieves the pressure, seems like a better setup
 
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edritchey

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my old kubota you had to shut the engine off and operate the controls in all motions to relieve the pressure. My skidsteer has a button that relieves the pressure, seems like a better setup
The pressure release flat face connections on my skid steers do spoil you :)
 

dsttexas

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This was my first time posting on this forum and all the supportive answers are great. Thank you all!
 
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