Where did the hydraulic fluid go?

[bill18163]

I just did some maintenance on my B2710. One of the things I had to do was drain the hydraulic fluid and replace it. The manual indicates that it takes 3.7 gals to fill. My notes indicate that when replacing this fluid I should fill with three gals and then fine tune with a little more as needed to top off while watching the dip stick. It will not take 3.7 gals. That would over fill it. There are four bolt plugs that you have to remove to drain all the fluid as well as the filter. I did all that when draining the fluid. Four bolt plugs and the filter. When I was done I had two gals of fluid that drained out. Where did a little over one gal of fluid go between the fluid change from last time and this time??? I do my maintenance by the book. It was a 300 hour interval since last being changed and only two gals came out. There are no leaks from this system. The tractor is parked on a concrete floor in a pole barn and I would easily see if there were any leaks.

 

[Peter 315]

Did you check the level before you drained it? I just use the manual as a rough guess and just fill to full on the stick . Run it and recheck the level..... some oil stays in and never comes out......

 

[airbiscuit]

Be careful not to round the drain plug.

 

[Peter 315]

Be careful not to round the drain plug.

Kando is that you......

 

[bill18163]

No I did not check the level before I drained it.

 

[Peter 315]

Run it and recheck the level and don't lose any sleep over it.....

 

[Tractorrr]

Could some of the fluid be in the loader? Otherwise I think they do suggest checking the level after it痴 hot as it can expand

 

[MHarryE]

Capacity is oil to fill everything. Draining drains the reservoir, which I believe in your case is transmission case. Estimates range from 40% to 60% of the oil is drained this way. Complete drain is removing all hoses and emptying them. Hydraulic cylinders must be removed and drained. If it’s a hydro, they are very difficult. Oil cooler - when you remove top and bottom hoses it should empty. You can see where I’m going. Changing the hydraulic oil gets only part unlike an engine which gets most. Follow instructions. Loader and 3 point down, curl bucket so piston end of cylinder is collapsed so the lesser volume rod end contains the oil. This gets most of the oil back to the reservoir. Then drain the oil and if it was at the full mark before, refill with the same quantity of new oil that you drained. If it is half of the total capacity, you’ve done well. It’s when you trash a major component and the pieces contaminate the entire system that what I stated above need to be done. I’ve seen dealer warranty claims for $10,000 to clean the system that way following a catastrophic piston pump failure and required a complete purge.

 

[RickB]

Published capacity will not include oil needed for loaders, backhoes or anything the tractor did not have installed at the end of the assembly line.

 

[RalphVa]

Ran into similar situation on the JD 2025R. Put what it called for into it, and it covered the round level indicator. Supposed to be in the middle. It was still a good 3" (via screwdriver stuck in the fill hole) below the fill hole.

Ralph