JD 2720 Hyd. Service

[pinetree10]

I just changed the engine oil and transmission/hydraulic oil in my 2720 for the first time and found magnets in both the screen and filter. The screen was loaded with metal chips but none on the magnets inside the filter. I put the magnets back into the suction screen but not inside the new filter. I just saved the old filter magnets in case the suction screen needs new ones some day. Everything I've read from other posts says the shavings decrease dramatically with each oil change and I'm assuming the filter will capture whatever the screen and its magnets miss. I wouldn't even know about the magnets inside the filter if I hadn't read about it on this site.

I also did not know about the hydraulic oil dipstick until I saw it on YouTube. My biggest suggestion would be to add hydraulic oil slowly as the ideal level sneaks up on you and you'll suddenly have it flowing out of the dipstick tube if you overfill it. Other suggestions would be to make sure the filter gasket comes off with the filter (it was still stuck to the underside of the tractor) and make sure you put the washer back on with the oil plug (I found it at the bottom of the oil pan).

 

[beenthere]

and make sure you put the washer back on with the oil plug (I found it at the bottom of the oil pan).

How did you fix that? drain the system again, replace the washer, and pour the oil back in??

 

[pinetree10]

I could have done that but I didn't feel like I had to. I figured I could pull a little sleight of hand if I was careful about it so I put a drain pan under the plug, slowly unscrewed the plug, and when it got to the point where I could actually take the plug out of the hole I put the washer right next to the plug with my other hand, quickly sneaked the washer onto the plug and then put the plug back into the hole again. I got about a half a handful of fresh oil on my hand, which was unavoidable, but I didn't need to add any oil because it was still up to the full line.

I think the washer must have stuck to the drain pan when I took the plug out to drain the old oil because everything was painted black under there, including the edges of the washer, so maybe the paint held it in place for a while and then it just dropped into the oil pan when I wasn't looking. I wasn't looking for a washer on the main drain plug because neither of the final drive plugs in the back had a washer on them. Not sure why one has a washer and the others don't. Must have been an idea of the same engineer who placed the fuel filter so close to the water separator that I couldn't get my standard filter wrench onto the fuel filter so I had to use big channel lock pliers to get that filter off. I bought a strap-style filter wrench in case that happens again but that's another story.