Changing UDT hydraullic flud - major stupid

[Lockport]

A wad of sticky duct tape on the end of a wire, dowel rod ect.??? ....

Nah, you don't want to add to the concoction!

 

[Lockport]

The idea of adapting a small diameter hose to your existing shop vac hose seems logical. ...

Shop-Vac makes a computer cleaning kit that is a reducer and some small accessories with brushes, a tiny crevice tool and a straight and angled extension. I can't see that getting it out of the small hole it fell into as you aren't going to get a vacumn grip on its end..IE: it ain't coming out the hole sideways

I think your best bet is to drain a quantity of fluid out the drain hole and hope it makes its way to the opening. Refill a few times if necessary.

 

[Fug1000]

I think I would find out what kind of oil that POS would float in and then research it to make sure it wouldn't mess up my tractor and if I were absolutely sure I found the right oil, I would fill the box with this oil then use the skinny shop-vac tube method to suck the oil out from above.

Assuming the vac can suck the oil and assuming the part really is in there and is floating (and not actually on the ground, having rolled under a tool box just out of sight near your tractor or something) then I can think of no reason the vac wouldn't do the job.

 

[CurlyDave]

..What do I do? I assume the differential would chew up the plastic with no problem, but little pieces of plastic floating around the hydraullic system seems like a real bad idea. My tractor is a hydrostatic tranny and I have loader. Anybody have any ideas?

I have two ideas.

The first is going to be messy, but I think it might work. Drain the hydraulic fluid completely, thread an air hose connector into the drain plug fitting, take off the fill plug and try to levitate the funnel end by flowing as much compressed air as possible through the housing. I have no delusions that the funnel end is going to levitate in the proper orientation, so it might be necessary to probe inside with a stiff wire to move it around, but there is at least a chance that you can blow it out this way. Or at least get it into a position where you can grab it.

Might need a big compressor, and oil is going to spatter out.

The second is cleaner if you can pull it off. Try to find some kind of liquid which is not going to cause rust, but which has a higher density so the plastic will float. Unfortunately, one thing I can think of off the top of my head is trichloroethylene. Maybe some of the degreasing freons used in the semiconductor industry would work, or even an automotive parts cleaner.
There are even some aqueous (water-based) parts cleaners that are non-rusting. Check to see if the funnel tip you have floats in water.

Drain the fluid, fill with "magic liquid", retrieve plastic and flush many times with hydraulic fluid. Even the cheap stuff will work for flushing.

 

[thunderworks]

Udate: Turns out that the solution is pathetically simple . . . The PTO shaft is held on by 4 bolts. I removed the bolts, pulled out the PTO shaft and its housing (comes out easily), removed the plastic spigot which was lying next to the shaft, reinstalled the PTO and its' housing, and voila, the problem is solved. Now I'm off to the hardware store to get a one piece funnel.

Thanks for all the input you guys offered. The forum is a wonderful resource.

Rick

 

[lovemywoods]

Congratulations on the easier fix! Now you can sleep well tonight!

I want to compliment the posters on this thread for their creativity in suggesting many ways to solve this problem. If I ever have an impossible problem crop up -- I'm coming right here to get it fixed!

 

[mjarrels]

Glad it worked out and not alot of $$$.

mark

 

[tawilson]

Yep. And thanks to thunderworks for letting us know how it turned out. I like closure.

 

[Glowplug]

Wow. I am very happy for you. Glad there was a happy ending to all this!

 

[texasjohn]

I've been following this thread since I have a 5030 and I'm getting ready to change hydraulic oil ... and now I know what to NOT do... and how to fix it if I DO drop something in there.... Thanks for the post.. and am so glad there is an easy answer....