Location of hydraulic reservoir on 1010

handirifle · Jul 22, 2010

Am doing some work on my MF1010 and (since i don't have a manual yet) am wondering if the rubber plug in front of the seat and beside what appears to be the dip stick for the tranny?

If so, what fluid do I use, and how do I check fluid level?

Thanks

lambs · Jul 23, 2010

You found it.

The dipstick is for the hydraulic fluid, and the rubber plug is for adding fluid as needed. Use MF's Permatran for the fluid. It's known around here as liquid gold. There are probably other fluids that are rated the same, but for my money I would not chance it.

If you want to actually change the fluid, lower the three point hitch first, and then drain the oil by removing the drawbar (if you have one) and removing the drain plug directly underneath the drawbar. It helps to have the tractor on a slight up hill incline; I actually jacked up the front end of mine when I did it to get it to drain more thoroughly.

Capacity is 4.5 gallons per my eBay original owner's manual. It doesn't reference a hydro drive model at all, but mine is gear drive anyway. I don't know if a hydro takes more fluid or not. You won't get all of it out the drain though, so you probably won't need that much to refill. If you are driving other hydraulics with the fluid, you probably need somewhat more fluid to refill it.

The hydraulic fluid filter should be visible inside the left rear wheel fender, and I use a Wix 51210 or NAPA FIL1210. I was shocked to find my NAPA dealer had a listing on this tractor, so I went ahead and bought all my filters from them. Of course you can use an MF filter too. If you have a hydro check with the dealer. There may be additional filters or different ones for those models.

Way more information than you probably wanted, but thought I'd share what I know from working on my own 1010.

Have fun working on it. Keep us posted!

lambs · Jul 23, 2010

Sorry, forgot you'd asked about how to check the fluid. Your dipstick should be just like mine, so just check it with the tractor on level ground, without starting it up. There's a mark on it indicating full level.

The rubber plug just pulls out for adding more fluid as needed.

handirifle · Jul 24, 2010

Woo hoo! I guessed correct. I bought some of the Permatran, I see why it's called gold, at $13 a gallon (after the CA bailout fund otherwise known as tax). I also NOW see why most everyone else besides NAPA carried it in 5 gal containers.

MUCH appreciate the changing info, mine too, is gear drive. I also just got my CORRECT size tires in the mail, the 5-12 R1's. There is quite a difference. After getting stuck in the mud today (dredging out a small sesional creek) i hope I don't miss the "bite" of the larger, 6-12's but I guess a smaller bite there is better than a large bite for a tranny overhaul

.

Mine does have a drawbar as well, so I will tuck away that bit of knowledge too. Do I also assume (correctly?) this is the same fluid the ears use? My tranny sure seems to shift smoother now too, It took about 3/4 gal to fill line. I guess if it holds nearly 5 gal this wasn't super low though.

lambs · Jul 29, 2010

It's all the same hydraulic fluid, assuming your front end loader is tied into the tractor's hydraulics and isn't running off some other pump (i.e PTO rig of some type). It's the trans fluid, the 3 pt hitch fluid, and the fluid for the FEL.

These are tough and simple little tractors. And they can be a lot of fun.