Skid Steer Oil Contamination

[Rgillard]

Some of the other guys here are talking about using a mix of oil and alcohol as a flushing fluid mix... I have ordered a new sump plug and gasket but I wont have them until early next week. Out of the 39 litres that are in the system I only got 24 out so there is still 33% contaminated oil, and that was also by dropping the loader arms with gravity. I am sure that this 15l will discolour the good oil fairly quickly. I done a small test by mixing oil and water and it takes very little to turn the oil murky. At the moment the machine is not usuable as the sump plug has a bar welded to it. Here is my plan

1. Wait until the new plug and gasket arrive
2. Add two pints of 99.7% isopropanol alcohol to the tank
3. Run the skid steer for 5 minutes hard...(have to find something to dig). I was going to make up a pipe that directly connects the auxilary lines together so that I could flush them lines also.
4. Drain the system after 5 minutes ( lowering loader arms under gravity again to remove as much as possible)
5. Replenish the system with new oil and filter.
6. Maybe I could add some alcohol to the system when it is hot to try and remove the last bit of water.....

Why are you putting in the alcohol if you are just going to drain it out?

I like to put it in after I get it hot and am going to be working it hard for a while for water remove. There is no reason to drain it out that I know about because it just evaporates taking the water with it.

Sometimes I use Sea Foam for water removable because the cleaner and alcohol just evaporate but in the process of removing some water it also cleans any dirt from valve bodies, etc.

 

[20 20]

Looks like you've got everything covered, sorry to here about the plug, quess that is one of the joys of owning equipment. I would do what you wrote, running and draining, that way when everything is done you'll be much better off.

 

[Soundguy]

I eventually got the sump plug removed...ended up going down the welding route....it was midnight so I dropped the oil and replenished it with oil and got the system free of air...i need a new sump plug now so I didn't add the alcohol yet....will it be ok to add the alcohol just before I drain what's in it now...I didn't want to leave the system without oil so that's why I refilled it....it's nice to look at the oil level sight and see the right colour liquid rather than milk

preferably you would have added the alcohol, then ran it, then drained it.

 

[Soundguy]

Some of the other guys here are talking about using a mix of oil and alcohol as a flushing fluid mix... I have ordered a new sump plug and gasket but I wont have them until early next week. Out of the 39 litres that are in the system I only got 24 out so there is still 33% contaminated oil, and that was also by dropping the loader arms with gravity. I am sure that this 15l will discolour the good oil fairly quickly. I done a small test by mixing oil and water and it takes very little to turn the oil murky. At the moment the machine is not usuable as the sump plug has a bar welded to it. Here is my plan

1. Wait until the new plug and gasket arrive
2. Add two pints of 99.7% isopropanol alcohol to the tank
3. Run the skid steer for 5 minutes hard...(have to find something to dig). I was going to make up a pipe that directly connects the auxilary lines together so that I could flush them lines also.
4. Drain the system after 5 minutes ( lowering loader arms under gravity again to remove as much as possible)
5. Replenish the system with new oil and filter.
6. Maybe I could add some alcohol to the system when it is hot to try and remove the last bit of water.....

sounds like a plan.. but run it a lil mor ethan 5m. got to get the oil warmed to help the process..

 

[J_J]

Here is a system that connect to your hyd system and does a cleaning.

Hydraulic Components, Rams and Parker Hannifin Sales

They say it would cost less to clean than to change out all the fluid.

Sounds good, if it is locally available, and is cheaper then replacing the hyd fluid.

 

[Rgillard]

preferably you would have added the alcohol, then ran it, then drained it.

Oh you mean just before I dropped the original oil in the machine? I didnt because I was having so much difficulty with the bung when I finally got it off I just wanted to get the machine drained.... I have another 40 litres of fresh oil to go into it so I'll get the alcohol in it this time. Would leaving the oil in it for a few hours be too long? Or would you say start the 5 min timer once the machine is up to temperature....

 

[Soundguy]

you've got new oil in there now.. sure.. it's going to be emulsified by the leftover oil.. but you are also adding in some alcohol.

it would not hurt it to use it a couple hours before you drain it..

 

[20 20]

Here is a system that connect to your hyd system and does a cleaning.

Hydraulic Components, Rams and Parker Hannifin Sales

They say it would cost less to clean than to change out all the fluid.

Sounds good, if it is locally available, and is cheaper then replacing the hyd fluid.

J_J; Thanks for the site, interesting. I'm not sure if they'd be cheaper then an oil change in my area, I would think the service call to the middle of the woods would be pricey :laughing: I know one place 10 miles away that gets $75.00 each way before they even get in the vehicle

 

[J_J]

Your are right, as it would only be an option if you could get the tractor to the unit for cleaning, drop it off and pick it up the next day.

That kind of cleaning system might provide someone a good opportunity for a good business venture.

Several people I know have built small filter carts to filter the hyd system, using several hyd filtering canisters, some with water absorbing ability, and a filtering capacity of 2 to 3 microns.

You would only need a small hyd pump driven by an electric motor, several filters assembly's, and QD's to connect to your tractor, and run the machine for 24 hours.

With a 2 GPM pump cart, and a tractor sump of 10 gal. That would be a lot of filtering.