Oil & Fuel 2320 Hydraulics Question..

[thatguy]

I finished mowing today with the temps in the 90's.. After I let it idle while putting down the ROPS I saw a small puddle of fluid on the driveway..

Upon closer inspection it appeared to be hydraulic oil coming from someowhere in the rear end on the right hand side - high up almost just below the seat, but not from the fill tube.

I wiped the area down and it has not leaked anymore - i put a piece of paper under it, .. So Im not sure if it was just leaking when it was under pressure or not.. tomorrow I will clean it up better and let it idle to see if leaks again..

1) the sight glass is showing very full (only a small bubble at the very top) - If I had had overfilled it when I changed the fluid a month ago, is there a pressure relief valve or something that could be letting out excess fluid since it was very hot?

2) I switched from 'green grease' to a lithium-moly from Advance Auto and I noticed my grease gun had leaked a liquid out of it - which the green grease never did.. There was also some grease on the underside of the tractor from the MMM.. Could the MMM have thrown off excess grease and it melted (like it did in the gun) and leaked down?

other thoughts.. ideas?

Brian

 

[tomd999]

Hi,

Most likely from a case vent. When you changed/checked your hyd fluid level did you have your 3pt all the way down? If you had it up, even a little and filled to the full level, once you lower the hitch down, your level jumps to overfilled.

Tom

Afterthrought: Have you noticed any difference with the Amsoil hyd and gear oils in your tractor?

 

[thatguy]

I dont remember where the 3pt was when I changed the oil.. BUT the sight glass was only 1/2 way full..

Then again.. I have noticed that sometimes its full and then sometimes 1/2 way full - but never gave a thought to the 3pt position..

Should I drain some out of it or let it vent out itself?

thanks

brian

Hi,

Most likely from a case vent. When you changed/checked your hyd fluid level did you have your 3pt all the way down? If you had it up, even a little and filled to the full level, once you lower the hitch down, your level jumps to overfilled.

Tom

Afterthrought: Have you noticed any difference with the Amsoil hyd and gear oils in your tractor?

 

[tomd999]

Hi,

I would check it with the 3pt down and see where you stand. Level ground, loader down and bucket level. Not sure if the 2320 has one but the 25 and 2720's have dipsticks to check the hyd fluid level in addition to the sight glass.

A little high shouldn't hurt anything but check your owners manual, if it says the hyd system on the 2320 takes 4 gallons and you used 5 when refilling, you have too much in there. ;-)

Tom

 

[thatguy]

Hi,

I would check it with the 3pt down and see where you stand. Level ground, loader down and bucket level. Not sure if the 2320 has one but the 25 and 2720's have dipsticks to check the hyd fluid level in addition to the sight glass.

A little high shouldn't hurt anything but check your owners manual, if it says the hyd system on the 2320 takes 4 gallons and you used 5 when refilling, you have too much in there. ;-)

Tom

At the 50 hr mark I overfilled it on accident.. .. BUT this time (250 hrs) I measured what I took out and put the same amount back in (or very close to it).. BUT before the sight glass was showing 1/2 full and soon after the change it started showing full..

brian

 

[thatguy]

Tomd999 was correct.. the oil was showing 1/2 full in the glass with the 3pt up.. I let it down and watched as the glass filled up... I ended up drained a cup or 2 out of it (3pt down) and now its just below 1/2 full in the glass..

I did end up taking the seat and some of the other stuff under the seat off to see if I could find the source of the leak - but I never saw it.. BUT Im glad that I did - there was a LOT of grass under their that needed to be blow out..

I will have to mow sometime next week and will see if it still leaks - Im guessing (and hoping) that it wont.

thanks for the help

 

[thatguy]

WELL.. the problem was NOT an overfilled hydraulic oil issues..

Mowed again today and it had a very steady drip coming out of it afterward.. It appears that it is near the top of the rear axle/transmission (behind the FEL controls)..

I got the seat, seat base, seat liner (plastic piece), and what the seat base bolts to off tonight so I could get a better look at everything.. I can only see where it was running though since once you cut the tractor off it quits leaking..

I cleaned everything off nicely so the leak can be identified.. BUT I need to get the floorboard off the tractor so I can see the area from another angle..

how do you remove the height control knob and the floorboard on a 2320? it appear that the knob needs to come off so I can remove the floorboard (which looks pretty straight forward with a few bolts on each side)..

thanks

b

 

[cttractor]

WELL.. the problem was NOT an overfilled hydraulic oil issues..

Mowed again today and it had a very steady drip coming out of it afterward.. It appears that it is near the top of the rear axle/transmission (behind the FEL controls)..

I got the seat, seat base, seat liner (plastic piece), and what the seat base bolts to off tonight so I could get a better look at everything.. I can only see where it was running though since once you cut the tractor off it quits leaking..

I cleaned everything off nicely so the leak can be identified.. BUT I need to get the floorboard off the tractor so I can see the area from another angle..

how do you remove the height control knob and the floorboard on a 2320? it appear that the knob needs to come off so I can remove the floorboard (which looks pretty straight forward with a few bolts on each side)..

thanks

b

The mower height knob just slides off. If you have difficulty, place a long handled screwdriver with the center shaft of the screwdriver under the knob and gently lift up.

The floorboard is somewhat more involved. It has several 12mm bolts around it that must be removed. You'll also have to remove the forward and reverse pedals, the SCV lever, and the lower shroud of the control panel (the one where the Parking Brake and Cruise Control levers are). That requires that you at least loosen the Control Panel itself.

If you have any other reason to open this stuff up, such as running any wires from the Control Panel to the rear of the tractor, this is a great time to do it while it's opened up.

 

[cttractor]

WELL.. the problem was NOT an overfilled hydraulic oil issues..

how do you remove the height control knob and the floorboard on a 2320? it appear that the knob needs to come off so I can remove the floorboard (which looks pretty straight forward with a few bolts on each side)..

thanks

b

Forgot to mention that you'll also have to remove the Rate of Drop knob. It has two 14mm nuts, one as part of the knob itself and one that acts as a jam nut. If you don't have two 14mm open-end wrenches, use one 14mm and one 9/16 open-end wrench; it's very close and will work fine without rounding over the edges of the nut.

 

[thatguy]

Thanks CTTractor.. I appreciate the help -

I got the floorboard loose enough that I can look under it and theres not much to see there.. everything is dusty so the leak is not coming from there.. so i dont have to take the dash apart to get the floorboard off - IF i had a temp guage i would install it when the dash was to come apart though.. LOL

I've got the tractor running for over 30 minutes and its still not leaking..

I may just have to put it all back together and then mowe next week - and take it back apart then so see if i can see where its leaking..

thanks so much

b