Kubota M62 HST Filter Change w/o Draining Fluid?

[RedNeckGeek]

Time to change the HST filter on the M62 and the Owner's Manual sez to drain the fluid first. Big PITA to do so, and I'm wondering, if I work fast, how much fluid will I lose if I don't drain the fluid first? Anybody done it?

 

[rScotty]

I'll be curious how that works.

Last time I did it on the M59 I drained the oil first.

For mine, that tured out to have been a good deal, because both filters were very difficult to remove. I tried three types of strap wrenches, a sort of universal compression sleeve, and a standard filter socket - all with long cheaters - before a chain wrench with gorilla tape finally did the trick. The old filters got pretty beat up. At one point I would have left them if they hadn't beenn so damaged/

Then after cleaning things up, I went to screw the new filters onto the pipe nipple they thread onto and discovered that hreaded nipple was loose in the sump. It had partly unscrewed from the sump casting. So had to deal with that.

I have heard that some people do it without draining the oil, & some use the vacuum trick. I never have.
rScotty

 

[old and tired]

Rig up the shop vac to suck air out of the fill tube on the back.

Make sure it's NOT blowing air into that Fill Tube because Oil comes out under pressure real quick, don't ask me how I know... stupid things you only do once.

 

[Roadworthy]

To facilitate rigging the shop vac check the size and thread of the fill port cap. Mine was exactly right for a one inch threaded PVC adapter.

 

[mikester]

Rig up the shop vac to suck air out of the fill tube on the back.

Make sure it's NOT blowing air into that Fill Tube because Oil comes out under pressure real quick, don't ask me how I know... stupid things you only do once.

I tried that and got a bath in 15 gallons of SuperUDT

Bite the bullet and drain/change the hydraulic fluid when you change the filters. Your machine will operate better after too. Mine does. I only do the full hydraulic fluid drain on major intervals

 

[Rustyiron]

I'm not familiar with this tractors filters location, but would it be possible to "tilt" it in a direction to change the static oil level below the filter mount?

 

[RedNeckGeek]

I tried that and got a bath in 15 gallons of SuperUDT

Bite the bullet and drain/change the hydraulic fluid when you change the filters. Your machine will operate better after too. Mine does. I only do the full hydraulic fluid drain on major intervals

That's not good news, Mike. I kinda like my baths and showers in hot water, not SUDT2. I wonder how many owners skip that 200 hour HST filter change? Do you?

Here's the rub: The HST filter is supposed to be changed every 200 hours, while the pair of transmission filters and fluid get changed at 400 hours. When I last replaced it at 400 hours back in '21, a five gallon pale cost me $75, and I got it in Oregon where there's no sales tax. I don't know when was the last time you bought SUDT2, but right now it's priced at $152 including tax for a 5 gallon pale, and the M62 needs 2.5 of them. The idea of draining and reusing the oil also opens up the possibility that the oil will be contaminated with foreign matter, and the certainty that SUDT2 will spill all over the place.

I spent some time cutting down a 5 gallon plastic bucket so it would fit under the tractor yesterday, but to get all the fluid out I'd need three of them. Cutting just that one left a handful of plastic chips everywhere, so I also spent time with a garden hose and rags cleaning the shortened bucket. Even then I couldn't be sure it was spotless. Tiny white plastic chips don't show up too well on a white plastic bucket.

It was about that time I learned that the oil filter wrench was down at the other house, 400 miles away. So I've got some time to think about what I'll do next...

 

[RedNeckGeek]

I'm not familiar with this tractors filters location, but would it be possible to "tilt" it in a direction to change the static oil level below the filter mount?

That might be easier than it sounds. The driveway here is pretty steep, and it would be easy to side hill the tractor and stick a level under it to see how far above the transmission the HST filter would be. I do know the steepest part if the driveway is a 17° slope. Time to dust off some old high school trig.

Could also be that the filter mount could be disconnected from the frame, and if it uses long rubber hoses, the whole mess could be lifted above the transmission. That's worth checking out, too.

 

[mikester]

That's not good news, Mike. I kinda like my baths and showers in hot water, not SUDT2. I wonder how many owners skip that 200 hour HST filter change? Do you?

Here's the rub: The HST filter is supposed to be changed every 200 hours, while the pair of transmission filters and fluid get changed at 400 hours. When I last replaced it at 400 hours back in '21, a five gallon pale cost me $75, and I got it in Oregon where there's no sales tax. I don't know when was the last time you bought SUDT2, but right now it's priced at $152 including tax for a 5 gallon pale, and the M62 needs 2.5 of them. The idea of draining and reusing the oil also opens up the possibility that the oil will be contaminated with foreign matter, and the certainty that SUDT2 will spill all over the place.

I spent some time cutting down a 5 gallon plastic bucket so it would fit under the tractor yesterday, but to get all the fluid out I'd need three of them. Cutting just that one left a handful of plastic chips everywhere, so I also spent time with a garden hose and rags cleaning the shortened bucket. Even then I couldn't be sure it was spotless. Tiny white plastic chips don't show up too well on a white plastic bucket.

It was about that time I learned that the oil filter wrench was down at the other house, 400 miles away. So I've got some time to think about what I'll do next...

I just change all the filters and fluids every 200h. Full system drain (ie. including the lower plugs in the transaxel) every 400h.

I'm also starting to change the engine oil every 100h.

Cheaper than buying a new machine. Runs better and quieter after too.

 

[Rustyiron]

That is a "TLB" with outriggers right?
I was thinking hydraulically tilting, maybe with a few blocks for the safety police.

 

[LS Tractor Owner]

The shop vac trick works very well. I use a smaller shop vac, I believe a 4 gal. size. If I used the big Rigid one, it would suck the fluid out the fill port! (not really), but it causes too many bubbles that splash into the hose.

 

[RedNeckGeek]

The shop vac trick works very well. I use a smaller shop vac, I believe a 4 gal. size. If I used the big Rigid one, it would suck the fluid out the fill port! (not really), but it causes too many bubbles that splash into the hose.

Oh, so you use the shop vac just to keep the oil out of the filter, and not suck the oil out? Sounds too good to be true!

 

[Bavarian]

The shop vac trick works very well. I use a smaller shop vac, I believe a 4 gal. size. If I used the big Rigid one, it would suck the fluid out the fill port! (not really), but it causes too many bubbles that splash into the hose.

I worked on excavators for some time a few moons ago. We had very tiny suction pumps that we attached to the hydraulic tank and opened a 2" suction line at the main pumps. It worked flawless.
Just the other day my son wanted to change the filter at the log splitter. It's got the filter at the suction side. My wife almost freaked out when I came up with the shop vac. All worked well.

 

[ptsg]

Last time I had to pull the hydraulic fluid out of the tractor to fix the suction pipe and change the filter, I just disconnected one line off the hydraulic winch, put it in a container and actuated the lever with the engine running. Once I saw the first signs of the pumps not getting enough fluid, I turned the tractor off.

Then just needed to drain what was left using the drain plugs. I was easily less than 5 liters left. Very easy to handle comparing to the full 34 liters and little to no mess during the process.

 

[RedNeckGeek]

Just to finish this off, I took Ted's advise and hooked the shop vac up to the oil filler port, and hardly any oil came out when I changed the filter. That's on a Kubota M62, and I can understand that it may not work on all vehicles. Sure was worth a try in this case, so thanks for the good advise, Ted!

 

[jonsstihl]

plus one for the shop vac in the filler port when you do the 200 HR HST filter change. I hardly lost any oil last time I did it. I probably wouldn't do it to change the suction filter but it worked well for the HST filter.

 

[Captain Dirty]

Five months late to the party or 5 years early. See my post of December 1, 2019 Kubota L45 hydraulic fluid maintenance. Glad it worked out.