How long to air bleed?

[borderline]

Had some "chatter" when raising FEL so I drained & replaced filter on a Nortrac 25 and promptly lost all hyd power. Filter definitely needed cleaned/changed.

Zero 3pt, zero FEL and steering was so minimal at the beginning I could maybe get 2-3ｰ after cranking the steering wheel 10 rotations.

After about two hours of driving forward & back, I get moderate steering control about half the time.

It seems like I get more control when in reverse and when the rear of the tractor is on higher ground.

No indication of a restriction, pump sounds normal except for the very few times I've managed to get the steering under load.

I reached out to Nortrac before spending a ton of time on it & lead tech said there was no bleeder but it could take a while to the air bleed out on its own, but ... how long?

Is there maybe something else I'm missing? Kinda hard to tell but fluid level could be a tiny bit high, would that cause it to take longer to bleed out and account for it seeming to act better with the back end higher?

 

[Peter 315]

When I change the hyd oil it bleeds right out when I run it on my tractor , Does that tractor have a pickup screen and a hyd filter ..... A little high should not make a difference.. Any leaks filter on correct.......They all steer better backing up....

 

[borderline]

No on screen, yes on filter. Nortrac guy mentioned smacking diverter around a bit to maybe knock any obstruction loose. Tried that, no noticeable change.

 

[Peter 315]

How dirty was the oil ?

 

[LouNY]

There are several possible issues. Unfortunately the more the tractor is run without good oil flow thru the pump the more damage gets done.
Without seeing your tractor or being familiar with makes it difficult to trouble shoot. But here are a few options.
One, I would not be worried about being a little over filled.
Two,is the pump mounted right off the engine with a suction line running back and down to the filter?
if it is are you sure you used an appropriate filter and is it screwed on tight.
Three, is there a rubber joint were the pump suction line from the filter meets the pump? if so carefully inspect it for air leaks.
Four, now for the messy part leaving the pump are there one or two lines?
If just one follow that line to the first connection you can get to, disconnect that line and secure it in a clean pail or if possible add on to so it can reach your fill port.
If you have two lines one is most likely for steering and the other is for all other hydraulic functions, in that case both of them need to be disconnected.
Now for the fun part, there are two ways to go some people have mentioned using a vacuum to try and draw oil up thru the pump to those lines to prime the pump,
the other way is with those lines disconnected start the tractor and see if and when oil starts to pump out of those lines it will be a rapid flow all of a sudden.

Now your pump and filter loop are primed reconnect your hoses and restart and cycle your hydraulics.

 

[borderline]

How dirty was the oil ?

The first quart or two were pretty dirty but beyond that looked fairly clean.

The filter was pretty nasty though. Almost couldn't see light through it.

 

[borderline]

There are several possible issues. Unfortunately the more the tractor is run without good oil flow thru the pump the more damage gets done.
Without seeing your tractor or being familiar with makes it difficult to trouble shoot. But here are a few options.
One, I would not be worried about being a little over filled.
Two,is the pump mounted right off the engine with a suction line running back and down to the filter?
if it is are you sure you used an appropriate filter and is it screwed on tight.
Three, is there a rubber joint were the pump suction line from the filter meets the pump? if so carefully inspect it for air leaks.
Four, now for the messy part leaving the pump are there one or two lines?
If just one follow that line to the first connection you can get to, disconnect that line and secure it in a clean pail or if possible add on to so it can reach your fill port.
If you have two lines one is most likely for steering and the other is for all other hydraulic functions, in that case both of them need to be disconnected.
Now for the fun part, there are two ways to go some people have mentioned using a vacuum to try and draw oil up thru the pump to those lines to prime the pump,
the other way is with those lines disconnected start the tractor and see if and when oil starts to pump out of those lines it will be a rapid flow all of a sudden.

Now your pump and filter loop are primed reconnect your hoses and restart and cycle your hydraulics.

Sounds like a plan. Yes, the pump is off the engine with a line going down to filter. No leaks in flex and just one line but I think its all rigid so no easy way to keep from being real messy but you're right, that should do it.

Thanks guys!

 

[LouNY]

With just one line and rigid can it be unbolted from the pump and moved enough to get a shop vac to the pump discharge.

 

[Leejohn]

Try giving it a little air psi in the fill hole. When I say a little maybe like no more then 5psi, just a good shot. With tractor running at low rpm. Might do the job for you.

 

[Tx Jim]

Try giving it a little air psi in the fill hole. When I say a little maybe like no more then 5psi, just a good shot. With tractor running at low rpm. Might do the job for you.

I'll 2nd what Leejohn stated.