Oil leak at steering unit

[69 SS]

Hello all,
L 3901 2015 437hrs, HST, oil dripping off of big nut that holds arm that controls tie rod ends. New leak started today , did pre run fluid check before 1 hr plow with discs. Took trash out and saw drops oil on driveway followed to barn,puddle underneath "Big Orange". No fluid on dipstick!!! Before I panic and call dealer , thought I would post and see if anyone else has had this problem and see if I should be looking at something else. Don't have WSM , so not sure if I have used correct terms in my description. Don't know how low oil level is so I won't be driving. Kind of glad I haven't done 400 hr fluid filter change yet , glad I bought HST Kubota fluids filters early last year.
Any and all thoughts,ideas, suggestions, personal experiences much appreciated.
Good luck to all on your projects.
Thanks

 

[Russell King]

No oil on which dipstick?
Engine, Transmission or the steering box itself?

I assume you mean the steering box and that the seal around the shaft coming out of the box has failed and leaked the fluid out of the box.

but your tractor may have some power steering system that has some problems but I think you would notice the fluid leaking out under pressure and that there would be a lot of fluid to be seen

 

[69 SS]

HST tractor, so all fluid is hydraulic functioning for power steering, PTO, transmission, ,everything except engine oil. Sorry if not clear on this 2 dipsticks,1 for engine oil, 1for everything else.looks to be steering box. Didn't run tractor after I saw oil on floor. That be a tomorrow thing. Only can see splined shaft sticking out from bottom of engine,power steering pump must be inside,
Real bummer, prolly dealer fix for me. Thanks for reply,

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

HST tractor, so all fluid is hydraulic functioning for power steering, PTO, transmission, ,everything except engine oil. Sorry if not clear on this 2 dipsticks,1 for engine oil, 1for everything else.looks to be steering box. Didn't run tractor after I saw oil on floor. That be a tomorrow thing. Only can see splined shaft sticking out from bottom of engine,power steering pump must be inside,
Real bummer, prolly dealer fix for me. Thanks for reply,

There is no power steering pump, it uses tractor hydraulic pump.
About the only simple thing is make sure it's not leaking on the line connections, anything else is going to require throwing some wrenches at it!

 

[ken erickson]

if not mistaken many standard L series have leaked hydraulic oil from a loose hose clamp at the oil cooler. Given the proximity to the steering box is it possible the oil is finding its way to the box and dripping off?

L3901: Hydraulic fluid leak fixed. Plus a couple questions.

Just a post to kind of reinforce what some other owners have noticed, that sometimes hose clamps from the factory just aren't tight enough ;) My tractor was delivered to me with I believe 4 hours on it. I drove it around the front field then parked it in the machine shed. A couple weeks went...

www.orangetractortalks.com

 

[69 SS]

Tough day today, didn't get to look at " Big Orange", but will be all on these suggestions Friday,.
Dr appointment tomorrow after work, dentist today. Retirement March 31 !!!.
Thanks to all who replied to this. Looked at you tube videos today, hope this is as simple as loose clamps.
Thanks again and good luck on all your projects

 

[69 SS]

Wife had knee replacement surgery on 3/15/23 . Crawled under "Big Orange today, one of hoses is cracked and dripping when tractor is running, looks like too much of a job for me,probably radiator removal ,battery, side panel covers, who knows ewhat else? Anyone else ever have this problem ? Owners manual maintenance says replace hoses every 2 years. If someone has WSM that details this could you email/ post how to do this?. Only good news is that it only took 1 gallon of Super UDT 2 to bring fluid level to almost full on HST dipstick, so it lost that much in 1.5 hrs runtime,got lucky on that, if would have been doing g other projects would have ran it till something bad happened or had noticeable issues. Other issue noted,decided to look at screen in front of radiator, wasn't dirty but pulled out anyway,glad I did entire front of radiator was covered in crap, yeah don't just think cause the screen looks clean the radiator is. Heads up to all on this!!!
Anyways, if someone has had this oil line problem/repair ,please post how this was resolved. Just update on original post about oil leak and looking for advice.
Good luck to all on your projects.