Oil & Fuel what solvent do you clean the Suction screen with?

[robpm]

I am changing the transmission fluid on a JD 990. I have pulled out the suction screen and it has some gunk in it at one end and in other places etc. The manual says to remove it and clean it with a mild solvent and then let it dry. Does anyone know what they mean by a mild solvent or do you have a recommendation of what the mild solvent should be?

Will gasoline work or something like that or should I use something else?

Thanks

Rob

 

[robpm]

I saw on another forum that they had used carburetor cleaner.

"We checked the hoses and clamps and didn't find anything. A "farmer" friend pointed out where the screen on the suction side was; we drained the oil, pulled out the screen, cleaned it in a mechanic's carburetor cleaner, and it worked like new."

Rob

 

[bp fick]

I saw on another forum that they had used carburetor cleaner.

"We checked the hoses and clamps and didn't find anything. A "farmer" friend pointed out where the screen on the suction side was; we drained the oil, pulled out the screen, cleaned it in a mechanic's carburetor cleaner, and it worked like new."

Rob

Brake Kleen, or even gentle soap/water and gently blow dry.

 

[beenthere]

I'd use gas to clean it. Mainly to cut the oil film and then the fine steel particles would/should rinse right off. Dry it with air hose and good to go.

I suspect "mild" meaning nothing that could be corrosive to the steel mesh.

 

[EddieWalker]

Brake Cleaner works on any grease or oil. GREAT STUFF!!!!!

Eddie

 

[robpm]

I ended up using Basic H and water and it did a superb job. You mix it with water and it is used for degreasing engines etc. it cleaned it beautifully. Then after rinsing it off I used a hair dryer and got it all dry. It looked brand new. I will post some pictures of before and after for you.

 

[robpm]

Ok here are the pictures.

1. I bought this 2005, JD 990 TLB with174 hours on it and it looked just like brand new and it still does because I have only put 3 hours on it. The previous owner who purchased it brand new had changed the engine oil at 100 hours instead of the standard 50 hours. So it had been changed once in 174 hours. He had not touched the hydraulic oil and the manual states that it should be changed the first time at 50 hours as well but that did not get done. So I decided to change them. The JD oil for the transmission/hydraulics is no inexpensive oil. With filters and oil for engine and transmission plus a grease gun and 5 tubes of grease the cost came to a little over $200. The transmission takes 5.5 Gallons alone.

After emptying the oil from the engine all went normal as expected with the filter change and adding the 5.6 quarts of oil. Then it was on to the transmission/hydraulic system. I had sought to follow the manual and it tells you to use one of two drain plugs for emptying the oil. I used both since I had a nice big pan and I wanted to empty it as fast as possible. Once that was completed I removed the old filter and replaced it with the new filter. I removed the protective plate around it so that it would not get oil all over it when I removed the filter. It is only 3 bolts, 2 @ 13mm and 1 @ 12 mm. Then I removed the suction screen. After pulling the suction filter I found that it was filled with metal fillings on half of it and the other half did not look too bad but it had gunk on the ends. The manual said to use a mild solvent to clean the screen but does not suggest any. I searched on this forum and on the web and I could not find anywhere where someone discussed the solvent that they used apart from Carburetor cleaner. I really appreciated everyone's comments. At the end I used water with Basic H2. The basic H2 is from Shaklee. This did a superb job. I used juice bottle and cut the top off of it. Filled it with water and added the Basic H2 to it. Once that was ready i started dunking the filter and it cleaned off beautifully. I rinsed it quite a few times to make sure all the solvent had been removed and then dried it with a hair dryer. Once it was dry I put it back after cleaning everything around it thoroughly. I added 5.5 gallons of the low viscosity Hy-Gard hydraulic/transmission oil. Everything has worked well thus far after running it.

Thanks again for the advice. See the pictures which I took.

One last question and that has to do with the antifreeze. The unit is 6 years old at 177 hours. Should I change the antifreeze just to do a complete job? The manual says one should replace the thermostat every two years as well so if I do this job I should do that as well. Is it a wise thing if I do that to put an engine heater in it as well at this time. your thoughts will be welcome.

Thanks

Rob

 

[greg_g]

All my tractors over the years have been diesel powered. For jobs like that, I simply use diesel fuel.

//greg//

 

[JordanFTW]

I use brake cleaner... Works perfect!

 

[jonyyuma]

Imho, antifreeze should not be used over a few years, 5 at the most even with low hours. Look down the radiator neck and see if you can see any growth in the radiator? Old antifreeze can stop up the passages in the radiator and start eating on freeze plugs if left too long? I like to use a Flush compound and buy the best AF , you can afford? I am using Peak extended..