Water in the HST of my TC34DA

[Dave1953]

My tractor just turned over to 50 hrs. and I was changing all the filters yesterday. The first filter I took off was to the hydrostatic tranny. To my disbelief the tranny is full of water! Now I know why it growls so bad. It is a 2006 model and it sat outside at the dealer till March of 2008. I keep it in a totally enclosed, insulated building with a concrete floor where the temp. varies very little. It has not been in the rain since I bought it. I conclude the water was in there when I bought it new. I called the dealer only to find out they went belly up this week. I called another dealer and they said fluids were not covered under warranty. I asked what about damage that probably has been done to the tranny and he said call the factory. I called them and got the same run around. They wont even give me 9 gallons of 134 fluid so I can change it myself, never mind fixin' any damage that has occured because of the water. In short, they kicked me to the curb. Does any of you gents out there have an opinion as to the damage that may have occured because of the water and anybody got any Ideas as to where to turn to now? Any and all advice appreciated.

Dave

 

[Hooked_on_HP]

If it has been growling so bad , why have you waited a over a year to get it fixed. How did you decide the trans is FULL of water by changing the filter? If ithad that much water in it it should have been over full and milky looking and droplets of water on the dipstick when you checked the fluid.
Bill

 

[Dave1953]

If it has been growling so bad , why have you waited a over a year to get it fixed. How did you decide the trans is FULL of water by changing the filter? If ithad that much water in it it should have been over full and milky looking and droplets of water on the dipstick when you checked the fluid.
Bill

This is the first hydro tractor I have ever owned so I was not familiar with it's sounds. When I took the filter off it was full of milky fluid plus the metal on the top of the filter inside the gasket was badly rusted. The dealer allegedly checked all the fluids before they delivered it. It does not leak any fluid plus the fact it only had 50 hrs on it I saw no need of checking the fluid level. Thats a mistake I will never do again.

Dave

 

[jinman]

If you have water in the HST, you also have water in the main hydraulic pump, 3PH, FEL, and any hydraulic attachment. There is only one sump on your tractor, so any hydraulic fluid is all hydraulic fluid. I'm not sure about the power steering. I think you may have a separate system for that. However, if it draws from the main sump, that will also be contaminated.

You may not have any issues with your tractor after you change fluid, but I think I'd write a certified letter and email and send them to New Holland. If the tractor ever fails due to internal water damage, you will have a little evidence that they were advised of your problem. Other than that, I'd say to change the fluids and hope for the best. You may see that there is still water in the oil because you can't get all the fluid out by just draining it. On my tractor, at least 2 gallons always stays in the system after draining. I cannot do a 100% change.

 

[greenmule]

Likes been said,you probably ain't got nothing to worry about,[and worrying about something will get you no where],you've called them,addressed your concerns,they have gave their reply,so document that in your owners manual.

Now what I would do,is change fluid and filter,run her 20 hours or so,than do it again,kinda flushing it all out that away

These ford new hollands are the same ones that are breaking in half,right? Thought that was just chinese tractors? add that to dealers closing and company not addressing your concerns,well....

 

[Lone Oak Landscaping]

My TC whines alot too , more than any other hydro tractors I have . The noise seems to be the nature of beast from what is said here.

Seems like the advice above is about all you can do and hope no damage has occoured , good luck getting rid of the water.

I will look for water too and post back after my hydro oil change but only have 200hours on it so far,thanks for the warning about the water . Mine sits outside most of the time and now I am curious if water has something to do with the whinning noise.
That is the only complaint I have with this tractor since day one, and was assured it was normal by the dealer and others owners on this site.
When I bought mine I tried a few others and they all made the same whine sound.
Please keep us posted if the noise goes down after the fluid change
Lone Oak

 

[jinman]

I will look for water too and post back after my hydro oil change but only have 200hours on it so far,thanks for the warning about the water . Mine sits outside most of the time and now I am curious if water has something to do with the whinning noise.

I have 1500 hours on my Class III tractor (TC45D). It has sat outside its entire life. I have never found an indication of any water in the hydraulic oil. At the 300 hr change intervals, the oil is crystal clear, not a drop of water. I'm not sure how a Class II TC34DA could get water into the fluid, but my guess is it is either condensation or was there when assembled. If it sat on a dealer's lot for over two years, some vandals might have stolen the filler cap too. My dealer has no fence around his dealership and seems to have no problems with vandals. I'm just not sure that's the case in many places.

 

[Lone Oak Landscaping]

Good points jinman, sure doesn't seem like condensation would make that much water and I always figured it would not be enough to hurt anything or burn off when the tranny heats up.
I know its been asked before but any tips on cutting down on the tranny squeal , jinman ?
Yea I know .... get a cab tractor and now I am gettin spoiled by a little noise .Maybe I need to get down to Texas on a open platform on a 110 degree day for a few to toughen me back up.

 

[dfkrug]

If it sat on a dealer's lot for over two years, some vandals might have stolen the filler cap too.

That is very plausible.

Other than being submerged, there is no other likely way for large quantites of
water to get into the reservoir. Short of deliberately putting it in there.
The breathers will let little water in, even during storms or pressure
washing.

I would buy cheapo hyd oil and flush the system, and articulate the loader
to squeeze out as much of the contaminated fluid as possible.

 

[J_J]

Dave, You can do all the things the others have mentioned, and maybe do it twice after exercising all the functions of the tractor. That will probably remove most of the water from your tractor.

There are other ways to remove water from systems, and that is by using a filter cart with filters with water collection built in. I really don't know if anyone in your area would have a system like this, but if so, then your tractor could be hooked up to that filter system and let run 24/48 hr. I have seen the results from something like this, and the fluid went from milky to almost clear with an amber color.

You could even build one your self by collecting all the parts and put it all together. After it is built and set up, then all you have to do is run it for whatever time you want, and when the water absorption filters are maxed out, throw them away and add new filters. If you live in an area where other people might be interested, you might develop a parter-ship or tractor club, and all share the cost. This kind of system will also work on motor oil with the correct filters. As a matter of fact, The Power-Tracs, and other equipment use motor oil as the hydraulic fluid in their machines.

I know for a fact that a container of gas if heated up on a hot day, and a rain shower dumps on it, just the cooling of the gas tank will suck in water, and I have recovered several ounces of water many times from my Dixie Chopper ZTR. That was about the only thing that would keep my Kohler engine from starting. As soon as I removed all the water out of the carb bowl, and tank, I was good to go until the nest shower. I finally modified the gas cap and sealed the top vent hole. Even cylinders will suck in air and water into the system. You can blame that foaming/milky look to the detergents in the fluid. If they were not there, the water would settle on the bottom of a unit and remain there until drained or pumped out. My hydraulic tank happens to have a drain fitting at the bottom of the tank.