Any idea how rainwater got in my hydraulics?

[TMcD_in_MI]

We had a heavy downpour on Friday, and another one on Saturday, and my JD 4310 hydrostatic was sitting out in both of them. Today I noticed the loader was raising in a jerky fashion and the power steering was acting the same way - it would move easily for a little portion of a turn, then lose power for about the same amount, then move easily, then lose power, and so on. The hydrostatic trans seemed to working fine. I checked the fluid level and found that it was higher than normal and milky.

It seems pretty clear to me that there must be water in the hydraulic fluid, and I plan to drain it, run it with some generic fluid plus Sea Foam Trans Tune for a while, change the filters, and then refill with JD fluid. It won't be cheap and I'd really like to not have to do it again, so I need to figure out where the water got in.

Before this happened, I had been seeing a little bit of hydraulic fluid leaking from the steering wheel area and oozing out onto the floor mat. Maybe a bad seal of some kind? I would suspect that that was the place where the rain came in, but I have a cab on the tractor, although the doors are off for the summer. I did check the hydraulic filler cap, but it was still nice and tight. I don't really have any other ideas.

So, tractor friends, do you think I have answered my own question, and enough rain could have sneaked in there to do what I described? Any other possibilities?

At least we got rain.

Tom

 

[kennyd]

Man, that sucks! I have a hard time believing that much water got in through a weeping seal!

 

[Rebel]

In my experience if a seal leaks oil it also has the potential to allow foreign material enter the system.

 

[Eagleview]

Have Daddy's little helpers been filling the tractor with fuel out of the "Green" hose in the garden ?

 

[TMcD_in_MI]

Man, that sucks! I have a hard time believing that much water got in through a weeping seal!

Yeah, me too. I probably need to do a closer inspection of everything and see what I can find. There must be something.

Tom

 

[TMcD_in_MI]

In my experience if a seal leaks oil it also has the potential to allow foreign material enter the system.

Yup, no doubt that's true, but it's hard to see how much very much water could get in there, given the cab roof and windshield. Still, where else?

Tom

 

[TMcD_in_MI]

Have Daddy's little helpers been filling the tractor with fuel out of the "Green" hose in the garden ?

Don't think so. The kids are 38 and 40, and the grandkids can't reach it yet.

Tom

 

[mrutkaus]

Loose dipstick?

Mike

 

[EddieWalker]

Since the hydraulic system is under extreme pressure, it's hard to believe that a leak in the system that would let water in wouldn't be noticable when operating the tractor. It would just spray hydraulic oil out like crazy if it was allowing any water into the pressurized lines or cylinders.

The filter should be under presssure, so that is probably fine.

The only place it could be is where there is no pressure. The storage tank would be my first place to look. Either the cap or a vent line. The filter should be under presssure, so that is probably fine.

Water has a way of wondering around on it's travels. It will come in at one place, then travel a good distance to another place. Just because it's not obvious, doesn't mean that water isn't getting there.

The only other idea that I has was if you had been washing the tractor with a pressure washer? I've heard that this can cause problems, but would assume that would be obvious if you did this.

Good luck,
Eddie

 

[AndyMA]

The sumps are not under pressure in a hydraulic system. A very pssible place to look is the vents for the sump system (probably the main portion of the tractor between your legs) There usually a vent cap/plug somewhere that can easily end up taking on water.

PS. My Ford 2120 has spent the better part of 20 years outside with no cover and never taken on water in the hydraulic system. Knock on wood!!!

I'm assuming this was too much water to take on by condensation?

Andy