small hydro leak issue

Dingo Man · May 8, 2012

So my DK40 hst is about a month old now. I've got a few hours on it but nothing that has even begun to test its true potential. This morning I started her up and while waiting for it to warm up I got down on a knee to look the under side over. I noticed some hydro fluid drips. I figured it was dripping about every thirty seconds. The fluid is dripping out of an elongated access hole of some sort. The entire hole and the area around it has fluid on it. I have attached a photo which shows the hole looking back towards the rear of the tractor. Any ideas where the fluid is coming from.

Thanks

Dingo Man · May 8, 2012

Wow, no one has anything?

kiotiken · May 8, 2012

I have roughly the same leak on my CK30hst. Mine started with about 70hrs after my dealer split the tractor to replace the hst. Mine is the gasket between the two halves of the tractor. We're waiting for a time I don't need the tractor for a while to re-split it and fix it.

IndyIan · May 8, 2012

I can't say I've ever noticed that access hole on my tractor. I'll have to go looking for it. Anyways I guess its going to be a warranty issue which hopefully won't take long to fix.

MotorSeven · May 9, 2012

I have not noticed that hole either...I'll take a look this morning. Ken I hope your wrong on the tractor split to fix.....that would suck.

Dingo Man · May 9, 2012

The hole in question looks to be in the area where the mid PTO would be if you were to get one. I have looked all over up and down and can not see where the leak is coming from.

kiotiken · May 9, 2012

MotorSeven said:
I have not noticed that hole either...I'll take a look this morning. Ken I hope your wrong on the tractor split to fix.....that would suck.

I hope that's not what it is either. I was pretty much against having to split my tractor for this exact reason, I never thought it would be the same. This is exactly how the leak presents itself on my tractor and we're pretty sure it's that big gasket that's leaking, but I'll know more in a few weeks when it's finally fixed.

Regardless of the source of the OP's leak is, it sure looks like a warranty claim to me. I'd just keep using it until it's convenient to give it up for a week or so and arrange to have it done then.

Highbeam · May 9, 2012

That hole is farther forward than the midPto. That hole allows you to see, touch, and rotate your front driveshaft. There are several seals that could be leaking and cause oil to escape into that cavity. My CK30 has been leaking for years now from one of the several (maybe a few) places where this tractor can be split. In my case, the joint that is leaking looks to have a cavity inside that contains some high pressure HST lines and 0rings that can fail. It is unfortunate but I can live with a slow slow leak if it causes no harm to the machine.

Dingo Man · May 10, 2012

Highbeam that makes sense. I can see a shaft of some sort up inside the hole. Last night I checked the steering lines to make sure they were not leaking. All was dry there. I have no warranty concerns since this is brand new and it will be fixed. With only a few hours on it I am not willing to let it slide for now. This will be a good test for my dealer. So far they have been great. They are currently checking with HQ to plan there next move.

Thanks

jimmyj · May 12, 2012

I've had minor ongoing leaks with my CK30 pretty much since new. All of them have been at connections between hydro lines and fittings. Two were the result of me hitting the lines when driving over stuff (bring on the skid plates), and another I think was a bad o ring. The dealer replaced the one with the bad o ring and the others I just live with.

I think every tractor or truck I have had has had a slow leak of some sort at some time. As long as it's a really small amount I live with them.

All that ramble said, I would want to find the source and since your machine is so new ask the dealer to help find the issue. You never know, better safe than sorry.

Dingo Man · May 23, 2012

Update! My DK40 has been at the dealer for about a week due to a hydro leak. I spoke with them today and was advised they had to split the tractor to locate the leak. They found the o-rings and seals in the area of the hydro pump were allowing fluid to pass. They have ordered new parts from DQ and are waiting for the parts to arrive.

I was told that the seals or o-ring could have been installed wrong, or they were faulty parts. I was also told if the unit sat around for a long period of time after assembly the rings and or seals could have dried out. Anyone heard of that?

Kinda of stinks.

kiotiken · May 24, 2012

Dingo Man said:
Update! My DK40 has been at the dealer for about a week due to a hydro leak. I spoke with them today and was advised they had to split the tractor to locate the leak. They found the o-rings and seals in the area of the hydro pump were allowing fluid to pass. They have ordered new parts from DQ and are waiting for the parts to arrive.

I was told that the seals or o-ring could have been installed wrong, or they were faulty parts. I was also told if the unit sat around for a long period of time after assembly the rings and or seals could have dried out. Anyone heard of that?

Kinda of stinks.

I'm very sorry to hear it, it's not a nice feeling on a brand new machine. Splitting the tractor was as much of a concern to my dealer as changing the oil, they didn't consider it a huge deal. With a good dealer, your tractor should be good as new and like it never happened.

birddriver · May 31, 2012

I have a Bobcat CT230 and at 85 hours I had this same problem. It was leaking quite a bit and the dealer split the tractor in half and replaced the o-rings. I have used it to cut grass after the repair and so far it has been dry. I posted on the Bobcat forum about this and there is one guy that said he has had the o-rings replaced three times but so far he is the only other person on that forum that has had the same problem. I did not like the fact that they had to split my new tractor, it took three weeks to fix and then they wanted to charge me for pick up and delivery. So far I like this machine and it has lots of features that I like for the price but if this is a recurrent problem I won't be happy. I understand that some small leaks are OK but this was beyond that. I had hoped to not find anyone else with this problem on this forum but now that I have I hope we both have a one time issue. Good luck.

Dingo Man · May 31, 2012

Same here! I am getting it back tomorrow after two weeks at the shop. Got both fingers crossed.

Dingo Man · Jun 2, 2012

After two weeks at the dealer I got her home again. It was almost like getting my tractor for the first time again. They had to split the tractor and replace o-rings in the hydro pump. When I sent it to the shop I had a leak that was dripping about every 10 seconds or so from the front drive shaft access hole (see earlier pics).

As soon as we got it off the trailer yesterday I hooked up my Kodiak cutter for the first time and mowed by fields. I have to say this was much more enjoyable than mowing them with my little 42in riding mower

I spent about 3 1/2 hours mowing. Checked the access hole and it is wet with fluid. It is not dripping like before but it is obviously still seeping from somewhere. I have 33hrs on the machine. I will have them take another look at it when it goes in for the 50hr service.

I know some hydro fluid leaks will occur over time in different areas. I can live with that but I only have 34hrs on my tractor and it has not been worked hard yet. I could live with a minor leak from a cupling or remote but this leak even though now it seems to be minor is bothering me.

kiotiken · Jun 2, 2012

Dingo Man said:
... but this leak even though now it seems to be minor is bothering me.

As it should. I wouldn't accept any leak on my new tractor. 2 1/2 weeks is also unacceptable. There's no part my dealer can't get in a couple days and I guarantee your dealer wasn't working on it that whole time. Most of the time he had your tractor, it was just sitting. Now that it's still leaking, he should arrange a time that's convenient for you, come pick it up, fix it and drop it off free of charge, and this should take no longer than 3 or 4 days max.

jimmyj · Jun 2, 2012

Glad you got it fixed and are happy. I like it when stories end "happy":thumbsup:

Dingo Man · Jun 2, 2012

KK in all fairness to the dealer they have actually been very good. The reason it took two weeks was because HQ sent them the wrong parts the first time. When the new parts finally arrived there were supposedly a few key pieces to them missing. The only good thing to all this is that this thread has been up for a while with few replies which I hope means this is not a common problem and once fixed should be all set.

Jesse masterson · Jun 3, 2012

I dpnt blame ya a bit if it was my tractor , brand new and all it would definitely be fixed . Leaks don't really bother me either ,but new should not leak. If it had 1500 hours would be a different story .