I've got R&O Fluid in my Hyd System on my skid steer

[R1formetoo]

I just bought a 97 LX665 and I've decided to change the fluid in the hydraulic system to be sure it's clean but now I'm not so sure. I know it's supposed to have a diesel grade 10W-30 oil in it but the previous owner told me he had R&O hydraulic fluid in it. Now I don't know if I should change to 10W-30 or not because that would certainly mix the two to some degree. I also have no idea how to get the fluid out since there's no drain on the bottom... Can anyone give advise on this issue that is concrete? Thanks in advance!

Ian

 

[RPW]

Service manual is your friend. However I've got a similar situation. I just got a Bobcat 742 and because of the condition in which I got I will be changing the hydraulic fluid also. Like you I don't have a drain on the bottom of the tank. After some investigation and a simplified hydraulic flow chart it turns out that by removing the return hose that goes to the filter it will drain the entire system. Yours might be similar.

Good luck.

 

[J_J]

It all depends on how you think about the fluid mixing, as it takes a lot of work to completely drain all the old fluid . Do you not have a fitting near or at the bottom of the tank to drain. Next thing would be to find the lowest fitting, and open it to drain. You could use air to help drain some things, or remove the cylinders and empty them, and reinstall. They will fill and purge automatically. as you work the system. Use the manufactures recommendation unless you know something better.

On my Case SS, they recommend 10W-40, which is a motor oil, or a HTF, High Trans Fluid, which is hydro fluid. They never seem to say although either one will work, they say nothing abut what happens if they mix. I would think that a lot of tractors/SS have a mix of fluid in them. Just about every one of the makers of hydro fluid say theirs is compatible with all others. So that leads one to believe that as long as you get the viscosity right and what ever additives required to protect the system, that there is a lot to select from. Amsoil sure is proud of their fluid, but not many people have recommend it for their hydraulics.

 

[Diamondpilot]

You could use a pump to remove the fluid from the tank. Know a buddy with a boat and a inboard engine? He should have a hand or better yet a 12 volt pump for doing oil changes.

Chris

 

[RickB]

There is an unused plug at the outside of each boom cylinder barrel. We connect a hose there and stroke the lift spool to pump the reservoir out using the SSL's hydraulic pump. When we start getting air, we shut it down immediately. If you really have oil in there you want to get out, drain it again after filling it to a minimum safe level and cycling all functions. To get a skid steer loader absolutely dry is impractical.