4300 HST Hydraulics

[2_J_Marlin_Ranch]

I live in the northern part of the U.S.(about 30 miles from B.C.)in northcentral Washington state and the temperature is already showing signs of the upcoming winter (teens) and my Loader SCV stuck partially open in the up position while I was in my barn and just about took out one of my loft beams (with tons of hay overhead). I often make minor adjustments of the bucket from the side of the tractor when using the loader inside the barn cleaning horse stalls, however this occasion, the joystick or SCV felt very stiff and sticky in all positions. Is this a condition of the cold weather and the norm for such thin viscosity Hydro fluid or just the tractor and is there a remedy to resolve this condition? The SCV feels dramatically different in cooler weather. Should I run the tractor a bit to warm up the fluid and would this help?

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Couple years back... I had a Satoh with loader and @ -10 to -17 degrees... I had to let it run for about 45 minutes for the hydraulics to work properly.

With a common sump, you can turn the steering wheel all the way right or left and hold it for about 4 or 5 minutes... and this helps heat up the fluid... I don't think I would hold it in that position any longer than that... for fear of causing a pump problem...

Thank God... it doesn't go to -17 below too often....burrrrrrrrrrrrr /w3tcompact/icons/crazy.gif

 

[beenthere]

For the past two winters, I have not experienced anything similar to yours with my 4300 HST. The loader controls have worked quite well in sub-zero weather. The idea of warmingthe 4300 up a bit before operating in tight quarters sounds like a good one, until you get a better feeling for what is happening - oil too thick, controls not functioning properly, etc.

 

[luther]

I too had that problem last fall. After checking everything I found a lot of dirt and dust in linkage of control lever. I believe that moisture may condensate with dirt and caused it to stick. I power washed the linkage and sprayed with a lubricant and the problem disappeared.

 

[Anonymous Poster]

<font color=blue>...believe that moisture may condensate with dirt and caused it to stick...</font color=blue>

I agree... that's another problem in "sub-zero" temperatures... turns to ice...

JD also has a hydraulic transmission heater you can add to help your problem.

Is it Washington or Oregon that has all the rain and moisture in the air?

 

[TWINKLE_TOES]

<font color=blue>Is it Washington or Oregon that has all the rain and moisture in the air?</font color=blue>

John, North Central Washington does not see near the rainfall as Western Washington and Western Oregon. It does see more cold weather. The west side of the Cascade mountain range sees a lot of rain, high humidity and relatively mild temperature swings. 20 deg F temperatures occur infrequently. I think Oregon has more rain, why else would they name their football teams the "Beavers" and the "Ducks". Washington sticks to dry climate names like "Huskies" and "Cougars"
Al