Case Ingersoll 446

My 446 started spewing oil out of the hydraulic system. I could not see where it was coming from so I put the machine away.Today I pulled the mower deck off and got underneath and all I could see was oil on top of what looks like part of the steering mechanism. I would guess it is the hose from the pump to the control valve. The tractor was not being abused when this happened. I can't really see where anything could have worn a hole in the hose. and the oil did not all dump out right away. I looked in the tank and I can still see oil, not much.

Should I guess it is the hose or should I put in a couple of quarts of oil and start it up and see if I can see where it is actually coming from? Any suggestions?

Hydraulic hoses will fail from aging.

You need to use something like Simple Green and then water from the garden hose to clean off all of the oil and grime in that area. Then use compressed air to dry it off. If you don't have an air compressor, use your shop vac with the hose on the exhaust side or a hair dryer.

Then put a couple of quarts of 15W40 into the reservoir. With the hood open and the pump area brightly illuminated, start the engine and watch for any leaks.

Tom, that 446 has the onan engine in it, you can't see a thing with the hood open. and you can see very little under the tractor. How anybody can get to that area is a mystery to me so far. I will use the oil to find the leak.

Over the years I have had two hoae failures. Both were 200 series tractors with different amounts of use. In both situations the pressure hose rubbed slightly against steel frame and vibration eventually wore thru until pressure burst oil out. Vibration comes from 3 sources, all in the same area, engine being the most,steering and hydraulic lift cycling. Check your hoses.

The pressure hose you are talking about I would assume is the one from the pump to the control valve. That one does lay on top of some steering mechanism and that is where I am leaning the oil is coming from. I am going to add some oil today and make sure. This tractor has the Onan engine and I can't see anyway to get that hose off the pump. Maybe disconnecting the hose from the control valve, taking loose and removing what in necessary and sliding the engine ahead. Then maybe the hose could be removed from the pump???????

Orville,
That is exactly why I gave you the advice I did. Depending upon where the leak actually is, it can be tricky to pin down because of the limited space, limited viewing and the fact that oil tends to go everywhere. And no... there is no manual for removing the pump and you do not remove the pump just to change out the high pressure supply hose. And yes... it is a pain in the butt to change that hose and that is why you need to know for certain that the high pressure hose is the real problem and not the low pressure J-hose between the tank and the pump inlet or a bad front seal on the pump or a loose connection.

Take the time to figure out which part failed before jumping to conclusions and taking stuff apart that may not need to come apart.

Tom, you are good. I did not think about the suction from the tank. I do figure on pin pointing the leak before I really start taking anything apart. I did see a manual for getting to the pump, I thought if you can get to the pump you can get to the high pressure hose. If it is the high pressure hose can it really be taken off and re-connected through the access panel on the tower? Doesn't look like enough room to get your hands in and start the hose. That tractor needs an access panel on the left side of the tower.

a set of angle wrenches in the correct sizes are really handy when working on hydraulics. I've changed that hose and couldn't do it without them. But, like Tom said: be sure what needs to be done before breaking out the tools.

Yes, it is very tight in there. You should be happy that you own a 446 that has the removable dash panel. That did not happen for many years after Case began building these tractors. Changing out either hose is not a simple task when you don't have the hands of a small child but with perseverance it can be done. The 2nd problem is that of getting suitable wrenches for this task. The elbow going into the pump is an O-Ring Boss (ORB) type. That means you thread the fitting into the pump body several turns until the O-ring is reached. Then, while holding the fitting from rotating, you use another wrench to tighten the compression nut against the large washer to squeeze the O-ring against the Boss that is machined into the pump.

To remove the high pressure hose, you need to loosen the fitting at the hose end that goes into the Travel/Lift valve and then undo it totally. This will take the hose pressure off the end that goes into the pump and make that much easier to remove. If it turns out that the high pressure hose is at fault then I urge you to buy a new one from an Ingersoll dealer. I have given you one in the link below. There is no room for error when it comes to the length of this hose or the fittings used. This hose is tough enough to deal with when you have the correct hose so do not make the error of having one made, only to find out that it isn't quite right.

Same holds true for the J-hose. Those are famous for having clamps loosen over time so check how tight the clamps are first. That is a factory molded hose to deal with a very tight spot. It isn't cheap to buy but they do last for a long, long time.

Pulling the Onan is not as tough as you might think. It can be done in less than an hour and then you will have lots of room to deal with the hoses. But first...be certain as to where the problem is. I have also seen plastic oil reservoirs that leaked, allowing oil to drip all over the pump. You have a tractor that is at least 27 years old and anything is possible.
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Tom, with the access panel off and putting the tractor in forward travel I could see oil shooting out from the high pressure hose about an inch above where the hose lays on the steering support brace. I would have bet it would leak where it had laid on the brace or bracket if that was the leaking hose. Looks like I might have to modify a 7/8 open end wrench to get the hose off and back on. I already have a modified one inch wrench for the hose fitting underneath. Now for the fun part, putting a new hose back on. Getting the old one off should be easier. thanks Tom

Ken, I was going to ask you what is angle wrenches, but I googled it. I do have one 9/16 snap-on angle wrench. I made one for the one inch on the underneath side of the hose. Just one end though. Care to share how you got the upper end of that hose started. It does not look like fun. I had my son help me get that hose started on a 78, 444 when that hose burst.