B2650 FEL hose wear solution

[jqc99]

I had mentioned in another thread somewhere that I was having an issue with the FEL hoses wearing badly where they make contact passing through the loops on the arm. The protection sleeve that Kubota puts on them did not help much. Two of the hoses had worn through to the steel braiding. I tried the plastic spiral hose wrap. That worked for a bit, but eventually the metal loop would catch in the gap between the spirals, deform them, and start digging into the hose. The local hydraulic shop had no other good protection ideas, so what I did was buy 4- 45 degree connectors and put them, angling down, between the hard line and the hose. This put the hoses in a much better location and angle in the metal loop. They will only slightly touch the loop with the FEL at full height.

For those of you with a B2650, and I would assume the B3350 too, slide back the protective sleeve and check your hoses for wear!

 

[sheepfarmer]

Pictures please! Especially to illustrate the wear on the hose first and then your fix. If you have time please send to Kubota; since several people have had problems they need to know about it. I have not used my loader yet since the snowblower is on, but I appreciate the heads up.

 

[jqc99]

Unfortunately I did not take "before" pictures. I will definitely take "after" pictures tonight when I get home. The wear area is easy to locate though. When you raise the loader, watch the top of the loop the hoses pass through. You will notice that the hoses make contact there and as the loader gets higher, they press harder against the loop. At the highest point, I was shocked at how hard they were resting against that loop. Eventually it was pulling the protective sleeve down the hoses. When I noticed that, I pulled the sleeve down all the way and was surprised that the hoses had worn to the point where the metal braiding was starting to show.

 

[jqc99]

Here's a picture of the 45 degree fittings.

 

[NEPA Guy]

I see. I still have my blower on too but had an issue last year with the hoses wearing. Id have to hook it up again and get a few shots of the whole run to better illustrate the problem area.

One guy just ran my sleeves up higher to where it was rubbing and left it at that. So if I understand you you're saying by adding the 45 degree fittings it will put the hoses in a better position where it wont rub any more.

I'll follow up in a few weeks once I think its safe to put my FEL back on and take pictures where mine are rubbing.

Cheers

 

[jqc99]

Before I knew they were wearing, I did the same with my sleeve. I also secured it with another zip tie. It still ended up working it's way down. That's when I thought I better check under the sleeve. Sure enough, that's when I learned it was wearing. Without the 45 degree fittings, it's poor routing of the lines for the location of the loop. That, or it's a poor location of the loop. Either way, the fittings fix the problem- it's a cheap and quick solution.

 

[CharlieFoxtrot]

Could you take another picture, zoomed out, showing the full route of your hoses from FEL to tractor? I have wear on my 2650 hoses but I'm not sure if your solution will work for me because of the length of my hoses and I want to see if yours are shorter and how they route.

 

[jqc99]

Could you take another picture, zoomed out, showing the full route of your hoses from FEL to tractor? I have wear on my 2650 hoses but I'm not sure if your solution will work for me because of the length of my hoses and I want to see if yours are shorter and how they route.

This is the only other picture I took. If you'd like other views, just let me know, I'd be more than happy to take them.

 

[Bulldog]

Don't know if it would work but if the elbows were turned up instead of down it would take some of the bend out of the lines and probably move even less than it does now.

 

[jqc99]

Don't know if it would work but if the elbows were turned up instead of down it would take some of the bend out of the lines and probably move even less than it does now.

It would most definitely take some of the bend out, but the bend actually needs to be there to pass though the metal loop on the inside of the vertical arm without rubbing so hard causing the wear.

 

[NEPA Guy]

What about using wire spring guards to cover some of the hoses? I see how some excavators use them. Seems better than a cheap nylon sleeve.

Do hose failures in tractor applications tend to need replacement by external abuse or can the fluids wear out the insides too?

 

[TiggerToo]

Just wondering if anyone has removed the loop the hoses go thru? It seems to very tight. I wish Kubota had just used the design from the LA434 for routing of the hoses. They have 90 degree fittings on the end of the hose and no loop for them to go thru.