this is very bad

[darrenjttu]

I changed the hydro fluid on my 4300 hst this weekend. I bought it used so I don't know the life it had before me. That stuff is not gold in the black bucket it is all the shavings after I poured the hydro oil out of the bucket. The other picture was the metal around the screen. It was caked in clumps. I even saw bits of blue from something I don't know.

 

[tcartwri]

Is that a five gallon pail....

 

[darrenjttu]

No its a one gallon

 

[waycoolmarine]

how many hours? did everything work ? only thing really to do at this point is change both filters and if it has a cartrigage filter for 3 point up top change that and refill and use . I have seen some older tractors that have not had proper service with more metal or brass than that if you want you could wash with 5 gallons of diesel fuel then redrain and see if anything else come out

 

[darrenjttu]

It has over 3000 hours on it. Every thing works. I changed removed the 3 point filter and it had metal shavings in it too. I found some blue bits in there too. I also stripped the threads of that filter so I have ordered another one.

 

[ovrszd]

I'm with the Marine. Fill her back up with new filters and run it. After a few dozen hours you might change the filters again and dissect them. But if it's still working fine that is only going to stress you more. Not knowing the history this could be from many things. I certainly wouldn't go on a hunt chasing a failure that isn't bothering anything up to this point.

 

[darrenjttu]

Yes I have changed all the fluids and I wont go looking for problems. Here is the fuel filter I changed last week and all the junk I pulled out of the sediment bowl.

 

[sixdogs]

There is good advice given above. Change filters, fill it up and maybe change just the filters in another month or two. Those probably were original filters and I've seen worse.

 

[jenkinsph]

A agree that is a lot of trash and filings but why it is there is unknown. Before I did anything else I would want to assess the operation of the tractor and all related hydraulic functions. So if you have replaced the fluid, filters and cleaned the screen, how well does it operate now? I would also recommend you save out some clean buckets to catch the new oil again later.

While the shavings look bad this could have been left over from a previous repair, no way to know. There is also the possibility you have failing parts in the case or pump, I would conduct a pressure test of the hydraulic system and see how it turns out. If the tractor seems to perform well under load and everything appears to work well I would work it hard enough to get the hydraulic oil warmed up fully and then drain again to see how much trash I could get out of it. Check the screen again too. You should get a lot less filings the second time. If you get less filings then refill and use it for a few months and pay attention to any sounds of failure.

If you have refilled the fluids and operate the tractor and have problems then you will need to make the repairs. I would not jump to doomsday conclusions just yet.


edit to add You guys must type faster than me, I agree with the others above good advice and the same as I recommend,

 

[Billrog]

Might not hurt to flush the fuel tank .

 

[newbury]

I'd run it for a few hours then drain/pump out a quart or less, run that through a simple filter, like a handkerchief, and try to get a handle on the amount of particles found.

 

[jenkinsph]

Might not hurt to flush the fuel tank .

I agree, and would change the coolant too since there is the chance that proper maintenance overall has been poor to non existent. Better to know everything is clean and in good shape for the future.

 

[GManBart]

The blue stuff could be bits of permatex sealer, or parts of a seal (either the lip of the seal, or the body when it got pressed in place).

 

[bsamartini]

Filings are one thing, big chunks would be cause for some concern. But even if you found a big chunk of brass are you going to tear it down to find it were it came from, probably not.

I fly airplanes, and we are required to inspect the filters and have oil analysis done regularly. Even with airplanes there is an expected amount of wear, especially at break in. that's why we do analysis to find out which metals are wearing. If turns out not to be a wear part or we find chunks. That immediately initiates a complete tear down. Just be happy we are talking tractors

 

[oldpilgrim]

Don't forget to grease everything well too. I'd bet that hasn't been done either.

 

[Coyote machine]

Filters are there to do the job of catching the particulate matter. Job done. So, change them again according to regular maintenance schedule, or sooner and see where you're at with metal filings, etc. then. Wear is expected, it drops to the pan and gets caught in the filters, as designed. Not to worry, for now.:thumbsup:

 

[Texasmark]

For what it's worth, I decided that I wanted to play with a "rock bucket" just like when I was a kid playing in the sand pile with my little trucks. I bought an overhauled 800 cu in 400 hp Big Cam Cummins in a '79 International cabover about the year '93 or 4, from a guy who owned a diesel repair shop in Dallas and did the work, and a 30' dump trailer for an 18 wheel combination as Texas DOT licenses them. The truck tractor had 2ea either 50 or 100 gallon fuel tanks just crammed full of crap. So I got a handful of filters from him and on my way home I bought a case of fuel filters. Nice thing about the Cummins was that it had a self priming filter.

So, I started driving the sucker and when it started loosing power, I'd pull over to the side of the road, pop in a new fuel filter, crank it back up and go again, repeating the process. By the time I finished off the box of filters the inside of the tanks were spotless. Course in the mean time I had consumed numerous tanks of diesel in my daily chores.

 

[Greenland South]

I've read the posts on this so far and tend to agree with most, that likely little to no maintenance has been done. If you are changing fluids and filters to maintenance specs you would be unlikely to see the buildup of trash you're seeing. It is quite possible the oil has never been changed and you are seeing the accumulated wear from 3000 hrs of use. As others have suggested I'd be draining everything and changing filters frequently over the next few months.

 

[Baby Grand]

If those are the original filters, then there's a good chance that the bulk of that debris is swarf and casting sand from manufacturing that the machine has cleared out of all the hiding places that stuff seems to find. Replace the filters & run a tank of fuel, then pull the filters and see if there's anything new. If it's wear debris it won't stop, but if it's original manufacturing debris, then you should see it taper off over a few filter changes.
-Jim