Mitsubishi D1500 Transmission Draining

[Clyby]

Hello to all! I have posted some questions over the last few days and received some outstanding help. Thanks much to the members.

I am making some good progress on getting the manuals for this tractor. I am purchasing manuals for S630 -- I understand this is the closest to the D1500.

In the meantime I am trying to get as much done as possible. My current project is I am trying to change the transmission oil. My problem is I cannot figure out how to drain the transmission. On the lower right hand side is a plate with 4 screws. I assume this is the filter. A couple inches above that is a plug that I figure is a full level indicator. There are no other plugs on the transmission case that I can see... Frustating.

Is it possible that I need to drain the transmission by pulling the filter?? Or, the only other idea I have is the transmission is integrated with the wheel differentials and I have to drain it through those plugs. However, this does not seem to be the case because of the relative levels. It does not seem that I can get all the fluid out of the transmission if I drain the wheel differentials.

Anyway once again, I would appreciate ANY inputs.

Thanks!!

 

[oliver28472]

I'm not familiar with the 1500 but looking at google images there appears to be two different Mitsubishi D 1500 tractors. Which side is your exhaust on?

 

[Clyby]

I'm not familiar with the 1500 but looking at google images there appears to be two different Mitsubishi D 1500 tractors. Which side is your exhaust on?

My exhaust is on the left.

 

[Clyby]

Looks like there is very little info or help on this question concerning my tractor. Anyway while waiting for my manuals to arrive, I decided to drain the transmission by disconnecting the hydraulic line on the lower left side of the transmission. Since the fluid was milky I have also disconnected the supply line to the hydraulic pump to allow that to drain. The supply line fed into the top and the high pressure line came out the bottom of the pump. I disconnected the high pressure line from the bottom but the fluid in the pump did not drain so I turned the engine over about four times to purge the pump. Then I disconnected the high pressure line from the other end and using an air compressor blew out the fluid from the line.

I've read alot on this and people cussed and discussed using diesel, rubbing alcohol, transmission fluid, old oil, etc to clean out the system. I chose to go this low impact way and believe I have purged 99% of the contaminated fluid. My last step is to pour some new lubricant through the transmission and the pump and drain that out.

I would be interested to hear if anyone has any comments about this plan.. Please realize once again that I am totally new to tractors and am just trying to avoid doing something dumb. But this seems like a conservative way to fix the contaminated lubricant issue. In my mind, the whole problem is the tractor as set with minimum use for so long that the transmission fluid has suffered from extended moisture condensation. All I need to do is make sure to get all that fluid out and fresh clean fluid in. The seals in the hydraulic system seem perfect and I do not want to take a chance of doing something that will cause them to leak..

I should mention, I still haven't found the transmission filter. I am going to wait until my manuals arrive, but I think it is behind the plate with four bolts on the bottom of the right hand side of the transmission. I will not refill the transmission until I find and clean the filter.

Do you folks think this sounds reasonable??

Thanks again!

 

[284 International]

The filter on my D1800 is behind a plate on the left side of the transmission, where the suction line connects the hydraulic pump on the engine to the transmission housing. The circular plate unbolts, and there is a metal filter screen between the plate and the housing. However, on mine there are also reduction units where the rear wheels attach, and there are drain plugs in the bottom of each of those that need to be drained as well. There is quite a lot of fluid that is retained in the bottom of these machines, and it does not take much water in the fluid to make the entire system cloudy again.

Condensation is certainly a source of water contamination; the shifter boots are as well. On top of it, the majority of these tractors were originally run only once in awhile through rice paddies, sometimes as deep as the dashboard. Some amount of water is inevitable. One other option you have is to remove the top cover of the transmission, where the shift lever attaches, and then use a shop vac or rags or some other means to slop all the fluid out you can. You may also choose to let the transmission air out a little bit, if your climate is arid enough.

I think your ideas seem wise and a good idea. If you are able, take some photographs and share them so we can see what you're talking about exactly.

 

[Clyby]

The filter on my D1800 is behind a plate on the left side of the transmission, where the suction line connects the hydraulic pump on the engine to the transmission housing. The circular plate unbolts, and there is a metal filter screen between the plate and the housing. However, on mine there are also reduction units where the rear wheels attach, and there are drain plugs in the bottom of each of those that need to be drained as well. There is quite a lot of fluid that is retained in the bottom of these machines, and it does not take much water in the fluid to make the entire system cloudy again.

Condensation is certainly a source of water contamination; the shifter boots are as well. On top of it, the majority of these tractors were originally run only once in awhile through rice paddies, sometimes as deep as the dashboard. Some amount of water is inevitable. One other option you have is to remove the top cover of the transmission, where the shift lever attaches, and then use a shop vac or rags or some other means to slop all the fluid out you can. You may also choose to let the transmission air out a little bit, if your climate is arid enough.

I think your ideas seem wise and a good idea. If you are able, take some photographs and share them so we can see what you're talking about exactly.

I am continuing my project. I contacted Schaefer Town and Country Tractor. They are sending me the manuals for my D1500 and I think we are getting an English version of my exact tractor vs some similar model. Anyway, they were quite helpful. They looked at the parts book and could not find a drain plug. We agreed that I probably need to drain the transmission fluid using the Hydraulic suction line or, even more logically, pull the filter which as I have suspected all along is behind a plate with four bolts on the bottom of the right side of the transmission. We could not determine if the Wheel Differentials are integrated with the transmission. I think they are not. There are two plugs on the wheel differential, one lower and one upper (about and inch above). I believe these are separate from the transmission. The reason I say this is I unplugged the plugs on both sides and the fluid was NOT milky like the transmission fluid. So, I expect that I will need to fill each of these units to the level of the upper drain plug. Hopefully the manuals will clarify this.

In the meantime, I am trying to get all of the contaminated milky transmission fluid out of the transmission. I have shot compressed air into the transmission fill hole, that helped. I have also jacked the front end up pretty high and this helped also.

My next plan is once I get the user's manual and figure out exactly what fluid the transmission takes, I will put some new fluid in (up to a gallon) then redrain. Hopefully this will get almost all of the contaminated oil out.... I am pretty sure the manual will call for something like 90 wt gear oil which is not cheap so I don't want to have to repeat this too much.

Anyway, I would appreciate comments and suggestions!

 

[skylarkguy]

I think you might find that there are a lot of little spaces that contaminated fluid will settle. At a minimum you might consider putting in some 90% alcohol to help disburse any water that remains in the case when you fill it up with new fluid. Also my manual called for 90wt oil as well but in talking with some local guys they suggested UTF. I put that in instead and the hydraulics work much better (faster).

 

[Clyby]

I think you might find that there are a lot of little spaces that contaminated fluid will settle. At a minimum you might consider putting in some 90% alcohol to help disburse any water that remains in the case when you fill it up with new fluid. Also my manual called for 90wt oil as well but in talking with some local guys they suggested UTF. I put that in instead and the hydraulics work much better (faster).

Thanks for this recommendation. How much alcohol would you suggest per gallon of transmission fluid? Also, what UTF did you use? Isn't that significantly thinner than 90 wt gear oil?

 

[skylarkguy]

The UTF I used was a napa branded good stuff. It runs about $50 per 5 gallon bucket. It seems to meet all the major manufacturers specifications. I originally did what you are doing. Drain the old fluid and flush with gear oil. I was disappointed to find it cloudy again essentially immediately after the first use. I then flushed the whole system with a quart of ATF, 2 pints of alcohol and a bit of diesel fuel. I ran it for a bit then drained and added UTF. It has been clean ever since. So I think a couple pints of 90% should do it. The UTF is thinner when pouring it out but apparently is about the same viscosity as 90w at temp.

 

[crfebres]

Pull the filter by removing the 4 bolts and the cover. The filter is attached to the cover plate. Please pull it straight out trying mot to angle it or it may scrape on its side and tear the wire mesh cover. The filter is a perforated hollow brass cylinder with a thin wire mesh screen cover welded to it. If you scrape it may tear the screen (I now have a tear exposing 2 of the holes). I drained almost 5 gallons (not quarts). My Satoh book says to use "SAE #80 GEAR OIL (same as transmission oil)". If I can find a new filter I am thinking about cutting a square if wire mesh the size of the outside of the cylinder; the cylinder has ends with a smaller diameter holes, so once it unrolls the mesh springs open and stays put. Hope this helps.