Hello all!
I thought I should de-lurk and also give my $.02 on this topic. I am a tractor newbie but have certainly gotten my hands quite dirty with various tractor maintenance chores...
When I changed the hydraulic fluids in my tractor, it actually went more smoothly than a lot of jobs..
First I placed 2 5-gallon pails beneath the rear and center drain plugs. Upon removal of the center plug, which is actually right below the distribution area for the hydraulic lines, I discovered that there is a brass valve assembly and spring that falls out of the drain when you remove the plug. NH did not mention this in the manual, and it did entail getting into the rapidly filling can to get at the little buggers.
Once I realized that I had forgotten to open the fill hole for the hydro system, it made more sense that the flow was rather slow, but after removing the rear plug, literally all of the fluid began to drain out of the back, quite fast too, so next time I will remember to open the fill cap, and start by draining as much into the center can as possible.
Since most of the fluid drained out of the back, I needed to fill up one can, then slide in the second one, and have an oil pan at the ready in the center area as well. In total, the amount that came out of the TC35D was not quite enough to fill both cans to the top, including what drained out of the large spin-on filter in back, and the smaller one in the front for the tranny.
There is a rubber grommetted washer around the rear drain plug, this thing also has a tendency to stick to the tractor and not the plug. The result of this is that the flow will cause the washer to drop into your 5 gallons of oil. Be prepared or be oily!
After letting all the oil drain out of the hydraulic system, and spinning on new filters and tightening up all the drains (including putting that little spring-valve back in, there is only one way it will fit), the easiest part was actually filling up with the new oil.
The pail pump (from TSC) is worth the price. It fits right into a 5 gallon can, and you can purchase some additional tubing to add to it. In fact it wont work well at all without this additional tubing. I bought some that would fit the nipple at the bottom of the pump, about 4-5 feet of it. I cut off about 8 inches to make a "tail" for the can, and the rest (very conveniently) fit over the existing output tube on the pump. I now have a pump with a long enough reach so I can have cans of oil (or diesel fuel) on the ground and reach it easily to the oil fill (or fuel fill).
The pumps don't get every last drop, which is good because the TC35 capacity is 9.6 US Gal and not 10.
I should also mention that I tried to retract the cylinders as much as possible before doing this, so that the oil in them would be changed too.
Once the oil is in the tractor, it quite easily zips back into the hydro system quickly after cranking the tractor. I was left with 2 full pails of used oil, and 2 that had a bit of good oil left at the bottom. I will funnel them into a 1 gallon can as needed.
Hope my newbie experience is helpful! And if I have done anything stupid (that I haven't already noticed) please let me know..
