Case 580-water in hydraulic oil

[Ruffasacob]

Hello,
I recently bought a 1967 Case 580. It needs a lot of work but I like tinkering on it so I don't mind. I'll have a lot of questions in the coming months and you guys seem pretty knowledgeable so I hope you don't mind a bunch of brain picking.

A few of the hydraulic cylinders are leaking pretty badly and the oil is milky so there is water in the system. I'm going to rebuild the cylinders over the winter but I have a question. I drained the oil today but I'm sure there is still some oil in it. The pump in front of the radiater is about 16" lower than the hoses that go into it, so there must be oil in the pump still. How likely is it for freeze damage to affect the pump or any other parts of the system? Will the water separate out and cause trouble or will it stay mixed and not be a problem? I'm in Maine so this is an issue. Also will it hurt the pump to run the motor with no hydraulic oil in the system?
Thanks, Ruff

 

[Ruffasacob]

The more I thought about it the more I didn't like it so I pulled the pump out today and it's inside now. I'll pull the cylinders too and the water hopefully won't be a problem.

 

[Dabney]

How did that water situation turn out?

 

[Ruffasacob]

The pump seems OK. The water does separate out of the oil. When I pulled the drain plugs on the loader arms nothing came out and I could feel ice up in the hole. I put a kerosene torpedo heater on it for a while and they thawed and the oil drained. I haven't pulled the cylinders yet but so far I don't think anything is damaged other than very worn seals. You may be wondering how the water got into the system, and the only thing I can think of is the breather cap on top of the fill hole was missing and a fitting was there with a small hole on the top. Maybe 3/16". That's small but if it was like that for a long time, and I'm sure it was, the amount adds up.
Ruff