L3130: Newbie dumb question on hydraulics..

cuzncletus · Sep 14, 2003

I have an L3130 with 513 FEL; just a few hours time on them. I put my tractor on the trailer last night with the bucket elevated to clear the back of the truck. This morning I found it had leaked down. I put it up again; in a couple of hours it was down again. The bushhog remained up and while I know it says store the tractor with the implements lowered, I've stored it elevated before with no problems. I find no trace of oil on the rams. I'm new. Is this normal?

_RaT_ · Sep 14, 2003

Very normal. The small amount of leakage in the hydraulic system typically occurs around the control valve. The tolerances are close, but not so close as to completely eliminate leakage, if it was, the joystick would be so tight you could barely move it. The cylinders themselves will also allow small amounts of fluid to pass which in turn can leaked through the valve. On trailers that require a hydraulic componet to be elevated for extended periods, there is almost always a mechanical means to lock it in place.

cisco · Sep 14, 2003

The hydraulic leak down seems to occur at different rates among the Kubota crowd, even with the same model tractor. My FEL won't lower for 2-3 days, but some do overnight. Does not seem to be a problem - relax (just check for obvious leaks and keep an eye on the hydraulic fluid level - you probably will find that there's no leak, and no problem).

NewTexan · Sep 15, 2003

I had the same problem with my B7500/272 Fel. The only difference is that if I turn the bucket all the way down it won't leak off even if you have the front end lifted of the ground. i spoke with the dealer mechanic about it and he said it was totally normal for the reason mentioned in the post above. It sure made me scratch my head.