Got all the o-rings replaced. Sure was a pain to get the filter housing back in place... Also installed the new clear tubing and some good t-bolt clamps on either end to seal it a little better. Bottom line, still have air bubbles in the clear tubing.
My dealer thinks the air in the line is normal. They're going to install some clear tubing in another NX when they get them on the lot and take a video of it for me.
Like I mentioned in an earlier post, I'd greatly appreciate anyone taking a video if they have clear tubing installed!
Really interested to hear the results of this test. I'm the OP, and, if you read my report a few weeks back, I'm sorry to say, the bubbles are back. This time it's "big bubbles" but not that many of them. Machine seems to be performing well, it's a tiny bit jerky when I first start it, but it settles down in seconds and I don't feel the slips or jumpiness anymore. However, remembering back, this is how my machine was when it was brand new. It always had a tiny jump in the hydraulics when it was first started, that progressively got worse as time went on. It's also temperature sensitive, it's real hot out now, the colder it gets the worse it got (last time), so... I'm not sure what to think. Right after the housing replacement (~75 hours ago) there was -0-, NOT A SINGLE bubble in that line. It looks like good whiskey running through, honestly, you couldn't even perceive the fluid was moving because it was so consistent. As time has passed (on the new housing) the bubble is starting to reappear. Which makes me wonder if we're dealing with someone that's more wear related than "bad casting/bad part" related. It's like the filter housing is "wearing out". I have no idea how a chunk of steel with 2 banjo fittings and a place to screw in a filter "wears out", but.. That's the behavior that I'm seeing. I'll try to shoot some video of where it stands today, you'll see the bubbles, I probably won't be able to catch the "jumps" on video because they are (today anyway) very very slight, you'd never feel them if you didn't know what to listen/feel for.
Disappointed... Maybe it is "normal" to have a little air in that line, and perhaps the machine with stabilize here and never get worse. It's working fine, so, if that happens, I wouldn't really care. But I can tell you, no doubt about it, right after we changed that housing, there was NOT a single bubble in that line, and it stayed that way for hours and hours of operation (I checked it every time I ran the machine). No "air sucking" sound in the sump, no foamed up oil, none of it. Just like my other tractor.
Guess now, I think there's perhaps something wrong with the way they are molding that part. Something wrong with the metal perhaps, that's causing it to crack (microscopically, of course) after some number of heat/cool cycles would be my best guess.
