Oil & Fuel cold weather hydraulic problem

[ruralNearDallas]

I seriously appreciated this info. I should never have a temp problem here where daytime temps are never less than +20F. I had been wondering how to deL with the cold

 

[wdchyd]

just purchased a used L3400 Kubota (2005), I resided in St-Anicet, Quebec, Canada, and having difficulty using the hydraulic system in cold weather when it is below (-10C), any suggestion.

I've worked on heavy equipment that has a "warm up valve" to warm up the hyd system oil......basically it consists of a pressure relief valve deadheaded to build up pressure and dump directly to reservoir tank.....then the cold temp light goes off and the oil is warm enough to run the machine.....

As we all know (or should) when your hydraulic system goes from high pressure to low pressure without doing any work (lifting cyl or running hyd motor) then VIOLA there's heat.!!.......Don't we all complain about this in the summer when running our equipment constantly in overload relief and the hyd oil overheats...??.....YES..!!

Well the answer you are looking for is, after startup at idle actuate the FEL control valve lever in a mode to blow pressure over the relief valve ...(.ie: bucket curls cyls sucked all the way in and hold the lever on the valve)......this will warm up the hyd oil in a few minutes while you are warming up the engine anyways and you'll be able to feel the warmth on the valve block with your hand......Do not hold your hand on the hoses that are pressurized for safety.....(Akkamaan's Got Pics to prove that)......

If your tractor is healthy hydraulically this will not harm your tractor but don't tie the valve lever down and forget it......it will potentially overheat.....

Whenever this subject comes up I've never seen this advised before here but it does work pretty good in extreme conditions.......

Hope this helps.....Let me know how it works.......:thumbsup:

 

[RickB]

This is a time of year when Super UDT or other suitable low-viscosity hydraulic oil is beneficial. As you are learning, clean oil and fresh filters help a great deal as well.