water contamination on hydraulic fluid on 6900 john deere 1997

[Dspark]

Hello all,


I have a John Deere 6900, year 1997 which has water in the oil. With the water in the oil the lubrication is reduced as u know causing the wet brakes to chatter!
It has been to the main dealer three times now for the same problem, once for a major overhaul on all the clutch packs and brakes as the water im told creates a steam when the oil gets hot that breaks the bond between the disc lining and the metal disc. They even added an anti-chatter fluid availabe for Massey fergusons specifically designed to solve anti-chatter noise. The oil was totally changed down all times including filters and they told me they wiped out as much as possible of the back end but i still have the noise and when i open the filler cap (vented cap) after working i find water, dampness and sumtimes a white scum yet the backend sight glass still shows the oil being a perfect oil colour. They have checked for leaks into the oil and can find none and we are now presuming that its a residual wet or dampness thats in the back end as the tractor is store indoors and has no external hydraulic implements attached to it bar a loader. Can anyone shed some light before i loose my mind !!!

 

[JasG]

How long does it take to get water in the fluid? What is the tractor used for?

Are you using deere hydraulic trans fluid?

Usually transmission fluid absorbs water so this won't happen. Then the oil gets cloudy or greenish. I know my backhoe I had would get water in it from just setting. It would be made worse if I didn't work the crap out of it to get everything good and hot. Most of the time I was just using the hoe at about 1/2 throttle, didn't do my machine much good. I had to change the fluid every 2 years and was only putting 25-30 hours per year on it. The years I ran it harder and ran it daily the fluid went 3-4 years.

A good friend of mine I know his tractor he spreads manure with we have to change the fliud more often. He leave it parked under the barn in a damp location attached to the spreader.

 

[Dspark]

Hi there JasG, thanks for your reply. The tractor is used for feeding cattle during the winter with a front loader attached, maybe running for an hour every day, but its around a yard. During the rest of the year its busy enough. Topping with a disc mower/ mowing our silage and baling it. Then drawing it in with a double bale handler on the back and one hydraulic bale handler on the front loader. All in all, it puts up around 250 hrs a year. Yes i am using hygard transmission oil bought off my local Jd Dealer who has also ripped the tractor 3 times, changing bothe hydraulic filter and transmission filter and cleaning the centre line gauze every time. Like you, while feeding the tractor is only idling but mower/baling, its opened up and after working like this, the following morning, there would be signs of condensation on the inside of the filler cap ( vented ) . The dealer even added ''anti-sqwauk'' oil additive to the hygard the last time it visited them but it noise is still in it. The pulled the half housings off and checked the brake discs and wear plates and the piston seals every time and all brake component only have 130 hrs done since they wer totally replaced. The tractor is stored inside when not in use and tho we live in a wet climate, they have checked around the tractor and cannot find any source of a leak in from outside. Its a power quad tranmission all all this has been disassembled replaced and the housing cleaned. Baler, mower, hydraulic handler and double bale handler are the only hydraulic implements that are put on the tractor and ONLY that tractor as we have two other ( deutz and zetor ). I would be ever so grateful if anyone could shed some light on this now as its been going on for two years at this point! Thanks again D

 

[art]

Being here in NY that is a normal problem or so to speak it comes with the turf. What you find on the cap is just trying to evaporate which is good but you are not warming the tractor up enough to get rid of it all. Winter is tough on things!
For many I recommend changing the oil yearly to eliminate this type of problem. You are not alone!

 

[JasG]

These would be grabing at staws, but does the tractor have an oil cooler that connects to the engine cooling? I've seen where one cooler fails and leaks into the other, never on a Deere though. If it has a cab where does the water drip from that? Our 6605 has a steady stream in the summer from the AC on the cab. Just wondering if it could be dripping on the trans and finding a way in.

It seems strange the oil isn't changing color at all. Seems like your getting a lot of water very quickly. Mowing and other stuff would get it hot enough thats for sure.

 

[Dspark]

These would be grabing at staws, but does the tractor have an oil cooler that connects to the engine cooling? I've seen where one cooler fails and leaks into the other, never on a Deere though. If it has a cab where does the water drip from that? Our 6605 has a steady stream in the summer from the AC on the cab. Just wondering if it could be dripping on the trans and finding a way in.

It seems strange the oil isn't changing color at all. Seems like your getting a lot of water very quickly. Mowing and other stuff would get it hot enough thats for sure.

Hey JasG, the tractor is aircooled ie, there is no oil to water cooling. There is a cab on it and the water channels on it run towards the front windscreen.There is also a/c on it but its rarely used and the condensate pipe drops from the right hand side over the half housing and drips to the ground. The dealer was says he pressure tested te beack end to check for leaks and found nothing and there is no evidence of oil leakin out of the tranmission or backend anywhere. Im stumped lol !

 

[JasG]

Like I said I was grasping at staws, things I have seen on other machines, but never a deere. I also have never come across the issues you are having. Usually the oil will combine will the oil and get hung in the filters to a degree and change the color of the rest of the oil.

One other note. Here in NY we had a very mild winter. I do all of teh service on a friends machinery and my own. His tractors the hydraulic filters for the 1st time ever had the trans lights come on. These filters by the hours were about 3/4 of the way through their life. It was from water mixed into the oil. His discbine had milky oil in the cutter bar. I usually change it evey 3 years. This time it only went 1 year and had water going by the color. The 1 tractor is a 1968 4020, the other an 8-9 year old 6605. The discbine we usually put in the shed, just for cover. This year it sat outside so that might have had an effect.

None of the tractors has ever has moisture this fast, and none has shown any damage.

 

[RPW]

As this seems to an on going problem you could add some sea foam trans tune. A couple of years ago I inadvertently add some contaminanted oil. Everything got real stiff and would freeze in the winter. Change oil and added the sea foam and what a difference it made. Good luck

 

[jd110]

The 6900 is a little different than the US versions. On some of our models, we have seen water get into the transmission from the breather. I'll post a picture to show the breather. Old breather #8 & 9, new breather and extension #13, 14, 15. An extension can be added to raise the breather so debris from mowing, etc does not cover the breather and cause water to soak up in the debris and seep into the transmission. Possibly could be your problem.

 

[MightyReek]

The breather on 6800/6910 is made by the filler cap. There is a small hose melt in the inside of the filler neck that has the function of breathing.

Check if the filler cap is clean (you can dismantle it and clean the steel wool inside).
I didn't understand if this time you had the transmission dismantled for cleaning and repacking. Anyway what you have is probably residual water.
Make sure the implements you use are free of water-contaminated-oil too.

If you hadn't the transmission disassembled for cleaning I'm afraid you might have problems in the future because the disks (brakes and transmission) will eventually loose the lining... Pay attention on the net-filter inside the large hose under the transmission (remove all transmission oil before).