Dirty hydraulic fluid problems...

[adegiulio]

So, I was adding some fluid from a 5 gallon pail. When I got near the bottom of the pail, a whole bunch of gunk slid out of the pail and into the tractor. Of course, the tractor did not like that. Jerky movement, no lifting power, and difficult steering...I swapped out both filters and cleaned the screen. It helped a little, but the problem came back, only less severe. I decided to clean the screen again. That helped a lot with the loader lifting power and the tranny, but the steering is still very tough.

Any hints on what to do now??

Thanks in advance..

 

[kennyd]

Any idea's what was in the bucket? Was this used fluid?

I would do a full system flush and fill with some NEW fluid.

 

[adegiulio]

Yeah, I dont know what was in the bucket. It was fresh fluid (or so I thought). I already emptied the old fluid and refilled with fresh new fluid.

Thank you

 

[Scooby074]

What kind of fluid was it (brand)? There shouldn't be sludge in the bottom of a quality fluid. Sounds like this was old stuff with who knows what in it. Its probably worth draining and refilling with known good fluid too. Id try to flush the system out. Maybe try removing the hoses from the steering cylinders and flush some of the fluid out there since steering is giving you the problems now.

You got to be really careful with what you put into a hydraulic system ( as im sure you know) if there is any doubt or the product isnt sealed when you get it, then you shouldnt use the product. It should be clean, like operating room clean, if you dont want problems in the future.

 

[AKfish]

I would do a full system flush and fill with some NEW fluid.

What's a "full system flush"? Is there another fluid type (not straight-up hyd fluid) that is used to clean out a contaminated hyd system?

Stuff like this happens often... I'd hate to think that the only way to deal with the problem is to pour in $12-14/gallon hyd fluid and $50-75 filters; run for a couple hours and dump. And repeat as necessary until the problem goes away...

Thanks.

AKfish

 

[Scooby074]

What's a "full system flush"? Is there another fluid type (not straight-up hyd fluid) that is used to clean out a contaminated hyd system?

Stuff like this happens often... I'd hate to think that the only way to deal with the problem is to pour in $12-14/gallon hyd fluid and $50-75 filters; run for a couple hours and dump. And repeat as necessary until the problem goes away...

Thanks.

AKfish

Unfortunately thats about the only way i know for somebody to do it at home. I wouldnt want to try mixing in any other type of cheaper fluids directly into a hydraulic system. Yes its going to be expensive , but hydraulic parts are more so. After flushing out whatever lines could be removed with mineral spirits,I used to go through many gallons of hydraulic fluid flushing systems. This was after a hydraulic motor would "blow" and the whole system was potentially contaminated. Granted, for the price of these motors and pumps, you could purchase a very nice CUT. If you were in a shop, you could use a portable filler/pump to suck out, clean and recycle the fluid.

 

[DanD78]

On my 3320 there is an in line strainer on the left side of the engine just behind the hydraulic pumps and another on the power beyond line on the back of the tractor. you might look for those and clean them. Maybe that is the screen you are talking about.

Dan

 

[adegiulio]

Yes, there is a long cylindrical screen that extends into the holding tank. I cleaned it with mineral spirits (twice), in addition to changing the two filters. The problem seems to be concentrated with the steering now, as all other functions are working fine...