I started to add a daily coping tip to the SQLServerCentral newsletter and to the Community Circle, which is helping me deal with the issues in the world. I’m adding my responses for each day here. All my coping tips are under this tag.
Today’s tip is to learn a new skill from a friend or share one of yours with them.
I tend to be someone that does quite a bit myself. I’ve changed oil, brakes, replaced fence posts, built sheds, wired electrical lights. I tend to use YouTube and forums to learn how to do things, and as long as I’m not placing someone in danger or trying to work in a hurry, I usually see if I can fix things myself. I’ll share a skill I learned recently.
I have had a tractor for about 15 years. I can grease fittings and fill fluids, but I use a local handyman to do service on the tractor. I don’t want to make mistakes here. In that time, he’s replaced the hoses from the controller to the various lift points on the front loaded. I’ve watched and helped him do that, but had never messed with the hydraulic system.
A couple weeks ago, I was cutting grass and went to life the loaded higher. Fluid spurted out from some hoses and it wouldn’t life. I finished cutting the small area left and then drove back to the house. I got a stool and looked over the forks (I couldn’t reposition things) and saw that one of the metal hydraulic lines was split. I’ve never worked on these, and never had to deal with the combination of flexible hose and rigid metal pipe.
It didn’t look too complex, and I called my guy. He says that he couldn’t get out for a few days, but that I should be able to use a couple wrenches and loosen things, but be careful about bending the pipes. I looked online at a few message boards, and they had similar advice, noting that I shouldn’t need to bleed this particular system. I was worried about that.
I ended up taking apart a bunch of nuts and bolts, getting the pipe loose from the flexible hoses on each side and drove to an auto parts store in town that makes hydraulic hoses. He didn’t have rigid pipe, nor did he have the connectors. Supply chains being what they are. He did recommend a place in the next town.
I got up at 630a the next day and drove over, getting a flexible hose built. They didn’t have the right compression fitting for rigid. I managed to get back, and then had to re-install the guides, thread the flexible hose over top, since it was thicker, and then then zip-tying the hose down. You can kind of see it here.
I added fluid, ran the engine a bit, went up and down a few times, then rechecked fluid. Things seemed to work, and I learned that working with the hydraulics isn’t that hard, but it is messy. Have lots of rags nearby, wear older clothes, and make sure fittings are tight.