Rusty hydraulic lines - what to do?

[timsch]

I'm working to restore a pretty weathered L275DT. The images below are of the hydraulic lines, which are pretty rusty. One guy I know who knows a few things said that rust like that could wind up contaminating the fluid. I'm skeptical about that unless the rust gets so bad it works its way through the line, at which time I'd imagine it would not hold pressure. Anyway, better safe than sorry - Is there something I should do about this? If so, what are my options? Thanks.

 

[D2Cat]

I use a wire brush to get off all loose material, then spray it with this. I just put it in a spray bottle and spritz it on. It looks expensive, but a gallon goes a long ways.

https://www.amazon.com/SKYBRYTE-COM...D=415bTLx2sdL&preST=_SY300_QL70_&dpSrc=detail

 

[timsch]

I've got a gallon+ of that stuff. It converts the rust into a primer, but it's not a stand-alone product. Are you recommending painting the pressure lines?

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

No amount of surface rust is going to "contaminate the hydraulic fluid", take apart any fitting or line and the interior will be shinny and new, something about it being coated in oil will do that.

I soda blast stuff like that then treat the metal with SKYBRYTE, then prime with zinc primer, then paint.

 

[timsch]

No amount of surface rust is going to "contaminate the hydraulic fluid", take apart any fitting or line and the interior will be shinny and new, something about it being coated in oil will do that.

I soda blast stuff like that then treat the metal with SKYBRYTE, then prime with zinc primer, then paint.

Sounds good. Thanks for the advice.

 

[hope to float]

No rust there. Paint it with a little burnt oil if you are worried.