I bought my MF35 diesel last spring. Remotes leaked, so not needing them at present, I removed them. Fittings still leaked a little, but I plan to replace those as well. Right from the start, it was obvious the system was leaking someplace (internally I would guess) because it couldn't hold a load up long - even a minimal load - after shutting down the engine.Big Dean suggested not fooling with it if I could live with it, until I couldn't live with it. I followed his advice, but it has gotten worse to where even light loads drift down with the engine running at low RPM. Even with just a small lifting frame, it drops pretty quick (few seconds) at idle. Recently I topped off the hydraulic/trans/ differential lube with Costco "Premium Tractor Fluid" that meets the Permatran 3 spec. Replies to my post regarding this suggested that it might be too thin for summer and I'd know by the hydraulic system performance and that if it wasn't performing, I should swap out the tractor fluid and replace with 80W90 gear lube. It was also mentioned that if the 80W90 was spec'd for cars, it would eventually gum up the works in a tractor. Sure enough, it still isn't performing. It's slightly better at first, but once warmed up, seems to be about like before I topped it off - it had been down around the low mark when I added fluid. That suggests that the trctor fluid isn't heavy enough, or the system is leaky. QUESTION...finally! :) I am assuming the system probably needs overhauled. The tractor has a little over 5000 hours on it - engine rebuilt along the way, but I don't know how many hours ago, or if the hydraulic system was ever overhauled. Is that a good assumption, given the info above? If so, what kind of job am I looking at? I assume I don't need to split the tractor to get at all the parts - is that correct? What all parts do I need to replace - assume all hydraulic seals, but what else? What total parts cost can I expect? What might it cost to have it done by a service shop? Is the work described adequately in the service manual so that a non-mechanic, but with better than average mechanical skills (me) can handle it? Having done all of my own service on a VW bus for years when I was younger, I have the usual socket wrenches, box and open end wrenches, etc. typical of working on cars. Do I need any special tools? I plan to send for Big Dean's CD assuming that it will be of some help, but haven't bought the service manual yet - $60! It will be a winter job since I can't find time in the next month or two to get it done. Fortunately, I don't have any heavy duty work needing the hydraulic system. Thanks for whatever help you can provide.
|
