Jerky hydraulics on JD 5310

[drw]

I'm pulling my hair out on this one.

The hydraulics on my John Deere 5310 have been acting up for a while. It was a slow and steady increase in problems. It started with the FEL being jerky while raising. Then the steering became jerky. It finally got to the point where all the hydraulics just quit altogether.

There was plenty of oil according to the dipstick. So I emptied out the oil, replaced the filter, removed the screen in the back and cleaned it out, and filled it with new oil. After doing that, everything worked great! I cut the hay in my meadow but after about 2 hours on the tractor the steering started to get jerky again.

Within a few minutes the hydraulics pretty much quit. The loader won't hardly go up anymore.

One thing I noticed that's strange, when operating the hydraulics, I noted a strange sound coming from underneath, that sounded like a "pffth pffth pffth". Almost like air escaping.

Can anyone point me toward my next step in troubleshooting this?

 

[jd110]

There are several possibilities, but I think you need to check out the suction side of the circuit first. Depending on you serial number, the suction line can be two different styles. On both types there is a piece of hose that connects to the pump. That is the suction line hose. It is attached to a steel tube that connects to the filter housing. At the filter housing, the tube might be connected to another hose or it might fit into the housing with an oring seal. Also the filter housing is connected to the transmission case with a spacer and an oring between each joint. If the hose(s) or orings are not sealing properly, it can allow the pump to suck in air instead of oil. This causes severe hydraulic output deficiency.
I have attached images of both setups. Another place air can be sucked in is around the pump shaft seal. Since the pump is bolted to the engine, when air is sucked in around the seal, small amounts of engine oil can be sucked in also. If your transmssion oil is turning black like engine oil, that would be the place to check.

 

[drw]

Thanks for that starting point. I will check it out at first light tomorrow and see what I can find!

 

[JD5210]

Once you have determined how to fix the problem, please consider sharing your findings. Along with what was the condition of the pickup screen and old fluid and color of old fluid? Do think the sound that you are hearing is air getting in or something else?

 

[drw]

jd110, I looked and looked and can find no evidence of anything around the filter or pump not sealing properly.

2 of the 4 "remotes" in the back are kind of oily as if they've been leaking but I'm not sure if that's related in any way to this. I've never messed with them for anything.

Starting the tractor now, it's making much louder noises that before. It's impossible for me to describe the sound it's making, but it's not good. Kind of a cross between a groan and a screech.

The screen was fairly clean when I took it out. Didn't have much of anything on it.

The old fluid was milky and gunky.

 

[JD5210]

I am not a mechanic, so others feel free to speak up, but here I go.

If you still have the old filter, I would cut it open and see how it looks. My guess is that it is full of gunk. Based on the milky color water was in the old fluid. You might try and see if you can get a sample of the new fluid out, through the fill cap and see how it looks. My guess is that the tractor ran fine until the filter got plugged up and the sound you are hearing is the pump not getting fluid. I know fluid and the filter are not cheap, but I would consider replacing both. Others may have suggestions as to how to clean up the hydraulic system or at least the fluid if you want to try and reuse it.

As was already indicated there is an old and new version, but you may find the attachment of value.

 

[Tx Jim]

Does oil appear foamy? Could also be a leaking relief valve. Have you tried checking hyd system psi? I'd check psi when it works and when it quits working.

 

[drw]

Does oil appear foamy? Could also be a leaking relief valve. Have you tried checking hyd system psi? I'd check psi when it works and when it quits working.

The oil wasn't foamy at all that I could see. I don't know how to check if the relief valve is leaking but it seems that nothing under the tractor is leaking. Would that be an internal leak? And how do you even get access to the relief valve?

I haven't checked the PSI. I don't have the tools to do that.

 

[cowski]

that is exactly what mine is doing.i believe it is in the relief valve.when i get mine pulled ,i will let you know what i find.

 

[drw]

I took out the relief valve and it looks fine. Put it back and no change.

At this point, the only thing I can think of is that I have an air leak somewhere, perhaps one of my hoses is bad. I have a friend in town with a hydraulics shop and I'll be taking my tractor to him as soon as I get my trailer fixed.