advice on changing hyd fluid

SleepyFarmall · Feb 2, 2022

After recent cold weather issues with my hydraulics not working on my NH TC30, I changed the hyd filter and discovered the fluid is milky. So, I should drain it right? Not good for performance and it will freeze I'm assuming.

Having never done this, I'm wondering if there is any advice for avoiding mistakes or difficulties in changing the fluid. Also, what to do with the old fluid?
Thanks, Michael

Philip d · Feb 2, 2022

If it is milky there is definitely water in it. Is it still cold there and do you have a heated shop to drain it? If its still cold there most likely is some ice in it somewhere water may be settled. Is your tractor open station? A common culprit on open station tractors is a cracked shifter boot if you have a manual shift lever on top of the transmission

WAYNE-N-TEXAS · Feb 2, 2022

Check and see if it has a strainer, if so clean it also.

Steve in VA · Feb 2, 2022

X2! Back in the day I bought an older JD that had lots of water in the hyd fluid. After I changed it out, the hyd system wasn't all that much better. I pulled the strainer and it looked like a used paint roller. Cleaned it and immediate improvement.

showcrop · Feb 2, 2022

If possible get the fluid warmed up so that contaminants that are settled to the bottom can be picked up and flushed out with the oil.
The moisture comes out of the air through condensation. To keep the moisture from accumulating you need to remove it as often as possible by simply getting the oil hot from use. Go buy another implement so that you can do more work with it!

caterpillar guy · Feb 2, 2022

If you can't run it till it is up to temperature cover the hydraulic oil cooler some to help offset the cold then drain after it runs for a while. Try to get it warm enough to thaw out your hydraulic problem before draining or you will just ad insult to injury with the oil left in the system. Then get a bunch of filters to keep changing about once a week or so till it cleans up after the change. The only other way is to change the oil and filter then with heat finish draining it then change the oil after running it for a day then do it again. The filter will catch a bunch of the left over water as it freezes much cheaper to buy filters than oil and filter.
I have also taken oil and heated it at a low temperature till the oil was clear of water showing with an egg beater then put back in to get the water out then changed the oil and filter.

redforlife · Feb 2, 2022

Well, you can get as technical as you want, when it comes to changing hydraulic fluid. But here's a thought.
Are you going to go around flushing out all the hydraulic cylinders on every piece of equipment you used on it? And likewise, change hydraulic fluid on all your tractors that share the same equipment? Because if not, your going to get some level of old oil contaminate back in your system every time you put on the different pieces of equipment, and time again if they go back and forth to a different tractor. So, you can beat your head against the wall trying to squeeze all the hydraulic fluid out of your tractor when doing a fluid change, but at the end of the day, it seems kind of pointless if your just going to hook it back up to a piece of contaminated equipment. Most people just draw a line in the sand, drain what they can, change filter if it has one, and move on.
As for discarding the old, do the same as you do with your used engine oil.

advice on changing hyd fluid

SleepyFarmall

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Philip d

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WAYNE-N-TEXAS

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Steve in VA

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showcrop

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caterpillar guy

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redforlife

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