More 1845 Problems

[ernemats]

Yesterday evening my wife was mowing and she said it started making a squealing sound and she drove it about 50 yards and then decided she had better shut it off. I checked it and the hydraulic tank was almost empty and you could see a track of oil where it had been driven and where it was sitting there was quite a bit of oil on the ground. I think it is probably a leaking hose fitting or a hole in the hose, but I cannot see any. How is the best way to find a leak?

 

[m5040]

First and most important is that a leaking hyd hose under pressure under the right circumstances can spray an almost invisible stream that can penetrate your skin! So don't use your hand to feel for leaks.
Fill the reservoir and check for leaks, if none clean/dry up the area and briefly start the engine and shut it down, look for flowing oil. Increase the time you run the engine until you find the leak, IF none then start using different controls until you find a leak. For example if it is not leaking at idle, switch on the PTO and see if the leak starts, if not, then try steering it or releasing the brakes or raising the loader arms etc.

 

[ponytug]

+1 on @m5040's suggestions.

One thing to do now, is to look on the ground and then under the tractor to try to see which drain hole is the source. Depending on how level the tractor is at the moment, that may, or may not, be helpful, but it might sort out a front end (steering/aux/FEL/front motor) leak, from an engine compartment leak.

I would add that I find it useful to power wash the engine compartment and dry it out before trying to find leaks. By the sound of it, what you are trying to find is not small. After a couple of leaks, I have gotten in the habit of keeping the engine bay pretty clean, so I notice leaks at the damp/slow weep stage, but sometimes it is just that a metal nose end cracks, and you suddenly have a big leak.

Good luck!

All the best,

Peter

 

[ernemats]

Tractor is sitting on a side slope with the driver side down hill and the oil has been leaking out the hole where the drain hole is for the engine. It is out in the middle of the field a good ways from water or electric sources When she was driving it across the field steering was ok and mower was still working. front arms were still holding mower up even after taking mower off they held position.

 

[ponytug]

Well that would seem to narrow the areas quite a bit. I would think about starting to look at the uphill motor and its connections, and perhaps the hose connecting the left side to the right side. I would also look over the hose fittings on the pump.

Pictures might help.

When I have had a motor blow a seal, oil pours out pretty quickly.

All the best,

Peter

 

[m5040]

It would be helpful to look it over now with a fine tooth comb as the old saying goes. With gloves move the hoses around to see under each, especially where they may be chaffing with another hose or a sharp edge. They can wear right through and burst under a load. Hose may have metal wires coming out.
You will need to refill the hyd tank and look, it may start leaking as you are doing it! It is a messy job, but you gotta get it done.
Just FYI, are you aware they have a tow valve so you can move it closer to civilization?

 

[ernemats]

Have not done any checking yet but will do possibly today. One thing that does not make much sense to me is that both rear wheels have oil on the inside side walls and there is some oil on part of the cooling fan for the hydraulics and the top of the pumps are dry. I plan on jacking up the lower side to get it level and then drain oil lying on bottom of the tub, clean it as much as I can and check for leaks .

 

[ponytug]

Have not done any checking yet but will do possibly today. One thing that does not make much sense to me is that both rear wheels have oil on the inside side walls and there is some oil on part of the cooling fan for the hydraulics and the top of the pumps are dry. I plan on jacking up the lower side to get it level and then drain oil lying on bottom of the tub, clean it as much as I can and check for leaks .

If the cooler has oil on it and the engine doesn't, I would start looking at the cooler. They can slip downwards and rub, causing a leak, or the fittings could get loose or crack.

I suspect that both motors having oil is probably related to oil sloshing around, and not necessarily a sign of trouble for both motors. One, perhaps.

Good luck.As @m5040 points out, you probably need to get it clean, look around, for leaks. If you don't find any leaks, then refill, check, if you don't find any leaks, then power up briefly, if you haven't found anything yet.

Good luck,

Peter

 

[MossRoad]

One thing I have found very useful is oil leak detector.

You can get a kit at Autozone, Amazon, etc..
Dye, flashlight, UV glasses.

It's a UV dye you add to the oil. Then use a UV light to look for the source while wearing the glasses.

So you'd clean the engine bay judiciously to get as much oil and grime out of it as you can and dried out. Then you refill the oil reservoir. Start the tractor up and let it run just a minute or so, and then check the engine bay with the UV light. You'll see the leak source pretty quickly.

If you don't see it, run it again for another minute and repeat.

I do this at night, or in a dark garage, because it's hard to detect in daylight.

I've used it on engine oil, hydraulics, antifreeze/coolant systems, etc.

Might be worth a try.

 

[ernemats]

A little update. Today I cleaned tub the best I could where it is located, then this evening about dark my grandsons and I started it up and let it run for a minute or so no leaks could be seen , turned steering slightly , raised the lift arms nothing. I had removed the mower so did not check the pto circuit. The oil tank has about 5 inches of fluid in it yet so I did not add any yet as I did not have any in ,stock, will get some tomorrow . Before I did anything today I jacked the lower side up to almost level. We are leaning toward wheel unit circuit lines .