check the hydraulic fluid?

[schmism]

Ya so the tractor holds like 9gal of hydraulic fluid... it doesnt "leak" in the traditional sense although i do have a cylinder on the FEL that does leak (perhaps a 2" spot) and of course I loose a bit every time i take the FEL on and off, etc.

So needless to say its a fluid i generally dont think about much. when you only loose a faction of a teaspoon each time you use it and it holds 9 gal, how much could you possibly loose over time.... (anyone see were this is going?)

SO im helping a friend put in a new leach feild for his septic with my backhoe. LOTS of digging (easy, trench digging, but LOTS of it) so after the first day of digging (like 4-6 hrs of seat time) I have the feeling my hydraulic fluid is low. (its seems to be sluggish, seems to "squeal" more than i remember) so before we start the second day i check fluids all around.

I start with the hydraulic fluid...no fluid on the dip stick :ashamed: So my buddy is headed out to return some PVC fittings and i tell him to stop by and pick up some hydraulic fluid from the farm supply store... a gallon should do it.

needless to say, we put the ENTIRE gallon in and it was ONLY showing half a dipstick :shocked:

so ahhh ya, i guess the hydraulic fluid will be something i have to check more often than like once every year or something. although the coolant, and engine oil were exactly were they should be despite the same amount of attention.

So for the rest of you out there... do you find yourself regularly checking the hydraulic fluid and adding fluid on a reg basis? (like every 20-50 hrs or every 4 months or what?)

 

[dcyrilc]

Ya so the tractor holds like 9gal of hydraulic fluid... it doesnt "leak" in the traditional sense although i do have a cylinder on the FEL that does leak (perhaps a 2" spot) and of course I loose a bit every time i take the FEL on and off, etc.

So needless to say its a fluid i generally dont think about much. when you only loose a faction of a teaspoon each time you use it and it holds 9 gal, how much could you possibly loose over time.... (anyone see were this is going?)

SO im helping a friend put in a new leach feild for his septic with my backhoe. LOTS of digging (easy, trench digging, but LOTS of it) so after the first day of digging (like 4-6 hrs of seat time) I have the feeling my hydraulic fluid is low. (its seems to be sluggish, seems to "squeal" more than i remember) so before we start the second day i check fluids all around.

I start with the hydraulic fluid...no fluid on the dip stick :ashamed: So my buddy is headed out to return some PVC fittings and i tell him to stop by and pick up some hydraulic fluid from the farm supply store... a gallon should do it.

needless to say, we put the ENTIRE gallon in and it was ONLY showing half a dipstick :shocked:

so ahhh ya, i guess the hydraulic fluid will be something i have to check more often than like once every year or something. although the coolant, and engine oil were exactly were they should be despite the same amount of attention.

So for the rest of you out there... do you find yourself regularly checking the hydraulic fluid and adding fluid on a reg basis? (like every 20-50 hrs or every 4 months or what?)

Twice a year, but then I'm not removing hydraulics either. My FEL stays on year round and I don't have any remotes. It also lives in a barn with a concrete floor so any leaks would show up quickly.

 

[tinman955]

I check my every 10 hrs when I grease my tractor just a habit i guess.

 

[MFRED]

Or you could check fluids every time you operate the machine like you're supposed to. Before it gets started, before something isn't working right. Proper maintenance will save a whole bunch of problems.