If the HST dipstick on your BX looks like this....

brinet · Oct 12, 2015

OK, so this is the third time this happened.

The third time, the dipstick almost completely melted. Now, fluid is seeping from around every part of the housing.

All fins are on the fan. Fluid level is good. Filter was changed.

Any ideas?

Coyote machine · Oct 13, 2015

Yeah, how 'bout a metal dipstick cut to the same length to fit? Is the fan spinning? Fluid seeping from every part of what housing?

bcp · Oct 13, 2015

Are the fins clean on the housing that the fan cools? It could get covered with leaves, grass, oily dirt, etc.

Bruce

brinet · Oct 13, 2015

bcp said:
Are the fins clean on the housing that the fan cools? It could get covered with leaves, grass, oily dirt, etc.

Bruce

All fins are clean. Fan is spinning. Fluid "lightly" seeps out of most areas of the HST and transaxle covers. This makes frequent cleaning a must.

Owner wants to rebuild HST and transaxle to figure out what may be wrong. I am confident this would be expensive (from dealer) or more complicated and time consuming than he understands.

Baby Grand · Oct 13, 2015

With the symptoms you have described, it's just a matter of time until someone either forgets to fill the HST and fries the pump or the constant overheating causes contact surface failure of something - pump, seal or bearing. I think it's time to think about either doing some measureable diagnostics or tearing the HST unit down an finding out what's wrong with it.

Aside from having a runny nose & running a fever, does the HST function as it should? If yes, then it seems like a flow obstruction that is preventing circulating of the oil - not the primary flow that is providing power transfer, but the secondary flow that is lubricating and moving heat.

One thing that I'd want to check is if hydraulic fluid (oil) is actually circulating through the oil filter.
Can you get an IR thermometer reading from different parts of the HST as it warms up?
-Jim