hydraulic oil disappearing..

jabelding · Oct 26, 2017

With hydraulic fluid it is always really hard to tell when the fluid is off unless it is a quart or more. Your tractor holds 16quarts of fluid and the dip sticks are not that accurate. If there is any small change in angle of the tractor or position of the 3pt hitch or loader the lever will be off up to a quart. The 3pt cylinder is a large bore single acting and probably takes over 2 quarts to fill when it is raised.

gravelman · Oct 27, 2017

those are excellent points..i think i will just take it to dealer... let the experts figure it out..it is under warranty and delay may spell biggertrouble

LouNY · Oct 27, 2017

Come on a 1/4 of a quart in 2 weeks time?
You say you are parking on cardboard and can't find a leak.
You have monitored the engine oil and it's not increasing.
Now it's going to the dealer to look at, you can't find a leak and you think the dealer is going to????
HE's not going to send hours looking for a possible problem.
It will get a walk around and then left parked till you call for it, because if it doesn't show up he can't find it.

gravelman · Oct 27, 2017

well if i don't bring it to their attention later on down the line if something goes bad, they will say why didn't you bring it to our attention sooner. I rather put it on them. I have owned 7 tractors of all sizes never had to add hydraulic oil unless i blew a line or something like that.

boomer1025 · Oct 27, 2017

gravelman said:
well if i don't bring it to their attention later on down the line if something goes bad, they will say why didn't you bring it to our attention sooner. I rather put it on them. I have owned 7 tractors of all sizes never had to add hydraulic oil unless i blew a line or something like that.

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Go to the dealer and tell them about the leak and see if they will give you a bottle of dye that shows up with a UV/black light and add it to the hyd oil. If the oil is getting into the engine oil it should show up after you use the tractor for several weeks. Then take a sample of the engine oil to the dealer and have them check it for the dye.

Ford850 · Oct 27, 2017

1 cup every 2 weeks. How many times have you had to add a cup to bring it back up to normal level? 1, 10, 30? I'm trying to get a better feel for how much fluid you've lost, and over how much time.

Fallon · Oct 27, 2017

Raising & lowering the 3pt, loader or any hydraulics causes the sump level to fluctuate a lot. If you ever hook up any new (dry) hydraulics, that eats up several quarts.

As others have said, how much & often have you had to refill your hydraulic sump?

I have a good number of dust & oil caked fittings on my new L4060 where I know tiny amounts of fluid have made it out. But not nearly enough to be noticable on the dipstick. If it was leaking externally you should be able to see it pretty easy. If not, wash the tractor, dry it, run it then look for the oily dust accumulations.

gravelman · Oct 27, 2017

all good points...in the big picture i think im overstressing it... im kindof a neatnick I will give it a pressure wash tomorrow. also, i have put in close to a gallon in 4 weeks...that seems like alot to me... have not been switching implements etc.. no new hydraulic toys to eat up fluid.

Fallon · Oct 28, 2017

gravelman said:
all good points...in the big picture i think im overstressing it... im kindof a neatnick I will give it a pressure wash tomorrow. also, i have put in close to a gallon in 4 weeks...that seems like alot to me... have not been switching implements etc.. no new hydraulic toys to eat up fluid.

A gallon in a week is excessive unless it was just low to start with (like they topped it up before hooking up the loader dry or something). As long as it's not ending up in the crank case it's nothing to panic over though. Just take your time & find the leak. Keep it properly topped up until then.