CAT304E CR (TTN) (2013) - Tips for finding a hose on the manifold

[jzampieron]

Hi all.
I blew the boom cylinder extension hose on my CAT304E CR. I am trying to find the "other end" at the manifold to cap it so I can move the machine up to my shop for a proper repair.

The usual "pull the hose and look for wiggle" trick didn't work, probably b/c the hose is anchored somewhere I can't see in the field.

Checked the schematics and machine views and the hose shown in dark green _should_ be the right one, but removing and capping what I thought was that line didn't stop the fluid flow.

I believe it's circuit A4 shown on UENR1597-01, but the picture on page 9 doesn't really match my machine.

Any ideas on how to find where the hose connects to the manifold?

 

[Nige]

Is this any help.?
Of the two hoses for the lift cylinders the green-tagged #4 goes to the rear of the control valve compared to hose #5.

 

[jzampieron]

Yes, Very helpful. Super appreciated.

Going to see if either or both of those is the "other end" today after work once the rain dries up.
It sure would be nice if the hoses had numbered markings on each end that matched the schematics. Would make it trivially easy to find these things. Shame on the CAT engineers for not doing this stuff.

DFM (design for mfg.) needs to be DFM2 (design for mfg & maintenance).

 

[Nige]

Simple answer. The documentation (parts manuals, schematics, etc) is all out there. If I was in their shoes I would have to work under the premise that anyone working in the machine had access to said documentation.

 

[jzampieron]

Was able to try this out tonight. The "left" hose labeled "A" was the other end of the boom lift cylinder extension.

Success!

A little bit hard to remove the hose from the manifold block b/c getting a wrench in there is challenging. I ended up cutting a notch in a 21mm 12pt socket and making a tool.

CAT must have some kind of special wrench to fit on the ends of those.

 

[Nige]

CAT must have some kind of special wrench to fit on the ends of those.

Not necessarily. It is not unusual to have to disconnect half a dozen hoses before you can get a spanner on the one you really want to remove. Unfortunately it's a fact of life with a "Lawns & Gardens" size of machine.

 

[HATCHEQUIP]

Just the right size for taking up biscuits

 

[jzampieron]

Lawn & Garden... haha... yeah. I'm learning the 2x bigger rule with heavy equipment.

As soon as you put about 10 hours on a new to you machine you realize you want to buy the version twice as large.

I'd love to have a CAT 308, but my wife would kill me.

 

[Nige]

An old work colleague of mine in a former life once opined - "if you can't walk underneath it it's not worth working on". How true........