Old fluid in Hydraulic rams.

Flatbroke · Jan 29, 2014

I have a new tractor, the hydraulics out the back and the front for the loader and the transmission is all the same fluid. My question then is I purchased an old cultivator with a ram on it and probably 20 feet of hose should I drain all the fluid out of any old equipment or just hook it up and go, what do you folks do?:confused3:

GS

murphy1244 · Jan 29, 2014

I would try to drain as much as I could but wouldn't sweat it.

BeezFun · Jan 30, 2014

I came up with a way to purge oil because I borrow my neighbor's post pounder and he uses JD oil, I use Kubota synthetic. I made a fitting for the return line on the pounder so it would stay open without connecting it to anything. When I attach the pounder I cycle the ram while I put the return line in an empty container. The JD oil is a slightly different color than mine so I can tell when it's all purged. When I return the pounder I do the same thing on his tractor, then pour the purged oil back into the tractor where it belongs.
Since you don't know the history of cultivator, probably wouldn't be a bad idea to purge the oil. Farmers are notorious for using anything they can find as hydraulic oil.

CJONE · Jan 30, 2014

In my case I would drain the hoses and un hook the ram and cycle it with the hoses off to force the oil out of it. The snowblower I just picked up had nasty fluid in the turn motor. Not something I am willing to contaminate my hydro system with. CJ

DJ54 · Jan 30, 2014

Definitely purge it. Since it has hydraulic hoses, remove the QA fittings, and adapt down to an air fitting. Use compressed air to cycle the cylinder. Just turn the air on slow, so it doesn't blow the oil out the other hose everywhere, catching it in a bucket, or oil drain pan.

I've got a 1/2" brass ball valve I have rigged up, and an array of fittings to adapt to about anything, hanging on the wall for things like this.

/pine · Jan 30, 2014

I use QD's and have one fitted with a schrader valve that I can move from one port to the other...a couple of strokes on a bicycle pump moves the rod/gland purging the cylinder...