snotty hydrulic fluid

[dalaplant]

Hello All,

So I haven't posted in a while but am a frequent reader, really enjoy the posts and especially the pictures. I’ve been hooked on heavy equipment since I was young. So when I build my house a few years ago I bought a JCB 4x4 backhoe and did most of my own site work. Last year I got a F700 single axle ford and trailer thinking I could get a side business going with it, I do a few jobs but it barley makes enough to pay for the truck plates and insurance since I don’t do a lot of work. A lot of it is because with it being on the side its hard to find jobs big enough of the backhoe but small enough to fit into my side time. Then this spring I added newest toys, a 1992 Hew Holland Skid steer and a 1998 Takeuchi skid steer, I know I don’t need two but I bought them at an auction and got bit by the auction bug. My thinking was I would be better equipped for some of the smaller jobs and so far I’ve done a couple with the Takechi. At first I was going to sell the Takechi and keep the New Holland, but the Takechi operates a lot like the backhoe with the loaded control on the right so I’m able to run it with very little effort, the New Holland has foot controls for the loader and that’s like learning to walk all over again… So bottom line is I want to sell the New Holland but with the intent of keeping it I went and bought a new bucket for it and a standard quicktach plate for it (so it will work with standard skid steer attachments, instead of just the old New Holland style) so I think I already have more into it then its worth :Banghead , at least it might make someone a good little machine.


Anyway enough for the blah blah blah.. I’ve run into an issue that you guys have helped in the past with this Hew Holland L785. If anyone remembers I was having issues with the hydraulics running, the pump seemed ok but everything was just moving very slowly. With your advice I was able to locate the fluid pick-up from under the seat of the machine. I removed that screen, cleaned it up and put it back and the thing took off like a champ but after about 10 minutes it was plugged back up again. So I drained all the fluid I could through the drain plugs, filtered it through a screen and put it in and drained it out a couple of times, thought I really got it pretty clean. It ran good for a while but recently I ran it some more and it started doing the same thing again, last time though it seemed to be plugged up with dirt and crude, now it seems to be plugging up with a white snot like goo. It almost seems like wet paper or something. Which is my question, I’ve seen fluid and water become milky but does it get that thick? If so then I know what the issue is and I can drain the tanks and change filters again but is that going to buy me anything? With the fluid in the lines and what not am I just going to run into the same thing again in a few weeks? I would just go for the fluid change but its like 30 gallons of fluid at 50.00 per 5 gallons, starts to add up after a little a couple changes, of course if I knew it would resolve the issue and it’s not something else I’d do it just to have the thing running right.

Anyway any advice would be greatly appreciated.


Thanks,
Doug

 

[salesrep]

"So I drained all the fluid I could through the drain plugs, filtered it through a screen and put it in and drained it out a couple of times, thought I really got it pretty clean."
Iyakamana.

Do a purge. change filters before and after. Buy the cheapest oil you can find and run it thru after the 1st purge. if this works. run a season and switch to a better fluid. make sure you have the correct visc. and specs that the oem calls for.

 

[Steve Frazier]

You can have an oil analysis done as well to determine just exactly what the contaminant is. You may have a water exposure somewhere that needs to be corrected, an oil analysis will tell you this.

 

[Jeff D.]

.....now it seems to be plugging up with a white snot like goo. It almost seems like wet paper or something.

Could it be a spin on hydraulic filters medium coming apart? Are those made of paper? I don't know how those filters are made, but I have heard of heavy truck filters disinigrating from age/use, when synthetics are used on very long extended oil change intervals, without extended change/life filters.

Could exposure to water in the system cause a filter medium to break down, and come apart?

Just a thought.:beatsme

 

[dirthog]

oil problem

Check the area around the filler cap see that it seals tight also that the v in the top of the tank is not blocked so that when it rains the water lays around the cap. I also would not worry about using New Holland oil way to expensive all they require is standard 10w-30 motor oil a lot cheeper and just as good

 

[dalaplant]

Ok Salesrep made me notice a huge mis in my post, after draining, screening and putting the used oil in a couple times (to get rid of the dirt debris in the tanks) I then again drained it out and replaced with all new fluid and replaced the filters, or maybe the filter change was before the fluid change can't remember anymore. I guess it could be possible there was enough water mixed in with the fluid in the arms and filters and everywhere it re-contaminated the new fluid.

I don’t think it would be a water intake around the filler since it’s a down by the driver’s foot and sticks out / up an inch or two so there shouldn’t be any water sitting there. I hope it’s not getting in somewhere else, what a nightmare that could be tracking it down.

The manufacture recommends “Ford New Holland hydraulic oil M2C-134C or universal tractor fluid meeting the J20A specification†per the operator’s manual, the last time I asked a local dealer for this I got the $10.00 per gallon stuff. So is this really just the same as 10W-30W? if so I wouldn’t hesitate to by two new filters for each side, run it for a while with the 10W-30W, check it and then flush it again with 10W-30W if needed and finally, replace filters again and put in pricier fluid.

So does 10W-30W meet this “J20A†spec?

Again thanks for all the help.

 

[salesrep]

the specs are for a universal tractor fluid, not 10- 30 motor oil. most any farm or auto store will carry a geneic type brand for $30-35 a five gal. bucket.

article.
http://www.aemp.org/pdfs/PM/Increase Hydraulic System Life.pdf#search="hydraulic purging fluid"

 

[dirthog]

oil spec

will look when I get to work but I do know all the new LS model skidsteers use 10w-30 motor oil in the systems we have sold a ton of them

 

[dirthog]

Oil Spec

Just went and looked al the operators and service manual I found for thr lx585-685 865 etc say 10w-30 oil same as the new LS & Lt series machines

 

[salesrep]

good digging dirthog.
Please don't misunderstand. Just trying to solve dataplant's issues.
"Ford New Holland hydraulic oil M2C-134C or universal tractor fluid meeting the J20A specification†per the operator’s manual,"
Perhaps they could be interchangalbe or we have a difference. Either way data, make sure you get the correct one. And again I would strongly urge you to use a purging agent. If it works. Great. If it doesn't you will have still done good things for the inside of your machine and eliminated a variable.

 

[dalaplant]

Ok I found a place local that has the universal tractor fluid (they called it a generic hydraulic fluid) for 32.00 for a 5 Gal bucket. the book says it takes 22 Gals so I'll need 4 and a half buckets for each drain / fill so that’s only about 170.00 after taxes, then also it has a filter on the supply side as well as the return, I have an extra return so I need to get two supply filters and one return.

The place I talked to local here also said yeah the white snot crap on the pickup screen is most likely water, and the thing about 2 gals of water or more in it when I bought it so its possible the lift arms where as much water as fluid from the last flush. They also suggested drain it out, pull the filters, put a couple of gals of diesel fuel in the tank and then extend an air hose a ways into the tank and blow air through the line to slosh it around a bit then drain the fuel out replace the filters with new and fill it up with fresh fluid to help get more of the water out of the tank.

Salesrep, is this what you mean by purge, or is there something I can add to either a fresh fill of fluid or my current fluid and run the machine to push it through the system then drain fluid and replace fluid and filters just once? One other question, I saw in another post that you have 55 gallon drums of universal fluid on special (bunch of free stuff), who can I contact about that since I'll use most of it with these two flushes maybe it would make more sense to just buy a drum.

I think I'm warming up to the idea of two sets of filters and a 2 fills of fluid since it looks like I can do it for around 400.00 and it is the right way to get it cleaned up, I guess I’d rather spend the cash then sell someone the headache. I just hate the idea of putting another 400.00 into that I'm not going to get back, if I can get it sold. I guess that’s the brakes, its good thing this stuff is "fun" or no one would touch the stuff.

Again thanks all for the help

 

[digger242j]

I just hate the idea of putting another 400.00 into that I'm not going to get back,

Use it on your next job or two, while the other one sits. The few extra hours you put on it probably won't hurt your resale any, but the wear and tear won't be going on the machine you're going to keep. (Just gotta hope you don't break anything else on it in the meantime.) :wink2

 

[salesrep]

By purge I mean to run a chemical purging agent in your system for a period of time to clean out as much of any debri that may be present as possible.
Similar to an engine flush.

i will pm you in regards to our product simplex supreme .
http://www.schaefferoil.com/datapdf/315.pdf.

 

[dirthog]

oil problem

No problem sales rep wasn't sure about the older machines but knew the new ones were 10w-30 spent the last 33 years as a mechanic for a dealer that sells fiat-allis kobelco gradall and kawaski but just in the last couple of years have we got into the NH brand And then a year ago I gave up the mechanic end mind is willing not the body so now I work in the office weather much better in there