YouTube Mechanics

I reveled in the sudden warm weather as I chugged along in my skid steer, basking in the light feeling that comes with wearing only four layers of clothes instead of eight.

I carried bales to my cows with the skid steer because something was wrong with my tractor, but I had delayed asking my mechanic to come diagnose the issue while every exposed piece of rubber, metal or skin would crack in the bitter cold.

The fuel gauge read half, but suddenly the skid steer coughed and sputtered, out of fuel.

One more gauge I couldn’t rely on, I thought to myself as I tromped across the snowy pasture, a mile back to the shop.

I dumped a can of diesel in the tank, primed it and turned the key.

Nothing.

Five tries later, I decided I needed another set of hands so I could prime while my mom turned the key.

Nope.

Time for YouTube.

A couple of online mechanics said skid steers have a fuel pickup line in the tank. Often, it breaks off, especially in cold weather.

That sounded like my problem.

The parts were in stock -- apparently this is a common issue.

Ginette, my friend from Butte, was headed to the ranch.

This repair job would be a perfect activity for her visit.

Skid steers are notorious for cramming the entire engine into tight spaces, but the YouTube mechanic showed that we could access the fuel line by raising the cab.

Lots of light to see and lots of room to maneuver.

We would pop off a rubber grommet that sealed the fuel tank, thread a new pickup hose into the tank, push the metal 90-degree fitting tightly into the rubber grommet, then reconnect the fuel line.

All without cracking a hose, tearing the grommet, bending the fitting or allowing dirt into the fuel tank.

In the middle of the breezy pasture.

Simple.

I picked out a variety of sizes of sockets, a couple of screwdrivers, a pry-bar and some rags, then drove through muddy, slippery snow, two gates and my potholed driveway out to the skid steer.

I didn’t have the right size wrench to unbolt the cab.

Dang.

Back to the shop.

Next, I had the right size but needed a deep socket instead of the shallow socket.

Geez, we couldn’t even reach the problem, much less fix it.

Desperate to avoid another trip to the shop, I discovered the tire-changing kit in my pickup had the right deep socket.

We lifted the cab to discover that the YouTube mechanic had been working on a different model.

My fuel tank could only be accessed by contorting arms, legs and backs to reach through a side panel.

Back to the shop for smaller wrenches to open the side panel.

It didn’t take long to replace the pickup hose, although our muscles would feel the effects of our contortions tomorrow.

Tightening the clamp on the fuel line proved to be the biggest challenge.

A screwdriver wouldn’t fit in the tiny space and we had to work by feel, blind to the screwdriver slot.

We got the clamp pretty tight and wondered if that was good enough.

I primed the fuel line, releasing air through the fuel filter, while Ginette started the skid steer.

It roared to life.

We grinned at our success.

It died.

It took a few more tries, Ginette’s suggestion to use a tiny socket instead of a screwdriver and yet another trip back to the shop before we got the clamp tight enough to prevent air in the line.

As I drove the skid steer home, I thanked YouTube once again for another unexpected educational opportunity.