Piece of plastic in my hydraulic filter housing?

thenline · Sep 10, 2015

Just curious if anyone has seen anything like this while changing their trans/hydraulic fluid and filter in a 3320 sub-compact? I was just about ready to install my new filter when I saw this little piece of white plastic hanging down. Not sure what it is; perhaps a sheared off piece of nylon bushing or seal? Before I cut it out, I thought I'd check for any feedback, which as always is appreciated!

beenthere · Sep 10, 2015

"before I cut it out" implies that it is tight and not hanging loose.

What is the history of your 3320? Age, oil changes, etc.

thenline · Sep 10, 2015

Thanks for the response. Yes, it is tight. After not seeing anything obvious in the JD online parts lookup (they show only a sealing ring in that area), I climbed up underneath with a pen light and saw that there is a white "ring" of sorts between the tube and the housing. So, I'm guessing that when the tube got inserted into the housing, it went in crooked and sheared the ring. There are no leaks, so I don't want to pull on it real hard, but I don't want it to break off in the future, so I'll probably just trim it as close to the housing as I can.

Regarding the tractor, it's a 2005. I bought it used about 3-4 years ago w/less than 250 hours on it. I don't know how many/if any hydraulic changes were done on the tractor before I purchased it, but I dropped it off at the JD dealer for an inspection when I got back to WI with it to have it gone over. They said the fluid was fine and didn't need to be changed at that time. So, since taking possession of it, this is the first time I've changed the trans/hydraulic fluid (500 hours now). The filter looked really good; a few small pieces of metal filings (spiral shavings from machining process by the looks of it).

arlen4720 · Sep 10, 2015

thenline said:
Thanks for the response. Yes, it is tight. After not seeing anything obvious in the JD online parts lookup (they show only a sealing ring in that area), I climbed up underneath with a pen light and saw that there is a white "ring" of sorts between the tube and the housing. So, I'm guessing that when the tube got inserted into the housing, it went in crooked and sheared the ring. There are no leaks, so I don't want to pull on it real hard, but I don't want it to break off in the future, so I'll probably just trim it as close to the housing as I can.

Regarding the tractor, it's a 2005. I bought it used about 3-4 years ago w/less than 250 hours on it. I don't know how many/if any hydraulic changes were done on the tractor before I purchased it, but I dropped it off at the JD dealer for an inspection when I got back to WI with it to have it gone over. They said the fluid was fine and didn't need to be changed at that time. So, since taking possession of it, this is the first time I've changed the trans/hydraulic fluid (500 hours now). The filter looked really good; a few small pieces of metal filings (spiral shavings from machining process by the looks of it).

Maybe you should take it apart and put a new seal in. At least order a new seal and see if it's the same material. It might have a suction leak and is pulling air into the system.

thenline · Sep 11, 2015

arlen4720 said:
Maybe you should take it apart and put a new seal in. At least order a new seal and see if it's the same material. It might have a suction leak and is pulling air into the system.

Good suggestion, thank you. I'm not terribly familiar with the workings of the hydraulic system; does anyone know if that large tube shown is the return from the pump?