Oil & Fuel Oil in front axle milky/foamy?

Mike5252 · Dec 27, 2006

I was just changing the oil in the front axle of my 2520 and noticed the oil coming from the center drain (there are three drains, center, and near each wheel) was noticably milkier than the oil from the wheel hubs. Additionally, the oil from the center drain seemed to have some foam on it.

Is this normal? I had just driven the tractor in 4wd for a bit to try and warm things up, but when I changed it the oil was still pretty cold and thick. Is this just air getting worked into fairly cold oil, or is there something else going on here? (contaminated oil?)

Why would the oil coming from the center drain look different from the oil coming from the hubs?

JDFANATIC · Dec 27, 2006

Mike,

Several 2210 owners have noticed the same thing. Our first thought was that it was condensation related to using the tractor in cold weather (plowing/blowing), but maybe it is caused by something else . . . ?

Bird · Dec 27, 2006

Without actually seeing it, I wouldn't attempt to say for sure, but usually when oil looks like that, it's because it's gotten some water in it. As to whether it could just be air; possibly.

JDFANATIC · Dec 27, 2006

Bird,

That's what we thought too. Perhaps the hot MFWD working in the cold outdoors caused some kind of condensation. Anyway, I think I'll be changing my axle oil more frequently than the owners manual calls for.

BTDT · Dec 27, 2006

Did you save any of the old oil? Set it aside, undisturbed. If it was just air, the air will finally float to top, and the oil should look like the oil from the axles. If it had water in it I would think that it would continue to look milky.

Mike5252 · Dec 27, 2006

The oil went into a drain pan that contained a lot of other oil. I'll take a look at it tomorrow and let you know if I can see anything that still looks milky.

I agree w/ JD Fanatic. Just to play it safe, I think I'll be changing the axle oil a little more regularly than called for (200 hrs as I recall). The Rotella 80W90 I put in only cost about $12.

DieselPower · Dec 27, 2006

Sounds like water contamination probably from condensation to me. Oil that is contaminated with water tends to foam much easier than without. From what I gather the additives that prevent oil from foaming don't mix well with water.

Does the axle have a metal breather on top or does it have a breather tube/hose? If it has a metal breather cap on top you might consider replacing it with a nipple and placing a tube on it going up. Place it as high as you can and then make sure to put a coil or two in the end of it to prevent water from being able to run down it. This was a TSB repair for alot of Ford trucks many years ago. It fixed the milky differential oil in them.

dirtworksequip · Dec 27, 2006

If you put some of the milkey stuff on your fingers it will feel slimey instead of like oil. In that case it would be water contamination. I would think if it were just foam it would settle out pretty quickly.

RalphVa · Dec 27, 2006

Sounds like a little bit of water to me. Never noticed any of this when changing the gear oil at 50 hours on my 4010 (now has 205). Have no idea where its vent is.

If you run a hose up as suggested, you could run it through something in which you could put one of those get pack things that are often put into pool chlorine and other things to keep moisture from accumulating. Probably not enough water to worry about though.

Too bad the gear oil doesn't have a bit of detergent in it that would keep the water dissolved in the oil. They generally don't have much additive.

Ralph