Best Way to Get Hydraulic Fluid into Tractor?

[5030]

Cannot be much worse that the CACL the road board sprays on the gravel roads out here????

 

[Ym66]

My tractor is back from the dealership. Now I have to change the hydraulic oil. It's around 13 gallons, and 10 of those gallons are in 5-gallon pails, so not easy to pour from. Maybe I should have asked the dealer to do it, but based on what they charged for the repair, it probably would have cost me $250 in labor. Plus another hundred or so for imaginative fees.

How do most people put fluid in their tractors? The only opening I know of is a tiny threaded hole on the rear of the tractor, and it will not be easy pouring 5 gallons of oil into it using a funnel.

I have a plastic 5 gallon bucket pump I attach a hose to and just squeeze the ball on the pump.... my tractor only takes 5 gallon though... but the pump is super cheap. I think my first one came free with some kerosene... without the pump first time I had a h!## of a mess.

 

[ericm979]

Same here.

In a similar vein, what do you guys do when you drain it? The pan I use for regular oil changes will only take a little over 6 qt, so that was out of the question, and a 5 gal bucket wouldn't fit. I just ended up draining into a 2 gal pail, putting the plug back in, and transferring to empty jugs. Rinse, lather, repeat.

I bought a ~15 gallon drain pan to handle the 10 gallons from my Branson. It's on wheels so it's easy to move around when full.

My tractor is not tall enough for 5 gallon buckets to fit under it and I didn't want to try to swap buckets in the middle of draining anyhow. When I try to move an open container of oil quickly it often ends up spilled.

 

[ROUSTABOUT]

My tractor is back from the dealership. Now I have to change the hydraulic oil. It's around 13 gallons, and 10 of those gallons are in 5-gallon pails, so not easy to pour from. Maybe I should have asked the dealer to do it, but based on what they charged for the repair, it probably would have cost me $250 in labor. Plus another hundred or so for imaginative fees.

How do most people put fluid in their tractors? The only opening I know of is a tiny threaded hole on the rear of the tractor, and it will not be easy pouring 5 gallons of oil into it using a funnel.

One extra empty bucket you can pour half in one then pour it all as half buckets. I run 80's tractors bought new or almost. Bale thousands of round bales a year. Changed filters but NEVER changed fluid. Hardly change engine oil. My ride hit 200,000 over a year ago, I think I changed oil once. I just add now and then. No mechanical problems. Neighbor had a 4 cyl mustang, 540,000 miles and changed oil twice. Sold it running too.

 

[Oaktree]

Careful now, you are showing your age. If you did that today you could not afford the fines from the EPA popo.

And by now we should all know better than to do that in the first place.

 

[Oaktree]

Changed filters but NEVER changed fluid. Hardly change engine oil. My ride hit 200,000 over a year ago, I think I changed oil once. I just add now and then. No mechanical problems. Neighbor had a 4 cyl mustang, 540,000 miles and changed oil twice. Sold it running too.

Uhhh, OK if it works for you. I think I'll stick to manufacturer recommended intervals.

 

[Suburban Plowboy]

I had to buy a 2.5-gallon jug along with the pails, so now I plan to use the jug first and then fill it from the pails and use it to fill the tractor.

I was wondering where I would put the used oil, but then I remembered I had a whole bunch of gas cans. I can use one or two of them and rinse them out after dumping the used oil.

As for pouring oil out on the ground, I was kind of surprised when I looked up the actual damage it does. Apparently you have to dump a great deal of oil to do any harm, so if you ever let a few quarts of motor oil spill in your yard, don't expect your kids to get leukemia. I thought there was some kind of horrible, dangerous chemical in there that would cause huge problems in tiny amounts, but I learned that wasn't true.

I used to believe spilled oil lasted forever, but I learned that was a lie. It eventually gets broken down like everything else.

They say used motor oil can cause skin cancer. Well, I live in Florida, so at my age, the risk of getting skin cancer from motor oil is basically nonexistent compared to the risk from all the days I spent on the ocean catching dolphin. And motor oil causes cancer by getting on people, not the ground. And hydraulic oil isn't motor oil.

I take my used oil to the dump, so I have no personal interest in questioning green oil-disposal dogma, but I no longer have any concerns if I accidentally spill oil near my well.

I also learned that spilling used antifreeze in the amounts consumers deal with is harmless. As Paracelsus said, the dose makes the poison.

I'll tell you what. If people had any idea how much diesel, bunker oil, hydraulic oil, and lubricants go into the ocean from properly maintained boats, they would be amazed. You can minimize that stuff, but it's impossible to design a large boat that doesn't release a certain amount daily. If the government started taking it seriously instead of giving the whole business lip service, recreational boating and commercial shipping would have a gigantic crisis.

As an example of what I'm talking about, let me bring up my dad's old sportfisherman, which had twin Detroit Diesels. These things throw oil all over the place, and I mean right from the factory, not just when they're badly maintained. Where does it end up? In the bilge. Where does bilge water go? Over the side through bilge pumps. There are many, many boats with similar diesels in the US alone. Fishing boats. Yachts. All sorts of small ships.

The boat had Allison transmissions that took 30-weight oil. They always leaked a certain amount, and it was not practical to refill them without spilling a little.

What do boaters do when several gallons of diesel or oil go into their bilges accidentally? Call the EPA and have a SWAT team seal off the whole dock while the Sierra Club goes in to do a cleanup? No, they dump things like Dawn into the bilge, slosh it around, and let the pumps do the rest.

I dump my oil properly, but I am not under the impression that the world will end if I pour it out in my pasture.

 

[lincmercguy]

Do it the old fashioned way with an oil filler can. If you have a place you can set it on, the style with the spout at the bottom works well.

 

[MinnesotaEric]

My tractor is back from the dealership. Now I have to change the hydraulic oil. It's around 13 gallons, and 10 of those gallons are in 5-gallon pails, so not easy to pour from. Maybe I should have asked the dealer to do it, but based on what they charged for the repair, it probably would have cost me $250 in labor. Plus another hundred or so for imaginative fees.

How do most people put fluid in their tractors? The only opening I know of is a tiny threaded hole on the rear of the tractor, and it will not be easy pouring 5 gallons of oil into it using a funnel.

I can use two funnels to pour a 2-gallon pail so I pour into two gallons and then into the tractor for fluid changing. I do plan to make a how-to video the next time I change fluids.

 

[5030]

I dump my oil properly, but I am not under the impression that the world will end if I pour it out in my pasture.

Thank you and Dawn is about the best oil emulsifier there is. I use it all the time.