Water in hydraulics.

Turfturd

Member

Equipment
B7510
May 20, 2021
51
11
8
Missouri
I recently made an offer on a B7510HST turf special not in running condition. Well.... I looked over or I thought I did. We came to an agreement on price and here comes my dilemma.
While hooking it up to the trailer I noticed the cap was missing where you add hydraulic oil. The one right behind the seat.
Fast forward to my concerns. I drained and changed all of the fluids filters. I got it up and running. It all seems to run fine for now. I am concerned about what the long term effects of the water exposure did to the hydraulics. Has anyone had any experience with this.
Thank you.
 

Elliott in GA

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LX 2610SU w/535,LP RCR1860,FDR1660,SGC0554,FSP500, DD BBX60005
Mar 10, 2021
618
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93
North Georgia
When you drained the fluid, what did it look like - clear, cloudy, slugs of water, rusty and etc?
 

Henro

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B2910, BX2200, KX41-2V mini Ex.
May 24, 2019
5,116
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Was it kept outside in the rain?

What did the hydraulic fluid look like that you drained?

Dirt getting into the system might be more of a concern than water.

Adding whatever specifics that you can will help others to give better advice...

edit: I see Elliott types faster than I do... :)
 
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BigG

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l2501, FEL, BB, Rotary cutter, rake,spreader, roller, etc. New Holland TL80 A
Sep 14, 2018
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West Central,FL
Run it. The what ifs will drive you nuts.
 
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Motion

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Lifetime Member

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Kubota MX5100HST/FEL
Aug 17, 2020
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Mandeville Louisiana
Hopefully no damage occurred and if it did you won't know about for quite a while. If it would be mine I'd run the s--- out it, get the fluid hot, work the h--- out of the attachments, then change the fluid and filters, do the same for a couple of more hours and change the fluid only to get a complete fluid change. As always do as you feel is best.
 

BruceP

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Equipment
G5200H
Aug 7, 2016
835
353
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Richmond, Vermont, USA
Running it hard and hot will go a long way towards boiling off any remaining water from the system.

Also plan on a couple quick fluid-changes to help flush out the system. I would have no problem running less-expensive fluids during the flush-out changes..... then switch to Kubota SUDT2 for the long-term fill.

This process may take several months or over a year.

At that point, you have done all you can to mitigate long-term damage short of a complete teardown and inspection.
 

Motion

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Kubota MX5100HST/FEL
Aug 17, 2020
518
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Mandeville Louisiana
I forgot to ask when you first changed the fluid had it been sitting for a while and was there any free water when first removing the drain plugs? If by chance you still have that oil slowly pour off the fluid and see what's in the bottom of the bucket.
 

Turfturd

Member

Equipment
B7510
May 20, 2021
51
11
8
Missouri
Wow... Great stuff
Yes the tractor had been sitting for over a year.
Believe it or not most of the water was in the filters. The fluid looked normal other than the water.
Now I never ran it before all of the fluid changes.
I have about 12 hours on it since the fluid changes, so far so good.
My plan was to run it for 50 hours or so and then do another fluid change.
Thank you for all of your comments.
 

Turfturd

Member

Equipment
B7510
May 20, 2021
51
11
8
Missouri
Wow... Great stuff
Yes the tractor had been sitting for over a year.
Believe it or not most of the water was in the filters. The fluid looked normal other than the water.
Now I never ran it before all of the fluid changes.
I have about 12 hours on it since the fluid changes, so far so good.
My plan was to run it for 50 hours or so and then do another fluid change.
Thank you for all of your comments.
One other question.
I read in the manual that if the tractor is used in wet conditions like rain or snow that you need to drain the water from clutch housing.
Well I found what I thought was the correct drain plug and what came out was Hydraulic fluid.
Has anyone ever drained their clutch housing?
Thanks again
 

GeoHorn

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M4700DT, LA1002FEL, Ferguson5-8B Compactor-Roller, 10KDumpTrailer, RTV-X900
May 18, 2018
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Texas
Get the manuals and you‘ll have drawings and pictures of the drain plugs and you can avoid those mistakes.
 

TheOldHokie

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L3901/LA525, B7200DT/B1630, G2160/RCK60, G2460/RCK60
Apr 6, 2021
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windyridgefarm.us
Wow... Great stuff
Yes the tractor had been sitting for over a year.
Believe it or not most of the water was in the filters. The fluid looked normal other than the water.
Now I never ran it before all of the fluid changes.
I have about 12 hours on it since the fluid changes, so far so good.
My plan was to run it for 50 hours or so and then do another fluid change.
Thank you for all of your comments.
Dont run it with contaminated fluid. It serves no useful purpose.

Drain and refill with fresh fluids and filters and proceed from there. Its unlikely the water caused damage just sitting in the sump but circulating it can and at a minimum it will make it harder to remove. If there was substantial contamination I would change the first clean fill after a very short (hour) of operation. Then again a few hours later. If cost is an issue use a cheap UTF for the first couple of flushes.

Dan
 

dvcochran

Active member

Equipment
Kubota M9000, New Holland TN90, Deere 2640, Vermeer 504N, Vermeer 504SI, more
Feb 23, 2011
210
43
28
Dickson, TN
Wow... Great stuff
Yes the tractor had been sitting for over a year.
Believe it or not most of the water was in the filters. The fluid looked normal other than the water.
Now I never ran it before all of the fluid changes.
I have about 12 hours on it since the fluid changes, so far so good.
My plan was to run it for 50 hours or so and then do another fluid change.
Thank you for all of your comments.
50 hours is WAY too long. I would run it briskly for a solid (1) hour actuating all the hydraulic functions as much as possible. Then replace the fluid and filter. Then run it for 4-6 hours repeating the same steps and do it again. Test for water at each change. Here is a good article on how to test for water and a few ways to deal with it.
What you need to know about moisture contamination in engine lube and hydraulic oil (parker.com)
 

Turfturd

Member

Equipment
B7510
May 20, 2021
51
11
8
Missouri
Okay,
I have done 2 more fluid changes and it does seem to be better.
It seems to be quieter and smoother operating.
Thank you for all of the advice here.
 
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