My local equipment dealer just did some "depot-level maintenance" on my 240 loader and it is steering and running great now. (Note: woodruff key was sheared.) They replaced some hoses, drained and replaced the hydraulic filter, and they installed a little breather vent on top of the loader hydraulic fill hole which they said the system needed. There had been a pipe plug, maybe about 1.5" in diameter there before for the last 45 years and it was located on top of a tubular loader frame structure (hoping for a hosted image here in this message). This loader is a "Superior" model with a Husco controller. I only got it back last night but my issue is, whenever I am lowering the arm, hyd oil flows out of the 'breather' vent, maybe up to a cup at a time. I noticed it dripping at the shop and the mechanic said they hadn't known how much fluid it would take and it really wasn't a problem. He told me to always make sure I lowered the bucket with the engine running to keep the system pressure equalized. But using the loader for an hour last night, the fluid keeps flowing strongly (but not spraying) out of the breather every time I lower the arm. Should I be concerned? Did the equipment place "fix what weren't broke" and screw me up here by installing this little breather apparatus? They were nice Massey Ferguson guys and I don't want to beat on them unnecessarily. But I don't want my 1961-era hydraulics to bleed to death out in the woods either, because somebody thought my unit needed a breather suitable for a late-model system. The loader had always worked great before but hoses were rusted on and down to the nylon (!) cords. Thanks, guys, Dave D in New Hampshire PS, the image of the breather on the tractor is failing to come up for some reason.
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