Draining the hydraulics on my Kubota L3200

Fallon · Nov 22, 2013

I'm coming up on my 50 hour filter service. I was going to use the shop vac trick to keep it from leaking too much. But now I'm about to add in another set of valves for TnT & what not I'm assuming I need to drain it all to plumb it in. Is that correct?

My HST has 6.2 gallons of fluid according to the owners manual. How much of that might make an appearance when I start draining? Will a 5 gallon bucket be sufficient with a lot of the fluid stuck in the loader, 3pt & HST plumbing? Or do I need to swap buckets mid drain or find a bigger drainpan/bucket?

Any dyes or what not I could put i so I can actually see the fluid level in the sight glass? I still cant figure out if I'm overfilled, underfilled, or what given the dam clear stuff in there now.

J_J · Nov 22, 2013

You don't need to drain anything to change or add new valves.

k0ua · Nov 22, 2013

John Deere sells a red dye made for hydraulic fluid. You can add that to your transmission.

k0ua · Nov 22, 2013

Having trouble seeing the fluid level in the little sight glass? This small bottle of red dye is cheap and will last forever since only a few drops are needed to dye the fluid a red color. JD (Yanmar for sure) uses this at the factory to help identify leaks, but after one or two oil changes the color is gone and the HyGard fluid is very difficult to see.

Part Details

Part Number: MT3668
Part Price: 3.91 USD
Description: FLUID, HYDRAULIC OIL DYE

Fallon · Nov 22, 2013

J_J said:
You don't need to drain anything to change or add new valves.

I have the pull the tank hose off the hydraulic junction block which is about level with the bottom of the transmission case. Won't that mean all the fluid inside will suddenly decide it wants to be outside via that no open tank port? All the other hoses go into that block down at that level too.