Huge hydraulic leak!!!

[Boondox]

She\'s up and running

Called all over northern Vermont looking for the new filter John mentioned. The dealer in Barre argued with me that there was nothing wrong with the old style, but I tend not to believe him anyway. Finally found the correct filter in Essex.

Called Steve Carver to find out which type of UDT they loaded in Clementine before I bought her (regular UDT). Toyed with the idea of changing over to Super UDT ($$$/w3tcompact/icons/shocked.gif) or Amsoil (could have it by Wednesday -- too late), then decided changing over is best done some time warmer (6 degrees today with 20 knot bitterly cold wind, and the ground a sheet of ice). So I drove to town, got the filter and several gallons of UDT fluid. Drove home, spun the old filter off (thanks to the cold I lost very little; it had the consistency of taffy), installed the pre-heated replacement filter, had the wife hold the funnel while I poured UDT fluid to the top of the glass indicator.

Fired her up and crawled around checking for leaks. Found none, but the level went down. Topped it up again. Played with the FEL and rear blade, and the level dropped again. Topped it up again. Put her in gear and drove back to the garage, noticed the level dropped again so I topped it up again and watched. Level held steady. Plowed the drive and used the ice chains to roughen up the slick stuff. Fluid level still steady. No leaks.

Snowshoed up to one of my abandoned springs, broke a hole thru the ice and recovered one of those chilled bottles of champagne I have stashed here and there. Celebrated in style!

Pete

 

[Thomas]

Re: She\'s up and running

Glad it all work out okay for you Pete. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif
Better put an extra log on the fire tonight,for its going to be a tad chilly. /w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif

 

[Boondox]

Re: She\'s up and running

You said a mouthful, old friend! Minus six already, and that wind chills to the bone! I have firewood stashed in the living room, my shop, and a cart under the patio just in case I run low. The driveway looks and feels like someone ran a Zamboni machine over it! Slick as can be!

Pete

 

[john_bud]

Re: She\'s up and running

Pete,
Glad to hear you got the old gal running again.

On the UDT vs SUDT vs Amsoil (or other synthetic). Just think about the viscosity of the fluid you saw and it wasn't even cold (not by Wisconsin or Vermont standards). The tractor's pump has to push that stuff around and through the filter before it is warmed up and thinned out. That's a workout! and it can't be good for the equipment. That's why I bit the bullet and went synthetic fluid.

One tip my dealer's mechanic told me for cold days, was to use the clutch peddle hook to hold the clutch down until the tractor is warmed up. It helps keep the fluid pressure down. Maybe Kubmech can comment? He also (I think) said that the pressure relief was AFTER the filter and that's why there are the problems with cold weather operation leaks.

I don't know for sure, but with the new style filter, using the clutch peddle hook, and Amsoil there have been no leaks! Hope you have the same results.

John Bud

 

[Thomas]

Re: She\'s up and running

Morning Pete.
Well it didn't get as cold as they said it would around here..-2F.
I know what you mean about the driveway..slicker than a minks back /w3tcompact/icons/eyes.gif
You mention you went to Barre,VT to dealer..where abouts in Barre.
Have another cup..oh heck have two cups while your car warms up..and a great day.

 

[ewoss3]

Re: She\'s up and running

John, what Amsoil fluids are you running?

 

[RobS]

Re: She\'s up and running

Sounds like a happy ending to your story Pete, especially the Champagne part /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

 

[Boondox]

Re: She\'s up and running

John -- I'll definitely be switching over to synthetics. Question for you. The Amsoil website says I can become a preferrred customer for $10/six months and get their products at dealers' cost. But I can't see the dealers' cost unless I sign up! Is it worth it if all I need is a case of motor oil and 11 gallons of syn hydro fluid?

And considering how much fun it was doing the work at ten degrees in a stiff breeze, there's no way I'll do the changeover till spring!

Pete

 

[john_bud]

Re: She\'s up and running

Pete,

Yeah, it's too cold to swap fluid now! Especially from the front axle, it takes forever to drain!

I got the preferred customer deal. I think it saved about 50 bucks off the delivered price of 15 gal of fluid. So it was a good deal.


Someone else asked what I ordered. This is it:
ATH-05 Synthetic Tractor Hydraulic/Transmission Fluid, ISO 46, SAE 30

I haven't noticed the tractor leaping over tall buildings in a single bound, but it does seem to run better when cold.

John Bud

 

[Pks]

Re: She\'s up and running

At the risk of stirring up a contraversy, it is to my understanding the Super UDT is a synthetic. And, IMHO, it sure smells like one too.

I swapped out the UDT for the SUDT and my tractor most certainly DID respond better. I can no longer easily hear the gears in the front axel when the front is raised in the air. Just by turning the front wheels by hand, I could hear the gears messing. It was rather loud. But when the SUDT went in, that noise got about 50% quieter. The FEL action, when cold, is much better too. I've been digging in 20 degree (F) weather and the FEL responds without any sluggish behavior.

Has anyone done a good study comparing Amsoil and the SUDT?

Peter S.