The air filters for the JCB backhoe came in and I was asked to find and repair a hydraulic leak. I got to learn how to run the backhoe myself and also figure out how to repair the lines. First I put the frontloader back together again so I could get it running. Then I put in 5 gallons of diesel. Next it was time to figure out how to run this thing. It was parked under a low roof and nestled in tightly on all sides so I had to be very careful not to damage anything with the front bucket or the backhoe. Getting the machine running was easy. I turned on the two toggle switches and pushed a black button and the tractor was running nicely. The problem was trying to figure out how to shut it off. With all the old rusty controls and knobs I had a bit of a time finding the shut off knob. It is a little pull knob near the floor which is barely noticeable. Then figuring out how to run the backhoe and front bucket was just a matter of very carefully testing all the knobs and controls until I knew what each one did. I pulled the backhoe out into the driveway so I could look for the hydraulic leak. This was no problem at all because there was a literal stream running out of the bottom of the tractor. I had to quickly put a catch pan under the machine to catch all the oil running out and then I was able to trace the leak up into the belly of the tractor to a hose which had blown out. The hose came off easily but then I had to figure out how to repair it fast. The JCB was needed for the afternoon and I had to get it running with no spare parts if possible because we had no time to order them and wait. Fortunately the hose was only broken at the connection and this was an old style which can be unscrewed and the repaired by cutting off the bad end of the hose and screwing the whole thing back together. I put the hose on the tractor and fired it up. It ran well and there were no more leaks. It felt good to learn how to maintain and operate a new machine all on my own. The forum has a chat room for anyone who wants to comment on this or any other video: http://www.thediyworld.com/forum The Off Grid Project is presented by The Do It Yourself World. http://www.TheDIYworld.com Experiments and projects in off grid living, alternate energy, survival, hiking and more.

• published: 22 Jan 2014
• views: 8444