hydraulic drip

[lowechj]

I noticed a small drip of hydraulic fluid under my 2520 got underneath and just ahead of the drain plug near the mid pto there is a metal plate that covers part of the driveshaft where it looks like some kind of universal joint. There was a bit of fluid on the bottom of the frame where the plate is bolted on. The drip is small and does and it seems to appear only after I have used the tractor and parked it. Once it has cooled down and sits until the next use there is no drip at all. Anyone have ideas where it could be coming from. Last year when it was very cold I used to get the odd drip from one of hydraulic connections from the fel but it too was only the odd time and once things warmed up I never got it again.

Would the very cold weather have anything to do with this drip, my garage is not heated so I don't want to start taking things apart until the spring when I don't need the tractor for snow removal. Any ideas would be appreciated.

 

[jgayman]

Hmmm... I think I just noticed a similar drip on my 2720. Thus far since getting the tractor in July 2012 I haven't noticed any hydraulic leaks. I plowed some snow earlier in the week and parked the tractor. Today when I pulled the tractor out of the garage I saw what looked like a few drops of red fluid on the floor towards the middle of the tractor. I crawled underneath and there seemed like a droplet or something on a cover just in front of the drawbar... sort of right below the seat. Since I had moved the tractor I couldn't really be sure. I cleaned everything up and wiped up the floor and will see if anything appears. I will also recheck after the tractor is used to move snow. My garage is also unheated. Stay tuned...

BTW, I'm only at 37 hrs so I haven't performed the 50 hr service yet. I know new fluid is not colored red but it seems to me that there are a lot of advantages to having the hydraulic fluid colored red. In my case I may have thought it was melted snow on the floor had it not been red. I read somewhere that JD sells a dye to add to new fluid. Does anyone have a part number handy?