Need advice with John Deere 310SE rear end problem

[enginerd]

The missing bevel gear showed up late this morning. So I made one last trip to the dealer and headed back to the shop to finish reassembling the rear end. I made good progress, and it's now all back together, filled with low-viscosity Hy-Gard, and ready to mount back on the backhoe. If all goes well, I should be able to get that done tomorrow. Afterward, I have to attend to a tie-rod before I put it through its paces...

 

[enginerd]

Well, I got it all reassembled today. No issues at all. Everything's back up and running. Let the digging commence!

 

[Deeretracks]

Nice work!

 

[enginerd]

Well... I may have spoke a bit too soon. My diff lock isn't working (and I'm pretty sure it was working before). Is it possible that I just got some air in the hydraulic line when I had it apart? And, if so... how would I go about bleeding that air out? I had assumed that this system would 'gravity bleed' like the the brakes do. I can't find anything about it in the manual...

It's also possible that there's something wrong with the electrical system that I haven't found yet. The fuse tests good, and I temporarily bypassed the foot switch. Where does the power go after the switch? The wires disappear into a wire loom, so I don't even know where to look. Again... the manual isn't much help here.

 

[enginerd]

OK. I've figured out where the hydraulic diff lock solenoid is, and I've confirmed that there's electrical power to it when I engage the foot switch. And that pretty much rules out any electrical issues, except maybe the solenoid itself. I assume that I should be able to hear/feel it engaging when I push the switch, but I don't. I figure I have to pull the solenoid and bench test it. Am I going to lose a bunch of fluid if I pull the solenoid?