Massey GC 1710 slow hydralics in the cold

[LevesqueOnline]

Hey there,

so it gets cold here -20 to -30C in the winter. I noticed my loader hydralics or even hydrostat seems very weak even after i let the tractor warm up for 10 minutes. If i scoop snow in the loader i wouldnt be exaggerating to say its like 30 seconds for it to dump the snow (raising the arms up and down doesnt seem bad but dumping the bucket is brutal)

anything I should be doing different? I use stock fluid, but maybe i should be running synthetic next year?

 

[Snobdds]

Well, it's just the nature of the beast. Even though you warm up the engine oil, there is nothing to heat up the hydraulic oil. There are oil pan heaters you can put on the bottom of the hydraulic sump that will help, but there is a lot of oil to heat up and it may only offer minimal help.

It's good you let the tractor warm up, but the only thing that will warm up the hydraulic oil is usage. Go easy at first and it should heat up as you work it.

I think Massey (Agco) is now using a semi synthetic blend for the hydraulic oil that will help a lot. You can go full synthetic with amsoil or Kubota. Those should provide the cold flow your looking for...

 

[irvingj]

Yes, you should definitely let the tractor run for a time to warm up the hydraulic fluid. There's a chart in the owner's manual that states the approximate times for warm-up depending on outside temp. Engine oil/coolant temp is one thing, hydraulic oil temp is another matter!

 

[Erik M]

I park my tractor in a garage that I keep set to 5C all winter and what a difference it makes to start up on those cold days. The hydraulics are much more responsive than when cold soaked.

 

[jbrumberg]

FYI:

There are thermostatically controlled (<65F on - <85F off) 85W 120V .7A hydraulic/fuel metal filter pre-heaters made by E Tip, Inc. They are like a 12 ounce can coozy(sp?) and attach around the metal filter with spring/hook fasteners.

3 hour preheating with both the engine block heater + the hydraulic fuel filter in subzero temperatures the tractor started easily at 0F and the hydraulics were already warmed. The exposed filter is generally where the hydraulic's gelling clogs the filter and really starts straining the pump. I still needed warmup time but the hydraulic pump was not whining. This unit works.

Hope this helps.

 

[DMW]

Change out the hydro fluid. Kubota brand SUDT2, or it may be marketed as Premium UDT in Canada. This is probably the easiest to find. Do not get an "Equivalent To..." store brand. It will not work as well. Change the engine oil to Amsoil (it really is good). The only thing stopping you from running in winter will be the fuel gelling. I have had poor experiences with non synthetic tractor fluids. The extra cost is worth it IMO. Water contamination in the hydro fluid can freeze and block valves.

 

[LevesqueOnline]

Appreciate all of the responses all.

So next year I will switch my Hydraulic fluids to Amsoil Synthetic for sure.

I am very interested in the heater for the Hydraulic filter, I had never heard of that? I unfortunately do not have a garage so my tractor sits under a tarp in the cold but I do have power run to it for the block heater and trickle charger. My fuel isnt an issue as we do have winter diesel here, and the one on their website seems to be for fuel filter, are you saying i can just use it on the hydostat filter for the same purpose?

if so has anyone here done that? I had not seen that posted before, seems pretty cool, I could also get the pad for the hydrostat pump if folks think they work well too?

 

[jbrumberg]

LevessqueOnline-

Somewhere in the E Tip's product information available on their website it reads that these filter pre-heaters will work safely on metal hydraulic fuel filters. If they are designed to pre-heat the more volatile diesel fuel they are not too hot to overheat the hydraulic fluid.

Granted, I have a New Holland, but I would bet that the Massey tractors have a similarly exposed metal hydraulic filter.

All I can post is that it worked for me. The tractor will still need warmup time to warm all the hydraulic fluid in the entire system.

 

[LevesqueOnline]

Appreciated Jbrumberg and all, great suggestions that I am sure will help me with this

 

[JWR]

The 30 sec to curl and dump using the bucket is wildly off scale. I would not be surprised if there are 2 or 3 things wrong. There are lots of people in northern climes running construction equipment, skid steers, and equipment of all kinds in similar temps to what you have. I'm not aware of what all those people do for their hydraulic systems at very cold temps. Call a dealer or service shop in Fairbanks or Saskatoon!

The obvious starting point is to go to a low-viscosity hydraulic fluid. Check with your dealer to see if there is any reason not to run low viscosity fluid year-round. Only if that fails would I get into potential trouble causers. What matters is viscosity, not whether it is synthetic. Just like motor oil there SHOULD be multi-viscosity hydraulic fluid that does not get so thick at cold temperatures.

Probably someone on TBN will speak up here in a bit... with this being more of a generic thing rather than brand-specific you might search around among other forum section titles.