L3000DT Leak

Dirk Lately · Apr 26, 2010

My tractor's been sitting a lot (again). Yesterday when I used it, I noticed some leaking in the front, directly under the engine. A pretty fast drip. It doesn't smell like engine oil. Perhaps hydraulic fluid?

When I turned the wheel hard to the left, it gushed out a LOT. I put her away quick after that.

Maybe some kind of seal is busted in the power steering system? Is this something I, as a novice mechanic, can fix, or do I need to have it done?

Any advice is appreciated!

Dirk Lately · Apr 26, 2010

Perhaps I should just call the dealer. I wish I knew what troubleshooting steps to take.

Youare · Apr 27, 2010

The best thing to do is crawl under the tractor and see if you can determine where the oil is coming from, my lawyer forces me to say don't do this with the tractor running and set the brakes.

The FEL, power steering, and 3PH all use the same transmission oil supplied by the same pump. You should be able to look at the oil level sight glass located on the left side of the transmission by the clutch pedal. The transmission holds about 7 gallons of oil so it might take the loss of a bit of oil before you see the level drop. When you check it the FEL should be in the lower position.

From what you say the leak could be coming from the power steering either a hose or a hose connection. I have an L3000DT but haven't had that experience yet.

Randy

Dirk Lately · Apr 27, 2010

Hey Randy, thanks for the reply. It's nice to meet (well, "meet") someone with the same model! Seems like a pretty rare one...

Thanks for the advice. I haven't even looked at it, it's been raining and I'm not going to lay down in the mud to troubleshoot this. I think the first thing I'll do is get some HST and make sure I've got enough in there. I couldn't see anything in the oil level window. Then I'll clean everything off underneath and start her up. In spite of your lawyer's admonitions.