2017 Case SR210 dumped all hydraulic fluid, how do I raise the cab?

[Max Ludwig]

Hello!

I was plowing snow when suddenly the machine stopped moving and no control response. The Aux light came on, and then a few moments later the Hydraulic light came on. There was a four digit code that started with a '4', but I can't remember it now. I shut the motor down and luckily I was able to get out of the machine because the plow was on the ground and not blocking the door.
I immediately noticed a huge puddle of hydraulic fluid on the ground under the middle of the machine. I checked the sight glass, empty. The machine was not leaking before, it seems like it was a sudden blast of fluid, all at once, not a slow leak over time.

So, at this point, I have some questions:

1) How do I detach the plow with no hydraulic fluid? (It has a quick detach button)
2) How do I raise the arms with no hydraulic fluid so I can tilt the cab to investigate the problem?
3) How do I move the machine with no hydraulic fluid?
4) Any ideas what happened that caused such a violent leak?

I do have access to a tractor to lift and pull if necessary.
I have the Owners Manual, Service Manual and Parts Manual. But none of these help me unless I can open her up to see what the problem is.

Thank you in advance for any help and guidance!

Max

 

[Acoals]

Answers:

1) You don't.
2) You don't.
3) You don't.
4) You blew a big hose feeding one of the drive motors, or something to that effect. There are some big hoses down there and if they blow the whole reservoir will dump in a matter of seconds.

I don't know Case machines specifically, but you should be able to raise the cab without putting the boom up. Look for two bolts at the front corners of the cab, remove them, than push the cab up, there most likely are gas struts to help raise it. You shouldn't have to use a tractor.

 

[alrman]

Unfortunately, you do need to raise the loader frame to tilt the cabin.

I'm not sure it's a good idea to raise a snow plow up that high, but I live in Australia & that isn't something I've ever had to deal with.

In this situation I disconnect the loader lift hoses, at the cylinders, but on opposite ends - so that I loop one hose into both ends of the cylinder. This prevents oil going all over the ground while raising the loader frame.
It's a good idea to place timbers under the rear of the machine, so when you lift the loader frame, it prevents the front wheels raising off the ground.

 

[IceHole]

Id undo the hydraulic lines on the cylinder or the locks and manually move them.
Do the same to lift the boom with your tractor, set the lock

 

[Acoals]

Well I guess that goes from a lousy situation to a miserable one. Depending on how the quick attach works there should be a way to take the cylinder off and get the lock pins up. It is most likely going to be a pain, but if you have to raise the boom with a tractor or something it may be necessary.
I have moved dead skid loaders with a rollback before, but those were older Bobcats that had levers for the ground drive. We had somebody hold them in the travel position and it would sort of roll. If you have enough winch you should be able to drag it up whether it wants to or not, but I don't know that a common auto rollback with a 12-15,000lb winch will do it. Then of course you have to have something big enough to drag it back off when you get where you are going.

 

[Max Ludwig]

Thank you everyone for your helpful replies.

I feel like the biggest challenge (and danger) is have to lift the heavy snow plow and boom high in the air. It seems like there should be some sort of emergency release for attachments for situations like this.
I'm planning to try to work on this tomorrow (Sunday), so I'll keep you posted on how it goes.

Thank you, again!

Max

 

[92U 3406]

Answers:

1) You don't.
2) You don't.
3) You don't.
4) You blew a big hose feeding one of the drive motors, or something to that effect. There are some big hoses down there and if they blow the whole reservoir will dump in a matter of seconds.

I don't know Case machines specifically, but you should be able to raise the cab without putting the boom up. Look for two bolts at the front corners of the cab, remove them, than push the cab up, there most likely are gas struts to help raise it. You shouldn't have to use a tractor.

That is my biggest gripe with Case skid steers. The cab tilts forward, so the boom has to be raised in order for the cab to be tilted. Makes life miserable in these situations.

 

[KSSS]

A couple options, put enough 10-30 in the hyd system to run the bucket couplers and unhook attachment and shut it back off. The other option is raise the loader arms as it is with another loader. You do that by pulling the button on the right side by your thigh. Once the loader arm is raised someone needs to put the arm lock down. Its a 2 person job.

There are two large nuts on the back corners of the cab that come off and you pull the cab over the front of the machine.

You can then see what you have. You may be able to see the problem immediately or put more fluid in it and fire it up to identify where the problem.

 

[92U 3406]

Sometimes you can get away with having someone hold the emergency boom lowering valve open but normally we just put the hoses in a bucket and lift. Make sure you engage the boom locks once its up - safety first.

 

[KSSS]

Well I guess that goes from a lousy situation to a miserable one. Depending on how the quick attach works there should be a way to take the cylinder off and get the lock pins up. It is most likely going to be a pain, but if you have to raise the boom with a tractor or something it may be necessary.
I have moved dead skid loaders with a rollback before, but those were older Bobcats that had levers for the ground drive. We had somebody hold them in the travel position and it would sort of roll. If you have enough winch you should be able to drag it up whether it wants to or not, but I don't know that a common auto rollback with a 12-15,000lb winch will do it. Then of course you have to have something big enough to drag it back off when you get where you are going.

The quick coupler doesn't work like that on these machines. Each coupler has a small hyd cylinder that actuates the pin. It doesn't have the big cylinder like BC does.

 

[IceHole]

Thank you everyone for your helpful replies.

I feel like the biggest challenge (and danger) is have to lift the heavy snow plow and boom high in the air. It seems like there should be some sort of emergency release for attachments for situations like this.
I'm planning to try to work on this tomorrow (Sunday), so I'll keep you posted on how it goes.

Thank you, again!

Max

Take the plow off

 

[IceHole]

The quick coupler doesn't work like that on these machines. Each coupler has a small hyd cylinder that actuates the pin. It doesn't have the big cylinder like BC does.

Tr270 was just a small cylinder that moved the latches from what I recall.
Had to pull it apart to release attachment once, but it's been many suppers ago so can't recall exact details.

 

[Max Ludwig]

It sure is nice when you don't need to get out of the cab to secure attachments. But it seems like I'm paying for all that convenience in this situation.

A lot of good suggestions here. I will consider and use every one of them when I tackle this beast tomorrow.

Thank you!

 

[92U 3406]

I don't know how heavy your plow is or if it'd cause interference with the cab but I've personally never bothered taking the buckets off of dead machines. Just chained them up to keep them from creeping and left them attached.

 

[KSSS]

At the end of the day, having a hyd coupler is still worth it. Really just adding more fluid, should allow you to unhook the attachment, and likely get it on a trailer so you can pull it to a shop, makes a mess but better than working it on sit typically.

 

[Max Ludwig]

What about pulling the two front pins from the two arm cylinders? Would that free-up the boom to lift it with a tractor?
I realize I would not be able to prop-up the boom with the safety catch any longer, but if I prop it up in a safe manner, I think that would be an option. Yes?

After considering all the suggestions here, I'm thinking 'Plan A' is to try to pull the pressure release valve in the cab and try to lift the boom with the tractor. That seems to be the simplest and safest way to start. Pulling the pins might be 'Plan B'. I'm sure the situation will change as I go and I will probably end up at 'Plan Z' (Call an expensive professional), but I got to start somewhere.

Thoughts?

 

[92U 3406]

I suppose you could do that, trouble is finding something to support the loader arms on that won't also interfere with getting the cab tilted.

 

[Max Ludwig]

Ok....

For those who want the short version, I got her done! Busted hose from the pump to the right front drive.

For those who want the 'deets', here we go...
Plan A was to try to lift the plow and boom with a tractor while pulling the pressure relief valve in the right side of the cab. That was a 'no go'. It seemed like the relief valve was a one way valve and it would not allow the boom raise. Maybe it's a safety feature.
Then I decided Plan B was to disconnect the hoses from both cylinders and let them hang over a tub to catch the oil. Now nobody needs to be in the cab and once I get the plow/boom high enough, the safety catch will click into place. Bingo! Worked like a charm! I immediately found the busted hose (wires were sticking out of the rubber) and I was able to easily remove it for replacement tomorrow, along with ten gallons or so of hydraulic fluid, and I should be good to go!

Thank you very much to all who responded to my post and provided helpful hints and guidance!

One last question:

Can I just replace the hose and fill the tank and fire her up? Or is there some sort of priming procedure that I need to go through?

Thanks again!

Max

 

[KSSS]

No, fill and go. That relief valve should have allowed you to pull it and raise the loader arms, I would maybe look into that while your fixing things.

 

[Max Ludwig]

I procured a new hose and installed it. I reconnected the lines to the two side cylinders. I lowered the cab back down and secured it. I refilled the hydraulic oil tank with about 7 gallons of fresh oil. I crossed my fingers and fired her up. I let her warm up for a minute or two and after working the air out of the lines everything seemed to work great. I checked under the machine and I saw 'no leaks'! Yay!
I checked the relief valve and it did work to lower the boom. I'm not sure why it didn't work when I tried to raise the boom with the tractor. I'm guessing it's a one-way valve.

Thanks again for all the helpful suggestions. I hope this post helps someone else in the future.

Max