273 Hydraulic leak

[Stumpshot]

A week ago I bought a new 273hst w/ loader and backhoe. I have 20 hours on it. A couple of days ago I noticed that the area beneath the seat where the selector valve assembly for the backhoe control sits is wet with hydraulic fluid. I checked the fittings and they seem to be seated tight. I also checked the plastic fill cap and found it to be rather loose so I snugged it down, wiped off the fluid and ran another 1/2 hour----the leak is back. The fluid in the sight glass seems to be at the upper level. Anyone got any ideas about where to go next without hauling it to the dealer?
Thanks,
Stumpshot

 

[Mike5252]

I have a T273 with 65 hrs, but no backhoe. Recently I've noticed a small hydraulic fluid leak near the rear of the tractor as well. However, I think mine started right after I changed the hydraulic fluid. I suspect I overfilled it and the excess is coming out the overflow hose very near the area you are describing. Any chance that is where you leak is coming from as well? There is a small hose that seems to be for overflow directly under the seat.

Keep us posted.

 

[Stumpshot]

Mike- Yep, it's the same area with the vent hose. At first I thought the vent hose was cracked at the connection to the case but after looking closely I found that the hose is black and was painted with the overall gray color of the undercarriage causing it to appear cracked at the bend. I've washed the area off and wiped it down. I'll keep an eye on it. With the backhoe on it's almost impossible to check the hyd. fluid w/o being a contortionist. Probably the same thing with any rear mtd implement. one possibility is that, since the cap was loose, the dealer may have overfilled the reservoir before the unit went out the door.
Thanks for your reply.
Roy

 

[snshall]

I watched as they installed my selector for the backhoe and the block the selector handle hooks into is bolted to the hydrostatic transmission with a couple of rubber O-rings sandwiched between for seal. If one of these is not positioned properly you would have a slow leak under pressure. The mechanic made it sound like this was pretty common to have the O-ring mis-aligned because of the way the assembly has to be positioned before bolting down.

 

[Stumpshot]

Well, after some weeks of rain I finally got dry enough weather to trace the leak down to the screw-on cover at the filler hole. When I talked to the dealer (back when I first noticed this) he said that the only thing he's seen that blows fluid from the cap is having the backhoe hydraulic lines backward. Today I watched close and worked the hoe pretty hard---sure enough---the leak only happened when I ran the hoe. I reversed the hyd lines and worked the hoe hard again----no leak. The hoses are now crossed left side to right side but the hoe seems to perform about 20% better.
I'll keep an eye on this and report as soon as we get some dry weather again.
Right now the tractor is turning my front yard to red clay mud.
Thanks for the replys and I'll let y'all know.
Stump

 

[km-ri]

I just posted the same problem before I noticed this post. If you switch the hoses didn't the control functions reverse? My bh performs in the crrect motions now and I have the same leak. Is your problem still resolved? This would certainly be a sweet and simple fix.

Thanks

 

[myyaz33]

This is not really related, but have any of you with the backhoes tested the PSI on your rear remotes? I am trying to identify discrepancies in the TYM manuals.

 

[km-ri]

I have not, I don't have any gauges to do this. I read your thread on this. I am curious what you find out. My BH performs well (this is my first machine) short of the bleed off. Keep us posted. Sorry I could not add more info.