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Hoe parked for many years

davebb

Member
Joined
Nov 8, 2011
Messages
24
Location
southern Calif.
Occupation
Retired mechanic and operator.
Hi. I've got a 66 4500 Ford industrial diesel 3cyl. TLB. Just got it. I've been checking it out and have a question. The nose hydraulic tank is empty. It seems to have drained into the crankcase. The crankcase is way overfull and when I took the drain plug out to see if it was water in there I got what seems to be clean clear hydraulic oil. The dipstick has black engine oil on it. The steering pump uses this tank and is mounted to the timing gear cover.
The question is what is the stuff left behind in the hydraulic tank that looks like light tan colored grease? It's clogged the filter in there and I can see it about a half inch thick in the bottom of the tank through the holes in the plate that the filter sits on. I'd also like to ask if anybody knows how far I'll need to flush out the hydraulic system? It looks like the frame of the tractor is part of the reservoir and the tube from the frame into the differential housing looks like the differential might also use hydraulic oil for lube or is that tube just a crossover from the frame rails?
Thanks for any replys. Your experience is sorely needed!
 

carlsharp

Well-Known Member
Joined
Mar 17, 2008
Messages
91
Location
Chino Hills, CA
Hey Dave, The tan gunk sounds like water emulsion to me. Not sure how the hyd would get to the engine, one of those 'I'd have to see it" things. I'm pretty familiar with these tractors, the first skips/TLBs i ran were 4500s, and I own 2 545s and care for a 420, all direct descendants. What area are you in?
 

davebb

Member
Joined
Nov 8, 2011
Messages
24
Location
southern Calif.
Occupation
Retired mechanic and operator.
Hey Dave, The tan gunk sounds like water emulsion to me. Not sure how the hyd would get to the engine, one of those 'I'd have to see it" things. I'm pretty familiar with these tractors, the first skips/TLBs i ran were 4500s, and I own 2 545s and care for a 420, all direct descendants. What area are you in?

Hi Carl. Thanks for the response. I'm about 40 miles east of San Diego.
The greasy stuff feels just like grease. From my experience (not as much as I'd like) when there's water emulsion (mustard or mayonaise) if it sits long enough it separates back into water and oil. I wonder if some person might have put grease in the tank to try to make the oil thicker so the pump might build more pressure or to try to slow a leak somewhere. Ya think?
 
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