3500 industrial trans oil flush?

zombie · Oct 22, 2018

Hey guys, I haven't been around for awhile, mainly due to the mobile app not working on my phone anymore. But, I've been messing with my 3500 industrial again. It has the 4 speed with a torque convertor in it, I have a line leaking. It is the line that goes from the lower left side of the radiator up to the filter housing. I still haven't been able to find any place local that can change just the hose out that's leaking, but when I pulled it off, the oil is extremely milky. How would I go about flushing this? I don't know which line is return and which is feed. Just hoping someone might know before i pull fittings and make a mess. I was told before that the transmission supplies oil to the torque convertor. This thing also seems to take some time to start moving after initial start like it's starving for oil. Anything in particular to look for? Thank you advance for any help.

zombie · Oct 23, 2018

Started draining the oil. This is what I ended up with. This all started with deciding to fix an oil leak. The line from the radiator to the oil filter housing was leaking through the hose. I got the section of rubber replaced, but when I pulled the line off I noticed the oil was pretty bad.

Soundguy · Nov 1, 2018

i'd flush with a mix of mostly atf, with denatured alcohol added plus a little bit of diesel.

The diesel will soften any solid emulsified oil/water, and the alcohol will dissolve any free water laying around.

Soundguy · Nov 1, 2018

ps.. it that settles out with 'no water' in it.. then it was air entrainment.

zombie · Nov 1, 2018

Thanks Soundguy! I flushed a couple gallons of 134d through it, but it didn't do much since there's so much in the system. I topped it off just to get it moved out of the way. I think I'll be splitting it apart this winter to hopefully fix the transmission anyway. It has no second or fourth gear. I took a big sample of that oil I drained and it's been sitting all week, it settled out with water and oil. The pump makes quite a bit of noise while it's running, I always thought it was the pump on the side of the engine making the noise, but I'm sure it's the one that the torque convertor runs.

Soundguy · Nov 1, 2018

In that case, dump in a quart of denatured alcohol and about 1 cup diesel mixed together next time you go to run her. The alcohol will dissolve the water, forming an azeotrope. This will help the water flash off faster with use, till you fix her. I'm sure the pump hates that water. Low vapor pressure, cavitates, etc.

zombie · Nov 2, 2018

Ok, will do. Thank you for your help. Not just with this, but the other issues i've run into working on this thing. This tractor was grossly neglected. I just keep picking away at it. It probably should have been a parts machine, but I didn't know any better. Thanks again!

Soundguy · Nov 8, 2018

Completely understand. I have an old 950 that literally is a parts machine, its made from donor parts from at least 7 tractors.

zombie · Nov 8, 2018

This tractor really is bigger than what I need for my 1 acre lot, but I got it pretty cheap. I've spent more in repair than I did in purchase. I like the fact that the bucket goes up high enough to dump right into my small dump truck. I haven't had very good luck finding parts tractors in my area. Seems like any parts that pop up around here are for older stuff. I found an upper and lower gearset out of a four speed 4000 on ebay. The guy said that it used a clutch and not a torque converter. I don't know if the gearset would work in mine or not. It would be kind of nice to have all four speeds instead of 2. Hopefully I can get it apart this winter and see what all I need. I have lots of welding to do on the loader too. It goes on and on. Being a mechanic, I'm so busy on everyone elses stuff my own doesn't get the attention I intend to give it.