Purging the system of milky hydraulic fluid

[electrycmonk]

(newbie wave) I've spent the last 90-odd minutes with the search functions and tried what *I thought* would be wise words.... struck out across the board.

Problem: hydraulic system is water contaminated.... by me, accidentally- it seems. I went to pour some sealed 5gal. jug of TSC 303 that i'd had in the garage for a while(2-3 years but still factory sealed bucket).... well that was a big mistake.... about the time i realized what i saw in the stream of liquid - it was too late to stop.

I had to do some moving of stuff so I did use the Cub for a bit that day and while using it the FEL lifting cylinder (clutch pedal side) gaveout and started leaking at rest and faster in use.....

got stuff moved. PArked it.Removed the cylinder and took it to the local rebuilder shop as I didn't have the time or space to do it myself this time. so Now its cleaned and rebuilt.

I poured in some of the 1st bucket and started the tractor for a few seconds and pulled on the joystick to purge a bunch of the milk out the FEL pipes from that cyliner location.... stopped and called it a night.... came inside and started searching.....

So now I want to purge OR just clean the system as quickly as possible.

Here is the tractor specs in question:

cub cadet 7260 with FEL 417

i found the manual in pdf (some 300 pages) downloaded it.... will look at it in the AM to find the exact(suggestions) for drain plug location(s). I shall drain it tomorrow AM.
I did stop by a local tractor repair shop and was told to get a couple buckets of TSC 303 and just drain, and run. Then drain and run. and he said to leave the old filter in place till the fluid looks mostly clear of water..... then do one more drain and fill with the new filter at that point.....


Advice would be great on the steps to clean up my mess.
advice on terms for search or 'cheater links' to threads I could find or figure out?

thanks in advance from this gearheaded geek. good night y'all :thumbsup:

 

[Diggin It]

I did stop by a local tractor repair shop and was told to get a couple buckets of TSC 303 and just drain, and run. Then drain and run. and he said to leave the old filter in place till the fluid looks mostly clear of water..... then do one more drain and fill with the new filter at that point.....

That's what came to my mind before I got to that part of your post.

Also, it's been said here that 303 shouldn't really be used any more and may even be banned in some places.

 

[Streetcar]

Follow advice of tractor shop

 

[Rich B1]

I would mostly go with what the dealer said, except:

Do the first drain cold after the tractor has sat overnight. Some of the water should have settled.

Filters are made to filter oil, I would do a couple of filters during the clean up.

I would drain the supply, tank and PB lines at the loader valve.

Use correct oil on your final fill.

Next time you use the tractor, use it hard to generate heat in the hydraulic system.

Keep a close eye on how the oil looks for several weeks. If it stays clear, your good. If not, do another oil/filter change.

 

[RNeumann]

I wouldn’t be overly worried- this isn’t NASA’s Mars Rover. Drain, refill and run it. Trying to get every drop of water out will be an overly expensive and time consuming process with almost no return. The one drain and refill will get all but a tiny amount of water- it’s chasing the last few tablespoons of water that, to me, is a waste.

 

[electrycmonk]

thanks y'all for the re-affirming. I know that "every drop" is illogical but, an overwhelming majority of removal is my goal. I actually discovered I was using a J20 variation for the flush batch. The system has also been cold-drained as well before I put the 2nd batchj of the J20 flavor..... I plan to run it hard tomorrow. tilling up dirt with 3 pt blade and scoop/drag with the FEL as well - tomorrow.

i was thinking of getting the filters on amazon. there is a 4 pack for something like 60-80.00? i can't see going too terribly wrong using them for the cleansing stages with this current batch and the next after i burn thru a tank full of diesel over the next few days. then latter getting a good wix/napa one (once it looks cleaner; for the heafty price of $70+ for a single one. (sheesh)

 

[electrycmonk]

So ran it solid today. (I sharpened the 3 point finish mowers blades 1st thing this AM) spent a good 45 minutes testing it out; while cutting a row of the yard I was fast flexing the FEL up and down 75-90% of max and 75-100% of the bucket's in-out.

Then hooked up the twin curved blade 'row' tiller (what is the correct name for this old school tool?) Spent the next 30-45 minutes cutting up the ground where the chicken coop foundation will be poured.
up & down for the 3 point. Then all of a sudden the 3 point didn't lift the blades. it didnt respond at all. .. So, I disconnected the twin blade and used the FEL to set it out of the way and continued working the dirt with the bucket. scraped, bulldozed, scooped, moved alot of dirt and rock..... that was a good hr plus of active FEL cycling.

parked it for a late lunch and let it sit and cool down.

Its after 8 PM, just checked the dipstick and the fluid looked remarkedly clear. So now to post the new topic question in its own thread regarding the 3 points sudden failure- of sorts.

I plan to use the FEL tomorrow to roughly finish the area and prep for the strings and cinder block frame up. Then I'll check the fluid both when nice and hot and later when cooled off with update later tomorrow night again.

 

[tcburke]

Well lucky me! I only had to search twice before apparently finding exactly the info I needed.

I have a Kubota L2500 that needs a flush. I was considering 303 and a couple of cans of Seafoam Trans Tune as a flush fluid that I could actually run through the pump and lines. 303 is cheaper than mineral spirits or contaminating 8 gallons of diesel that probably would not be good for the pump anyway.

The alternative seems to be pulling the trans and lift covers and going at it manually, which I would prefer to avoid.