Mystery leak!! Any ideas???

[jjmarotz]

I have a JD 3203 with 67hrs on it and now have a mystery leak somewhere. Here is the story, the tires are loaded with CC, hyd oil is light tan color, as is motor oil, antifreeze is green, so on and so on. The color I am finding while blowing snow is a pink/red every 10-20 feet in my tire tracks. Sometimes it is on the left side, somtimes on the right. I have checked and checked and re-checked the tractor from top to bottom with no results. My first thought was the tires but the pressures are still perfect from when the cc was loaded at 15hrs. No leaks at valve stems. When I thaw it out in the shop, no leaks or anything anywhere. Does anyone out there have an idea as to what it is or where to look?? Any and All help is much appreciated. Thanks.

 

[B8FISH]

Maybe the snow is collecting on something that takes grease and then falling off?? Do you use any red grease?

 

[jjmarotz]

Maybe the snow is collecting on something that takes grease and then falling off?? Do you use any red grease?

Nope-- using blue grease. I thought of that too.

 

[ccsial]

Kind of funny because I had these red spots in the snow and I figured I had hydraulic dripping somewhere. Could not find any oil on the tractor. Turned out to be mulberrys that dropped on the drive in the wind.

 

[hydrovane218]

I also have a 3203 and have seen the same thing once. I thought it might be steering fluid getting past the steering cylinder. It happened when I slid a bit off the neighbours driveway and was rocking back and forth while steering left to right to try to grab some ground instead of just loose snow. I never saw it again so I didn't think too much more about it. I assume the steering is off one of the hydraulic pumps that has, as you mentioned, Lo-Hyd J.D fluid which is light brown(same as most hydraulic fluid), which means it wasn't that.
If you get to the bottom of it, let me know...I will, likewise.

 

[jjmarotz]

Kind of funny because I had these red spots in the snow and I figured I had hydraulic dripping somewhere. Could not find any oil on the tractor. Turned out to be mulberrys that dropped on the drive in the wind.

No berrys around here, only pine and quaken aspens will grow here. Too cold in the winter to grow much else, my dad tried for years to get other trees to grow and they only last for a couple years before they die out. Kind of sucks for making the property colorful.

 

[Tig]

Perhaps one of your other vehicles is leaking tranny fluid. If you drive other vehicles through the freshly blown area do more spots show up in the tire tracks?
How big are the spots?

 

[KubotainNH]

Deisel fuel? Any scent from it?

 

[jjmarotz]

Vehicles are in the garage when I blow snow, and they don't leak anything.

The diesel is OTR green, not the farm fuel red.

Still stumped, ughhhh!!!!!!

 

[dirtworksequip]

Get yourself some white meat wrapping paper and lay it on the floor in a garage. Secure it with tape so it doesn't blow all over the place. Now back your tractor ontop of the paper. Shut if off and look carefully for spots on the paper. If you don't find any. Start up the tractor and look again with it running. No spots yet. Start by checking the transmission move it back and forth and look for spots. Got thru a range of functions until you do or don't see anything. If that doesn't show anything.............I'd stop worrying about it.

Sincerely,Dirt