Fluids for T474HC?

[Rich_Z]

If it was too low you would have noticed it when it sucked air into the system. The only other thing would be the oil would run a little hotter.

If you are concerned, just use a piece of wire or something clean and stick in down your fill port as Seven Gables suggested. If it is wet when you pull it out you are good. You may can even see the level through the fill port with a light at this point.

On what length wire and at what level would a "normal" reading be for the fluid level? And are there multiple places the wire could bottom out that would have varying levels showing on the makeshift dipstick? Would a 12 inch wire bottom out? 10 inches? 15 inches? I don't have any idea of what a "good" reading would be via that method. A friend of mine came over today, and stuck his finger into the fill hole. Fingertip came out dry. But what does that mean?

 

[K5lwq]

Measure the distance from the fill port height to the sight glass. Anywhere close to that length would be fine. Normally gear cases are filled to half way of their total capacity. Unless your friend had really long skinny fingers he would not reach the oil.

 

[Slowpoke Slim]

Do you have a generic hydraulic shop in your area?

Any hydraulic shop should be able to make you the hose you need from scratch. No need to get one from the manufacturer, or their "repair center". Just take your bad hose in to a competent hydraulic shop and they can make you a replacement hose, using your old one as a pattern.

For me, their is a Napa store nearby that also makes hoses, and they have made a couple for me with no problem.

 

[TractorTYMe]

Be prepared to confuse hydraulic shop as most if not all fittings on the hydraulics are British Pipe Thread standard.

 

[Slowpoke Slim]

Be prepared to confuse hydraulic shop as most if not all fittings on the hydraulics are British Pipe Thread standard.

I seriously doubt it.

He's talking about a hose on his hydraulic vehicle lift in his shop.

Reading Is Fundamental.

 

[Slowpoke Slim]

Talked to my dealer today. He asked about the FEL and whether I had the cylinders extended or retracted. Evidently the fluid level in the sight glass can vary based on how much hydraulic fluid is in the cylinders. I had all the cylinders retracted, so maybe that was reflected in the sight glass window as being "over filled". He said he didn't think being overfilled 2 gallons was a real big concern, if that is the case. I talked to the tech there as well, and he said he personally filled the hydraulic reservoir himself. Anyway, the owner said not to worry about it and there shouldn't be any problem. In any event, he would have my back since I made him aware of what happened.

And not to be outdone by Murphy's Law with my trip into hydraulic hell, I went over to the garage thinking I would put one of my vehicles on my lift and change the oil and filter. I was checking the lift arms to make sure they were all lined up properly before having them engage the lift points on the vehicle when I noticed a puddle of red fluid all over the floor at the base of the passenger side tower. And some of the red stuff splattered onto the side of the vehicle too. Damn..... The hydraulic hose making the bend across the cross member had burst right at the corner. Well, at least the vehicle wasn't part way or all the way up on the lift. The safety catches would have stopped a fall to the floor, but still even a sudden drop of a foot or so would have scared the crap out of me, and maybe even bounced the vehicle off of the lift points. So now I am looking for hydraulic hoses for my BendPak lift. The phone number on the side for service goes to a place that no longer does that sort of service, and BendPak's website page to seek out a service center shows none within 100 miles of my zip code.

Never had any sort of hydraulic problem before in my life and here I get two of them back to back. Maybe a bad omen.

Maybe this will help...

 

[Rich_Z]

Maybe this will help...

Eh?? Maybe something got lost in the translation?

In any event. I have the hoses ordered from BendPak. At least I think so. Looks like one of them is on backorder. Dollar to a donut the one on backorder will be the one I actually NEED.

Still waiting on that hydraulic fluid dye to come in. Supposed to be here tomorrow.

Just to add to the fun, my dehumidifier in the garage died yesterday.

Guess I am just not living right. Maybe I need to get meaner. I am 73 years old, so I think I have some sort of right to turn crotchety and mean, don't I?

 

[TractorTYMe]

Maybe this will help...

Congratulations, you found a mistake done by me. You win the internet for a whole day. ON the other hand since we were talking about a TYM and jumping subjects here. Hydraulics on the TYM is BPT standard.

 

[ptsg]

Congratulations, you found a mistake done by me. You win the internet for a whole day. ON the other hand since we were talking about a TYM and jumping subjects here. Hydraulics on the TYM is BPT standard.

Just to be that guy. It's BSPP (parallel threads) so it doesn't get confused with BSPT (tapered threads).

 

[TractorTYMe]

Just to be that guy. It's BSPP (parallel threads) so it doesn't get confused with BSPT (tapered threads).

The oil drain/vent plugs on front axle are apparently BSPT.

 

[Slowpoke Slim]

Congratulations, you found a mistake done by me. You win the internet for a whole day. ON the other hand since we were talking about a TYM and jumping subjects here. Hydraulics on the TYM is BPT standard.

Sweet.

Is there like a plaque or something?

Coupon?

 

[Rich_Z]

Used the tractor a bit today without any issues. Used the tree puller to pull up two tangerine tree carcasses that got killed by the cold snap we had last Christmas. Then pulled out a pine tree stump I had cut off at about chest high a while back.

Fluid dye for the hydraulic system is supposed to be delivered on Friday. Curious to see what that shows me.

 

[TractorTYMe]

Used the tractor a bit today without any issues. Used the tree puller to pull up two tangerine tree carcasses that got killed by the cold snap we had last Christmas. Then pulled out a pine tree stump I had cut off at about chest high a while back.

Fluid dye for the hydraulic system is supposed to be delivered on Friday. Curious to see what that shows me.

When you add it, use a full load of dye using a drop counter (Not the whole bottle of dye, a little goes A LONG way), then run your tractor so the hydraulic oil mixes well with it for 15-20 minutes. (Only decent picture that showed in my search for what I mean)

(Only good picture I could find searching.

 

[Rich_Z]

When you add it, use a full load of dye using a drop counter (Not the whole bottle of dye, a little goes A LONG way), then run your tractor so the hydraulic oil mixes well with it for 15-20 minutes. (Only decent picture that showed in my search for what I mean)

View attachment 825537
(Only good picture I could find searching.

Well, I got the bottle of hydraulic fluid dye yesterday, but when I read the instructions, well, looks like what I got might be a bit underpowered for the 9+ gallons of hydraulic fluid that is supposed to be in my tractor. Pics attached.

So, will this be enough for me to see the color change to tell me if I am overfilled or not? Or do I need to order another one to put both loads of dye in?

 

[Slowpoke Slim]

I don't even think I would put in that whole bottle, despite what the label says. All you need is enough to put a slight color to the fluid. It doesn't need to be "coffee brown".

Try a few ounces first, and drive the tractor around, raise and lower the 3pt and the FEL, to circulate fluid everywhere. Then shut everything down and lower your 3pt and FEL and go look in the glass.

 

[TractorTYMe]

Rich, I've actually gone through this, just trust what I said in post #53. Using the whole bottle is wasting it for next service batch. At best use half of the container if it makes you feel better....but let the tractor run for 15-20 so hydraulic oil get hot and mix with the dye. It's VERY potent, and don't get it on clothes you appreciate.

 

[Rich_Z]

Rich, I've actually gone through this, just trust what I said in post #53. Using the whole bottle is wasting it for next service batch. At best use half of the container if it makes you feel better....but let the tractor run for 15-20 so hydraulic oil get hot and mix with the dye. It's VERY potent, and don't get it on clothes you appreciate.

Well, perhaps John Deere would rather sell a LOT of that dye instead of just a little bit? Sure, use the whole bottle and buy more for each time you want to dye the hydraulic fluid.

But this has me thinking. In what specific situation is the hydraulic fluid at the red dot mark actually showing FULL for the hydraulic fluid level? It can't be true in ALL situations, can it? Some people might not have a FEL on the tractor. The cylinders of the FEL could be retracted or extended. Any number of different types of attachments and implements using hydraulics could be installed on the tractor, and in those cases, the cylinders could be extended or retracted. So is there a single solitary condition, and ONLY that condition, in which that red dot indicator is truly accurate for showing FULL? I have looked through the manual, and if it is mentioned there, I sure did overlook it.

 

[Rich_Z]

I don't even think I would put in that whole bottle, despite what the label says. All you need is enough to put a slight color to the fluid. It doesn't need to be "coffee brown".

Try a few ounces first, and drive the tractor around, raise and lower the 3pt and the FEL, to circulate fluid everywhere. Then shut everything down and lower your 3pt and FEL and go look in the glass.

You say "a few ounces". Are you getting a different sized bottle than I got? Mine is only holding 12 mL of dye. So the whole bottle I have is only 0.4 ounces TOTAL. So for me to put in a couple of ounces, that would take at least 5 bottles of the size I got.

 

[Slowpoke Slim]

You say "a few ounces". Are you getting a different sized bottle than I got? Mine is only holding 12 mL of dye. So the whole bottle I have is only 0.4 ounces TOTAL. So for me to put in a couple of ounces, that would take at least 5 bottles of the size I got.

View attachment 825998

Ah, metric system is evil.

Lol.

When I looked at the label, I was thinking "ounces", when in fact it reads mL.

I would start with 1/4 of the bottle. That could be enough to tint the fluid to see it well enough. It shouldn't take much, really.

 

[Rich_Z]

Man, I don't know what to think. I added the bottle of hydraulic fluid dye I had. Surprisingly it was more of a red/maroon color. I expected it to be green. Anyway, I added in the whole bottle, then drove the tractor around a bit to mix it in with the hydraulic fluid. It took a while before I saw any change, and when I did, it wasn't what I was expecting at all. What I saw through the sight glass was the colored fluid dripping down from the three holes at the top of that metal piece showing there. I had expected I was either going to see no change meaning the fluid level was not high enough to show in the window, or that the entire window would show the newly changed colored fluid, with the fluid being overfilled covering the entire window. So of course I didn't have my camera handy.

I drew in an approximation of what I saw in the window as best I could.

The color wasn't that brilliant, of course, and I am no artist, but the effect is pretty much what I saw. If the sight glass were filled with hydraulic fluid, how could this sort of effect be produced? The dyed hydraulic fluid wouldn't be thicker nor heavier than the undyed fluid, so how could this visual effect take place.

I did go to the house and get my camera, but by the time I got back, the visual effect had changed quite a bit.

The dyed fluid has dripped down that metal face, and you can still see the gold color still visible as narrow vertical streaks between that dyed fluid that seem to have dripped down over the face of the metal. Wouldn't the dye have pretty much been distributed uniformly all through the hydraulic fluid instead of dripping through those holes?

Of course, now I am wondering if that metal piece visible through the sight window has been permanently stained from the dye.

I tried using an actual engine dip stick into the hydraulic fluid fill hole, but I could feel the tip of it slide along the bottom of the reservoir pan. Not sure how to get an actual accurate reading of the fluid level in that manner.

Man I hate the thought if getting underneath the tractor and draining the fluid into containers just to see how much comes out. That is likely going to be a real messy job. Plus I am just getting to feeling too old to be crawling on my back underneath the thing to do something like that.

Anyone know how much hydraulic fluid is in the T474 when it is delivered to the dealer from TYM? I imagine they don't fill up the reservoir and have the dealer do that upon delivery.