Case IH 454 - hydraulic and transmission fluid

[JeremyH]

I recently acquired a Case IH 454. Mostly been good but has given intermittent hydraulic issues e.g. bucket won't lift. The guy before me changed (or got someone to change) the hydraulic fluid and (I assume) put the right stuff in there.

When I purchased it I thought it was low on hydraulic fluid because the bucket lifted higher if the tractor was tilted back. So I topped it up with some hydraulic fluid that the guy at the engineering shop said would work (I think some generic brand 46) which (I know have learned) is only for hydraulics, not combined transmission/hydraulics like I have.

I have changed the hydraulic fluid filter. I suspect there is diesel bug in the hydraulics because, despite the hydraulic fluid being very clean, there was slimy gunk built up around the filter. I have also removed and cleaned the hydraulic fluid filter a few times and added some biocide specifically for hydraulic fluid.

Every time I accessed the hydraulic fluid filter I lost some fluid so topped it up with the stuff I had bought. I've probably added 4 litres of the wrong fluid (i.e. not the type for transmission too).

So my question is: now that I've added some of the wrong fluid, do I need to drain it all and put the right stuff in? I've maybe got a 30:4 mix of correct:incorrect fluid. Will that damage the transmission?

Thanks

 

[TractorTech]

Welcome to TBN!

Not very likely. The trans/hydraulic oil has a friction additive for clutch and brake linings, but at the ratio you have in there, it is not likely to damage anything.

Did you find out what was causing the loader problem? I assume more oil fixed that problem.

As far as the slimy buildup, that could be from seepage and dirt.

 

[JeremyH]

Hey there. Thanks for the quick reply. That's good to know about the oil as it saves me forking out hundreds of dollars to flush it all.

My guess is that the slimy build up was diesel bug but I'm not sure. Pic attached. I called the guy I bought it from and told him of the issue. He suggested diesel bug in the hydraulics which is a pretty wild and specific guess. I suspect he found the issue so replaced the hydraulic fluid and then sold it. The loader worked when I tested it when I bought it from him, just started playing up very soon after.

The hydraulics have been a bit of a pain. For a while it was struggling to lift the FEL or the three point hitch at the back. I've opened the filter to clean it a few times and topped up fluid. Seemed to be working fine after a while. I took it to an engineering shop to get checked over anyway and they did some testing and hydraulics seemed to operate fine at that point.

Then, a month or two after they checked them over, the hydraulics start playing up again. At the moment the three point hitch is fine but the bucket won't lift at all. Power steering seems fine from what I can tell by turning the wheels whilst stationary, but I can't drive it because I can't lift the bucket.

The thing is, this tractor sits at a holiday home that we own so I can only deal with it every couple of months when I'm down there. When the FEL started playing up last week I took out the filter to have a look and it was dirty-ish but not terrible. Put it back and topped up with more fluid. FEL still won't lift. But I had to leave so figured I'll deal with it next time I'm there (in about a month).

On the way home I was thinking about it and realised that I put the strainer on the wrong side of the filter, so maybe if I fix that it might get working again? I'll find out when I go back and put it the right way around. But then I got to thinking about whether I should replace all of the fluid, hence my original question.