Undertook my DS4510 270hr hydraulic filter (not fluid) change today not having read this thread.
I chose to firstly drain the hydraulic fluid as I wasn't convinced that quickly exchanging filters , with 45 litres of hydraulic fluid in the transmission, was going to go smoothly for me.
This was the 3rd hydraulic filter the tractor has had, the last one being put on under the free 50hr service by my dealer.
Consequently I hoped the filter would be a little easier to remove: no such luck.
Went to TBN for help and got great advice from some old posts on the correct technique for using my filter belt wrench that I previously could not get to work.
Here was the advice from "Iron Horse":
"There is a trick to using the strap type wrench , you don't simply tighten the the strap with the ratchet or it will crush the filter . You place it so that it is roughly at 3 o/clock on the filter (relative to your position)and use the ratchet as a lever by using both hands , the left hand on the head of the ratchet or extension and the right on the handle . Any other position on the filter loses the purchase you will have at 3 o'clock ."
Well that and a bit of WD40 eventually got the filter loosened. Hurray!
Another thing I learned was that, if you also decide to drain your fluid when changing the filter, you only have to drain from the middle drain plug; no need to also drain the rear axle plugs or the forward transmission drain plug.
The fluid itself was like new. The only foreign particles being metal shavings on the drain plug magnet
It also took me a long time and a lot of care, to put the fluid back in as I wanted to use a filtered funnel.
After my warranty expires, I'll probably change the hydraulic fluid every 600 hrs and the filter maybe every 300 hrs.
Good preparation , persistence, the right tool and , in this case, the right technique, paid off.
