MT240HE 50hr service - Hydraulic & HST filter change - how to?

[JCoastie]

I will complete the 50hr service fairly soon, and was wondering what to expect when I remove the hydraulic and HST filters? How much fluid should I expect to drain out?
Will it just be what's in the filter with no pumps running, or will gravity make all the fluid try to drain out, and I should be prepared to plug, or swap the filters very fast?

 

[Bearsixty7]

I have heard you can loose about 3-4 quarts. But there is a trick where you put a shop vac on the filler port and the vacuum will help keep most of the fluid from running out.

 

[Roadworthy]

Have the new filter ready so you can install it as soon as you remove the old. You WILL lose fluid. Putting your shop vac on the filler port will reduce the loss as it puts a slight vacuum on the fluid kind of counteracting gravity.

 

[Underdog57]

Have the new filter ready so you can install it as soon as you remove the old. You WILL lose fluid. Putting your shop vac on the filler port will reduce the loss as it puts a slight vacuum on the fluid kind of counteracting gravity.

Very good advice, it works good. Do it that way!

I didn't do it that way the first time and lost a lot of fluid and made a big mess.

 

[AC Farms]

Have your new hydraulic filters at the ready. You will lose a lot less fluid that way. I purchased a Lisle 57040 Large Oil Filter Swivel Wrench for the large filter and also used a 3' quick-grip clamp to break it loose.

Engine oil was easy but the are two drain plugs, one on each side of the pan.

I also re torqued the loader mounts and lug nuts. Probably took an hour all together.

 

[Bearsixty7]

Well I did my 50 hour service today since it was due and a very nice day.
I poured about a 1/2 a quart of fresh hydraulic fluid into the new filter and let it soak a few minutes, then added some more and rotated the filter while I held it almost horizontal to get all the media presoaked.

I was able to remove the hydraulic filter pretty easily with an old metal filter strap wrench. I was prepared to use a cheater bar and whatever else after hearing others state how difficult it was to remove since they get painted. That was a pleasant surprise.

Now I did put my old Craftsman 4.5 hp shop vac on the fill port using a couple adapters, it wasn't snug but had maybe a 1/16" of a gap, I hoped that was good enough. It Was! it was actually too much vacuum.
Once I broke the filter loose, the vac motor pitch changed and I could hear the fluid gurgling, as I removed the filter I could just see some hydraulic fluid sort of wanting to escape but it just went back into the housing, I quickly installed the new filter and as I snugged it up I was thinking I was barely going to loose any fluid, then I noticed fluid dripping by the back axle, the shop vac had been drawing it out of the reservoir! I quickly shut the vac off and finished tightening the filter on.
I emptied the filter in the catch pan and poured it into a milk jug. Looks like I only lost/captured about a quart of fluid plus maybe another 1/4 quart that was sucked out by the vac.

The strangest thing was the front axle took a quart of gear oil. I had checked it around 10-20 hours and it was good. I haven't noticed any drips on the concrete where it's stored and no drips/seepage any where on the axle. I drove it around a few minutes and cycled all the hydraulics on the loader and backhoe. I Checked the fluid and the axle, they were both right at full.

 

[Avenger]

I remember hearing about the shop vac trick. I didnt have any adapters to use, and the hose was way too big, So I used our house vacuum with the smaller hose. That vacuum was not strong enough! It just made noise and I lost a bunch of oil! I was "prepared" with a pan under it, but oil went everywhere as I, as quick as I could, spin off the old and spin on the new.

I now have a smaller shop vac that I use for smaller jobs. It has a smaller hose that should work better. When I change filters again, I'll be sure to use it instead of the wife's house vacuum.

 

[Underdog57]

Amazon.com: WORKSHOP Wet/Dry Vacs Multi-Fit Wet Dry Vacuum Accessories VT1215 Vacuum Micro Cleaning Kit Vacuum Attachments For Compact Wet Dry Shop Vacuum, Black, 1-(Pack),6: Home Improvement



I bought this and use the cone shaped adapter, worked great, it doesn't go in far enough to suck any oil out, and it fits the filler hole nicely!

 

[Bearsixty7]

I bought this and use the cone shaped adapter, worked great, it doesn't go in far enough to suck any oil out, and it fits the filler hole nicely!

In my case my shop vac hose was larger diameter than the fill port and went around the outside of it, it wasn't down inside the reservoir and it still managed to draw fluid out. Not sure what the perfect solution is. Maybe some sort of vacuum limiter port on the shop vac hose or maybe I need to do it when the filter is much dirtier and it has less vacuum.

 

[JCoastie]

The strangest thing was the front axle took a quart of gear oil. I had checked it around 10-20 hours and it was good. I haven't noticed any drips on the concrete where it's stored and no drips/seepage any where on the axle. I drove it around a few minutes and cycled all the hydraulics on the loader and backhoe. I Checked the fluid and the axle, they were both right at full.

I didn't check mine until 40hrs, and it took 2 full quarts. Like yours, no drips or leakage noted. I figured it would have been checked/topped off prior to delivery, and I broke the paint/seal when I checked it, so the dealer never checked it.

 

[Bearsixty7]

I didn't check mine until 40hrs, and it took 2 full quarts. Like yours, no drips or leakage noted. I fugured it would have been checked/topped off prior to delivery, and I broke the paint/seal when I checked it, so the dealer never checked it.

That can be explained, Dealer didn't check it. Mine was good before and needed a quart with no visible signs of where it went. Only possible explanation I can come up with is maybe something was limiting flow to the right side and it was at the full mark on the dipstick and the oil finally settled over to the right side and that's why it needed a quart.

 

[JCoastie]

completed the oil & filter change, and HST and hydraulic filter changes today.
The vacuum trick worked great for the main hydraulic filter, I only lost what was in the filter and wasn't required for the HST filter.
I didn't want to risk sucking fluid into my large shopvac (which I also use for hot tub maintenance), so I used an old small 1 gallon one, and that was plenty.
In decades of changing my own vehicles oil (first time with hydraulic fluid) I have heard and read about the filter gasket sticking to the housing, but I have never seen it myself. That changed today with the main hydraulic filter. When the new one wouldn't spin on, it took me a minute to figure out what was going on (vacuum saved me) once I pulled off the stuck gasket, the new one went right on.
All in all, it was a fairly simple process.

 

[Avenger]

Glad to hear! :thumbsup:

 

[Dgonthefly]

I will complete the 50hr service fairly soon, and was wondering what to expect when I remove the hydraulic and HST filters? How much fluid should I expect to drain out?
Will it just be what's in the filter with no pumps running, or will gravity make all the fluid try to drain out, and I should be prepared to plug, or swap the filters very fast?

Hello, new here! Where did you get the filters? I'm hoping to cross reference to something cheaper than the dealer.

 

[JCoastie]

I got them from the dealer.

 

[Ddh1961]

Hello, new here! Where did you get the filters? I'm hoping to cross reference to something cheaper than the dealer.

Did you check filter prices from your dealer? Oil filter for my MT225 was about $8 and hyd oil filter was about $25 from my dealer. At those prices I’ll stick with OEM.

 

[hammick]

Hey guys. What's with the shop vac to prevent hydraulic fluid loss? I though the break-in service called for the hydraulic fluid being changed? Will be doing the 50 hour on my MT357 and it would be great if I didn't have to replace the hydraulic fluid.

 

[Ddh1961]

Hey guys. What's with the shop vac to prevent hydraulic fluid loss? I though the break-in service called for the hydraulic fluid being changed? Will be doing the 50 hour on my MT357 and it would be great if I didn't have to replace the hydraulic fluid.

Check your owner’s manual, it should say just replace the hyd filter and not the oil. Dealer can verify if you don’t have a manual.

 

[hammick]

Check your owner’s manual, it should say just replace the hyd filter and not the oil. Dealer can verify if you don’t have a manual.

Thanks. I won't have access to my manual for a couple weeks but I checked a digital manual I have for an XR4100. You are correct just the filter. I wasn't looking forward to draining and disposing of 10 gallons of hydro fluid.

 

[Ddh1961]

Thanks. I won't have access to my manual for a couple weeks but I checked a digital manual I have for an XR4100. You are correct just the filter. I wasn't looking forward to draining and disposing of 10 gallons of hydro fluid.

Nope, that’s a lot of perfectly serviceable oil!