2130 losing hydraulic fluid

Zebrafive · Jun 28, 2012

I am not sure if you will have the small dipstick #3 or the long one #12, but it's near the left rear corner of the right hand foot board.

buickanddeere · Jun 28, 2012

Old Hillbilly said:
SUCCESS! After a couple of trips to my JD dealer I found that my 2130 has the older smaller 25mm shaft and requires a smaller seal. He had one in stock and ordered another overnight. We installed them this morning....or I should say my wife installed them and everything is back together. I put 5 gallons of fluid in to see if any leaks out before I fill it up.

Now....a real dumb question. How on earth do I check the transmission/hydraulic oil level to see if it is full? I have looked high and low for a dip stick with no luck. Are there plugs I take out and fill until it runs out the holes? This tractor takes 38 quarts when it is dry but I don't know if it was completely dry when we replaced the seals. Any help in figuring out when it is full will be appreciated.

Call 1-800-522-7448 for the operator's manual. It's a treasure trove of info.

Old Hillbilly · Jun 29, 2012

Zebrafive said:
I am not sure if you will have the small dipstick #3 or the long one #12, but it's near the left rear corner of the right hand foot board.

There is a small knurled cap there on the right foot board so I guess that is it. I was looking for something with a ring in it so I could pull it out with my finger. I think this one has been painted over and is stuck as I have yet to be able to pull it up or unscrew it. I'll keep trying. Thanks Zebrafive! I sure appreciate it along with the help TX Jim gave.

Tx Jim · Jun 29, 2012

Old Hillbilly
It's hard to believe but it sounds as if you found the hyd dipstick without calling the well published JD 800 phone number so the operator could tell you where to look for it. GOOD JOB

Zebrafive · Jun 29, 2012

Old Hillbilly said:
There is a small knurled cap there on the right foot board so I guess that is it. I was looking for something with a ring in it so I could pull it out with my finger. I think this one has been painted over and is stuck as I have yet to be able to pull it up or unscrew it. I'll keep trying. Thanks Zebrafive! I sure appreciate it along with the help TX Jim gave.

It does screw out. When you check the fluid level, just set back on, don't screw it in.

Old Hillbilly · Jun 30, 2012

Thanks again. Found it...checked it...and all is well! I sure appreciate it.

Tx Jim · Jul 1, 2012

IIRC check hyd oil level with engine running.

Zebrafive · Jul 1, 2012

Tx Jim said:
IIRC check hyd oil level with engine running.

You are correct. Engine should be running at a slow idle.

berwin121 · Feb 17, 2014

Old Hillbilly said:
First time to post here in the Deere section because my Deere's rarely break! I do post some but mostly lurk over on the Yanmar forum. I found out 8 months ago that I have an incurable and non-treatable muscle disease that will soon put me in a wheel chair. I am quickly losing my ability to walk so diagnosing and fixing problems on my tractors is becoming quite a chore but I still do my own work with the help of my wife. She does the work and I tell her what I think needs done.

We use our old 2130 for bush hogging. Last time she was using it the lift quit working so I figured it was low on hydraulic oil. Yesteray I was looking at it and found where it is leaking as evidenced by the two oily spots on the ground. It is leaking in what (at least to me) is a very odd place. The two draft (lift) arms of the three point attach to the lower part of the tractor casing by sliding the swivel balls over a pin on each side of the differential casing. The arms are held on the pins by a collar and spring clip. The oil is dripping out around the pins...which I assume is actually one long bar that runs internally from side to side. I have never encountered anything like this before and was wondering what the concensus of those here might be as to what the problem is....and what it will take to fix it?

I was thinking I might be able to put some type of packing around the shaft but as of now I am not able to get down to look and see. Then I started wondering is there was actually something leaking internally and letting fluid drip into the bottom of the housing into what is a dry area around the pins or shaft and then seeping out around the pins and onto the ground

Any help or suggestions here would be greatly appreciated. Sorry for the lengthy post but I wanted to do all I could to explain the problem. Thanks again.

I just recently did my arms and there is a nut underneath the transmission it tightens to the rod that runs out both sides of transmission to prevent from moving. loosen it.take dial pin out that holds arm on take arm off doesn't matter which side u do first tap it just far enough in to remove gasket that is going to be just inside the outer case of transmission.NOTE do not hit to far or u will have to take rockshaft housing off to reset the linkage.i use a ice pick to get mine out and install new gasket with phillip screwdriver or something small that wont tear gasket trying to get it in.it is a very tight fit almost felt like I had the wrong part.u can see the exploded view of the arm at jdparts.com hope these help u and ur wife have a easier fix.the gaskets I believe are less than $20 for both sides

Tx Jim · Feb 17, 2014

IIRC the "negative stop screw"(parts key #23) isn't designed to be adjusted tight against L/D linkage but is intended to stop L/D linkage from moving too far in the wrong direction. As long as L/D lever under the seat is placed in "D" the L/D shaft can normally be fully removed without any ill consequences.