Hydraulic fluid leak when hot?

[la724]

Hi all, I'm a newbie with a problem (imagine that!). Thanks in advance for any help. I have a l3540 and I was running the brush hog for a couple of hours with no noticeable problems. I had the FEL off for clearance between trees. I finished up and reattached the FEL. when I restarted the tractor after hooking up the hyd. hoses to put the pins in It started leaking a constant stream of fluid out of the spots the arrows are pointing to. After investigation I found the hydraulic cooler plugged with debris. It leaked well over a gallon of fluid but stopped when it cooled. The next day I refilled the hydraulic fluid and cleaned the cooler and underside of tractor. I ran the bush hog for about 15 min. checking the underside frequently. There was no stream of fluid like before but when i parked it a couple of drops came out. I bought the tractor used in January and changed all fluids and filters then so the fluid is fresh. i put 50 hrs. on it since then with no problems. It was hot out that day, I'm in southwest Florida. My question is is there a relief / safety valve causing the leak or did I cook a seal? Thanks again for any help!

Andy

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

Hi all, I'm a newbie with a problem (imagine that!). Thanks in advance for any help. I have a l3540 and I was running the brush hog for a couple of hours with no noticeable problems. I had the FEL off for clearance between trees. I finished up and reattached the FEL. when I restarted the tractor after hooking up the hyd. hoses to put the pins in It started leaking a constant stream of fluid out of the spots the arrows are pointing to. After investigation I found the hydraulic cooler plugged with debris. It leaked well over a gallon of fluid but stopped when it cooled. The next day I refilled the hydraulic fluid and cleaned the cooler and underside of tractor. I ran the bush hog for about 15 min. checking the underside frequently. There was no stream of fluid like before but when i parked it a couple of drops came out. I bought the tractor used in January and changed all fluids and filters then so the fluid is fresh. i put 50 hrs. on it since then with no problems. It was hot out that day, I'm in southwest Florida. My question is is there a relief / safety valve causing the leak or did I cook a seal? Thanks again for any help!

Andy

View attachment 16624

View attachment 16625

Sorry yes you have a cooked seal!
Keep a close eye on it.

 

[la724]

Sorry yes you have a cooked seal!
Keep a close eye on it.

Thanks for your reply. Can the seal be replaced by removing the driveshaft or does the case need to come apart?

Thanks
Andy

 

[Shadow]

There's a good chance that if you have oil leaking from the driveshaft, and that little check valve in the bottom of the bellhousing, that the 4wd seal is out. Requires a split of the tractor, at the bellhousing....

 

[la724]

There's a good chance that if you have oil leaking from the driveshaft, and that little check valve in the bottom of the bellhousing, that the 4wd seal is out. Requires a split of the tractor, at the bellhousing....

Thanks for the input shadow! I looked in the wsm and I couldn't find a good pic or info on that seal. I have the part diagram below. # 90 is a snap ring and #50 is the seal. From that picture it looks like it can be replaced by just pulling the propeller shaft and cover, unless the snap ring is set too far back where it can't be reached. Does anyone know if it can be done without splitting the tractor?

Thanks, Andy

Ps It just took me an hour to figure out how to post this image

 

[Shadow]

You're going to want to get 40, 50, and both of 60. 60 is a sleeve, that has rubber on the inside to seal the against, the shaft, then the seal seals against that sleeve. There is one behind the bearing, and one in front of. You'll have to split the tractor to remove it, it's not a hard job, but it can be time consuming. I would also suggest replacing the input seal, and if the clutch disc is wet from the oil, replace that too. Would hate to see a guy get it all done and have his clutch slip later because of the oil on the surface. If you catch it right away, there's a good chance the disc will be ok, but if you continue to run it, that oil will sling around in there and soak that disc. The biggest trick is, that coupler, 20, will not come out of the shaft hole, when you go to remove the shaft, it will stay in the transmission. You'll have to get ahold of it and either put it on the shaft by luck, or put it back on the output shaft in the transmission, again, its a trick.

 

[la724]

You're going to want to get 40, 50, and both of 60. 60 is a sleeve, that has rubber on the inside to seal the against, the shaft, then the seal seals against that sleeve. There is one behind the bearing, and one in front of. You'll have to split the tractor to remove it, it's not a hard job, but it can be time consuming. I would also suggest replacing the input seal, and if the clutch disc is wet from the oil, replace that too. Would hate to see a guy get it all done and have his clutch slip later because of the oil on the surface. If you catch it right away, there's a good chance the disc will be ok, but if you continue to run it, that oil will sling around in there and soak that disc. The biggest trick is, that coupler, 20, will not come out of the shaft hole, when you go to remove the shaft, it will stay in the transmission. You'll have to get ahold of it and either put it on the shaft by luck, or put it back on the output shaft in the transmission, again, its a trick.

Thanks for the info! I am going to use it with kid gloves this weekend, I should be able to finish my clearing project. As i stated above I tested it out on Tues. and there were only a few drops coming out. I will make sure the cooler stays clear of debris. I will have time to fix it when the clearing is done.
I am confused about the issue with # 20. You say it will not come out of the case, is that because of its size or that it stays attached to # 10? How is it fastened to # 10? Will I need a new one? You also say when i go to remove the shaft it will stay in the transmission, are you referring to the prop shaft # 120 or output shaft #10?
I will let you know how I make out this weekend, I bought some new drain pans incase the tractor starts playing Niagara falls again

Thanks for the help!!!!
Andy.

 

[Shadow]

#10 is the shaft that comes from the back of the transmission, to the front. 20 is splined and just matches with the rear shaft, which is pictured, but not numbered in that diagram. You won't need 10 or 20 new, 20 will stay in the transmission, THAT'S what you'll have to fish out and try to connect with 10 and the shaft at the back of the transmission. From what I've seen, the most common issue for causing that seal to leak, is when 4wd is used and not needed. It's like a pickup truck, if you don't need 4wd, dont engage it, it only wears out the components faster. The torsion that is applied to that shaft, when 4wd is engaged on a hard surface (ie, not necessary to use), is enough that over time takes out that seal. Rule of thumb, if you don't need 4wd, don't use it

 

[la724]

I used the tractor on saturday for about 2 Hrs. I checked for the leak frequently and not a drop leaked out in beginning, but it started leaking and i shut her down. I put a pan under it right away and only an ounce or two leaked out. I did not get to use it yesterday but i will this week. I only have a couple of hrs left to finish my project, then it goes into my shop for repair. Thanks again and I will keep you posted.

Andy

 

[la724]

I used the tractor for about an hour yesterday. I kept checking for the leak and all was well. I pretty much finished everything i wanted to do and was feeling good because the tractor was not leaking. I left it idling while i looked around to see if i missed anything. I found a couple of spots I missed and was going to cut them after i had a drink of water. The tractor was still idling and not leaking. I finished my water and went to get on the tractor and noticed it was leaking out of both spots badly.I never moved it to cause it to start leaking. It leaked about a gallon of hydraulic fluid. That is a weird type of leak, a seal would not leak in this manner. could there be something up higher in the bell housing causing this? The vent is clear so it's not building pressure. Any ideas?

Thanks
Andy

 

[hancockian]

Any updates? Did you replace the seals? I've the same problem on my 3240.

 

[Shadow]

Still betting it's the seal, seen it enough times

 

[Kubota Tee]

I also have a similar leak on my L3540. Same spot. I have approximately 450hrs on the tractor and never had any issues. Wow - splitting the transmission sure seems like a big job!

 

[la724]

Hi All
I have not done anything yet, I plan on doing it in about a month when i have more time. I will post updates and pictures when I begin. I am very surprised by the number of 40 series tractors with this problem. What is different about the 40 series? Has Kubota done anything about it? My friend has a l3430 which is very similar to mine (l3540) and actually uses the same bearing and seal for the shaft, and he has 3500 hrs of commercial work on his (1100 hrs on mine) and his is dry as a bone. I don't get it.

Andy

 

[westflgator]

My dad has an L4610 that has the same problem. He ordered the "Fix Kit" that was supposed to reseat the seal on the propeller shaft and hold it in place, but it didn't seem to be the right kit or something. When we put it on there was still a bunch of slack in between it and the seal, so there wasn't anyway it would hold anything in place.

So we decided to split the tractor and make the repairs. We have the clutch housing split from the bell housing, but don't have the bell housing split from the transmission. Any tips or tricks that would help us complete the job from this point forward would be appreciated.

Thanks

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

So we decided to split the tractor and make the repairs. We have the clutch housing split from the bell housing, but don't have the bell housing split from the transmission. Any tips or tricks that would help us complete the job from this point forward would be appreciated.

Get the WSM for that tractor and it will walk you through every detail and how to put it back together.

 

[kbreault]

la724 , how did you make out with your repair?

 

[la724]

la724 , how did you make out with your repair?

I did not repair it yet. (still leaks) I have to finish another project on a dump trailer i bought first. I should be able to begin repairs in about 3 weeks. I will post updates with pics when I do.

Andy

 

[la724]

Hi All
I went to order the parts for the repair and found that the parts catalog list two part # for the seal. I contacted the dealer and he thought it was odd. I sent an e-mail to kubota tech. here it is-

"I have a Kubota L 3540 serial number 30515 with a front drive shaft seal leaking. The online catalog lists 2 part numbers for the seal I need to replace and also the sleeve. Neither I nor my dealer know what the difference between the part numbers are. I understand it is not uncommon for this this seal to leak on the 40 series chassis. If there is an updated seal that is what I would like to install in the tractor. The part numbers for the seal in the catalog are 09500 - 28427 or TC232 - 14680. The numbers listed for the sleeve are 52600 - 15550 or TC232 - 14680. Which part numbers will work best for my tractor?"

Does anyone know which # I should use?
Thanks
Andy

 

[kbreault]

Hi Andy, I have a L3940 with the same problem. Fluid leaking real bad now !I unfortunately don't have the space to crack open the tractor and do the work myself! Its off to the dealer today! He's telling me somewhere around $2k for repair cost, Not to happy