2320 Leaking

[incubus2432]

A few weeks ago I spotted a small (2") spot under where my tractor was parked. I wasn't overly concerned and figured I'd just look into it next service which is due sometime next month. Well after mowing the grass a few days ago and parking the tractor I found a spot considerably larger this morning. The whole underside just above the front driveshaft (rear side of shaft) was soaked. I sprayed everything down with brake cleaner and wiped it dry. After running it up to temperature it appears as though fluid is seeping from behind several bolt heads......I didn't have much time to further investigate today but here is a pic of the area.

Please excuse my lack of correct terminology for the parts. I am well versed mechanically for cars/trucks but this is my first tractor. It is well out of warranty and I'd rather fix it myself than pay inflated dealer prices.

So here it goes....the bolt heads in question are on the finned case thingimibob just above the front driveshaft. Bolts in question are at about the 7 and 9 o'clock position on the case itself. The oil appears to be the "hy-gard" from the hydrostatic drive. What the heck is the case and how big of a nightmare will it be to remove it and reinstall with a new gasket? I guess it's time to order up the service manual. DRATS!

 

[EdC]

Great picture! Boy I have no idea how hard a job that would be but after looking at the underside of my tractor it looks like quite an undertaking. With fluid leaking out of the bolt hole but not from the seam between the two parts it almost sounds like the gasket has not totally failed. Any thoughts on draining the fluid (since you are close to a service interval anyway) taking those two bolts out and putting a gasket behind them and then reinstall and re-torque? It would only be a temporary fix but might get you through the summer so you could tackle this in the fall before snow hits.

 

[incubus2432]

That is something I've considered and may be what I do. I'd rather just get it over with though. If it takes a few days that's fine but I don't want to get into something I can't deal with without special tools or something else I'm not seeing.

Thanks btw!

 

[PhysAssist]

I have the Orange 2320 (which obviously doesn't apply), but based on my experience with trucks, cars and assorted other equipment, I have to agree with EdC that leaking around the bolt heads does not necessarily imply total gasket failure. Re-torquing the bolts with either gasket material or rubber washers behind them may provide a significant help in continued use of your tractor.

Good luck,
Thomas

 

[scrappy isb67]

the finned "thingy" is the hydro unit. it is MAJOR surgery to take it off. I would pull the bolts one at a time and put some thread sealant on them. hopefully it is just fluid working its way thru the threads of the bolts.

 

[BRBurns]

Don't use rubber washers. The will not torque right. If you are going to do something like that, use copper washers.

 

[DFB]

That's the hydrostatic motor pump cover...try retorquing it. There is a gasket behind it and it would take some major disassembly to replace. My shop manual doesn't give any specific torque values but its probably around 20ft lbs on those bolts

 

[incubus2432]

I spoke with my service department on the phone and his guess per my description is that this is about $800-900 in labor. Ugh. I'm gonna give the copper washers a shot and order up the service manual for when I have some time to be without the tractor for a week or so. Thanks for the responses.

 

[EdC]

Good luck! When you do break it apart sure would be nice to see pictures. :dance1:

 

[thatguy]

I have the same 'issue'... But I am just keeping an eye on it because it seems you have to split the tractor to get to it..



http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/john-deere-owning-operating/227989-2320-how-do-i-stop.html

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/john-deere-owning-operating/248695-2320-hydraulic-leak.html

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/john-deere-owning-operating/227068-2320-floorboard-removal.html


I talked with the dealer about it and asked if i just made sure the hydraulic fluid stays full would it hurt anything. The service manager didnt see any cause for alarm with it..

Brian

 

[thatguy]

let me add - i took my tractor all apart (dash off, seat off, floorboard off) and found the nut that is leaking on mine as just like yours it has to get hot before it drips.... I could NOT get it to tighten at all, it is at a strange angle and even with knuckle socket it wouldnt budge..

I am keeping an eye on the fluid level but so far I have added less than 2 cups over the past few years..

Brian

 

[incubus2432]

Good luck! When you do break it apart sure would be nice to see pictures. :dance1:

Of course I'll take plenty of pics! I'll need something to go by to get it back together.

I have the same 'issue'... But I am just keeping an eye on it because it seems you have to split the tractor to get to it..

.....

I talked with the dealer about it and asked if i just made sure the hydraulic fluid stays full would it hurt anything. The service manager didnt see any cause for alarm with it..

Brian

I read your threads while looking for info before posting my "issue" so......Thanks!

I'm able to get a better look at the situation now that the covers are off. I'll try the thread sealant and copper washers before a complete teardown. My biggest issue is finding the time to do all of this. Oh well.....

 

[incubus2432]

*****UPDATE*****

So my wife got her work bonus recently and said "just let the dealer take care of it on me". Well that's great but I still don't want her wasting any more $$$$ than necessary so we made a cutoff of around $1k. It went in for an estimate and things got annoying real quick. First the charge for the estimate went from $90 to $125 (pick up/drop off was $50 of that). They spent a full hour cleaning and looking at the drips and determined exactly what I told them. "It's leaking from around here somewhere". Thanks.

Then the estimate for the repair went from $900 to $1220. My favorite part is that they think it is just the gasket but it may be a plate behind the hydro pump. If that plate is the issue then that tacks $900+ to the bill.

I understand that the dealer has to make $$$$ and that sometimes you don't know what a problem is until you get into a project but for some reason the whole situation just bugs me so I'm just getting the tractor dropped off back home, I'll order a manual and take care if it myself in the Fall when there is less tractor need. I have a few ideas for interim fixes and I'll update as I give those a shot.

 

[Nooodles]

Just pull each bolt one at a time and put some ARP thread sealant from summit racing.com on them. That stuff will last as long the tractor

 

[incubus2432]

Just pull each bolt one at a time and put some ARP thread sealant from summit racing.com on them. That stuff will last as long the tractor

That's my plan. I have a service due anyway so I'm gonna drain it and clean the threads the best I can (brake cleaner and gun cleaning brushes) and see if the sealant helps. If it's the gasket it won't but it would be silly not to try.

 

[Waldershrek]

*****UPDATE*****

So my wife got her work bonus recently and said "just let the dealer take care of it on me". Well that's great but I still don't want her wasting any more $$$$ than necessary so we made a cutoff of around $1k. It went in for an estimate and things got annoying real quick. First the charge for the estimate went from $90 to $125 (pick up/drop off was $50 of that). They spent a full hour cleaning and looking at the drips and determined exactly what I told them. "It's leaking from around here somewhere". Thanks.

Then the estimate for the repair went from $900 to $1220. My favorite part is that they think it is just the gasket but it may be a plate behind the hydro pump. If that plate is the issue then that tacks $900+ to the bill.

I understand that the dealer has to make $$$$ and that sometimes you don't know what a problem is until you get into a project but for some reason the whole situation just bugs me so I'm just getting the tractor dropped off back home, I'll order a manual and take care if it myself in the Fall when there is less tractor need. I have a few ideas for interim fixes and I'll update as I give those a shot.

FOOOOOF! That's a kick in the wallet.....So from looking at some other threads this seems to be a 2320 problem? Do the other 2 series tractors have this problem as well?

 

[Nooodles]

FOOOOOF! That's a kick in the wallet.....So from looking at some other threads this seems to be a 2320 problem? Do the other 2 series tractors have this problem as well?

what cutter series do you buy.

 

[Waldershrek]

what cutter series do you buy.

I'm confused? I assume you were trying to quote somebody else

 

[incubus2432]

UPDATE.......

So a few other home issues intervened and I wasn't able to tackle this project until this week. Once the fluid was drained I was able to clean everything up and get thread sealer on 5 lower bolts in about 15 minutes. Only 2 were leaking but I saw no harm in taking care of the fasteners where access was easy. I ran it for about 1/2 an hour cutting the grass and checked for leaks and it was bone dry. At that point I noticed that the fluid needed topped off. I'm sure this was just due to air in the system from the fluid/filter change. So then I finish cutting the property (about 3.5 more hours) and check the underside only to find it soaked with fluid......far worse than before I took anything apart. Ugh. Then I notice that I never put the fill plug back in. :laughing: Big dummy!

Anyway I think that it is fixed but won't know for sure until I clean it up and run it for a few hours again.

As a side project while I had things in pieces I went to lube the hydro driveshaft. I can't believe that this design made it into production. Zero access to the front zerk even with the access panel removed. Getting a grease gun hooked to it or even using a needle adapter simply was not possible. I then had the brilliant idea to remove the drive shaft. I know this is the reason that the tractor needs "split" when removing the hydro unit but I figured, wrongly, that it should just come out once unbolted. After messing with it for some time, unbolting it from the front dampner, I was a tad frustrated. I decided to just press out the rear u-joint to give me clearance. BAM.....15 minutes later the shaft was out, greased and reinstalled. I coulda been done with a 4 hour project in 1/2 an hour.

I was lucky that with 250 hours on my tractor both u-joints were in good shape and not dry. Taking the necessary covers off to get access to the shaft to remove it is a bit of a pain but not that big of a deal to do during future services at 100 hour intervals (about 18 months).

 

[thatguy]

incubus2432 - any updates? did your fix work?