[KG46423]

My 318 came with absolutely no leaks whatsoever and it sat for probably a month with the snowblower attached waiting for some snow. All of a sudden now, without me touching anything it has decided to leak out of both hydraulic ports quite badly. It only leaks when the snowblower is hooked up so naturally just change out the O rings right? Wrong, replacing the O rings did absolutely nothing it still leaks terribly.

The weird part is that if you turn on the tractor and lift the snowblower up and down a bunch of times it starts as a steady stream pouring out of the bottom of the connectors but then as the system builds pressure it slows down until it eventually goes away entirely. Then when you shut the tractor off it starts dripping after about 5 minutes and it gets worse and worse until you either disconnect the hose or all the fluid that's pooled up in the bend in the pipe drains out.

So my questions are:

What would cause the connectors to start leaking all of a sudden when they've been fine for a month and nothing has been touched?

Besides the O rings what else would cause it to only leak with something connected to it and why does it only leak when there is no pressure in the system?

And finally does this mean I just need new connectors all together?

 

[CCMoe]

Sounds like it might be time to invest in some new connectors.

Possible nick or dent, scratch from being drug moving blower.

It's a fitting, it doesn't take much, air hoses do the same thing, start leaking as time goes by.

CCMoe

 

[PA318Guy]

I would at least take off the connectors and clean them thoroughly and try them again, likely it's something keeping the end valve from closing properly. If that doesn't fix it then likely new connectors are in order.

 

[KG46423]

I have figured out the problem, when I took the connectors off and got a good look inside I noticed that both the O rings had a high spot in them on the bottom. Upon removing them for the second time I found that there was a whole bunch of ice stuck in the bottom of the groove where the O ring goes. My garage is not heated so this is hardly surprising and I didn't notice it the first time as I replaced the O rings with the blower still attached so I couldn't really see inside the connectors very well. My guess is somehow water got in there and as the temperature dropped it froze up and expanded preventing the O rings from sealing properly and I guess once the system built up enough pressure it would push them back and seal them up again while the tractor was on. Gave the couplers a thorough cleaning and put them back on and everything worked fine.

Unfortunately this meant buying another set of O rings as even with the tool there seems to be no way to take these things out without totally destroying them. Anyways no leaks now and just in time for the big storm!

 

[PA318Guy]

Glad it was an easy on the wallet fix!

 

[inspectorudy]

I just order a set of new "O" rings for the 420. I do not know if it leaks or not but for $8 why not.

 

[RussKish]

It should be listed as one item that you keep a small stock in your garage/shop just in case and multiplied by the number of tractors in your herd. So now I keep 6 sets (front and rear kits) for each tractor. Along with shear bolts for the equipment.