L3400 question on Hydraulic system

Green Planet

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L3400, LA463. Box Blade
Oct 19, 2015
18
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Ft. Pierce. Fla. United States
I have purchased a WSM for my L3400, and I will be changing the UDT and Hyd Filter.
My question is this, in the WSM it states that you can not mix different brands of Oil together. :mad: WELL to late for that, the fluid level was topped off by someone other than ME. The transmission and hyd system now have what appears to be water or some other contaminant when looked at through the sight gauge.

So will a simple fluid change be sufficient, or do I need to flush the system ? :confused:

If Flushing is required could someone out line the correct procedure for me ?

Thanks in Advance for any help , Happy Tractoring ;)
 

rentthis

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May 30, 2012
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summerville,sc
Types of oil would be of concern to me. If they added regular hydraulic fluid instead of udt, you have a problem. As for difference in brand, to me, that would be of no concern as long as they were both a good brand. If you don't know that it was, in fact udt added, I would suggest you drain the fluid and replace it and the filters. Flushing shouldn't be necessary but if you choose to flush, it involves changing the udt and filter, run it for a bit and change them again. According to most of the folks here, Kubota has the best udt options. I buy mine from Napa mostly for convenience.
 

Green Planet

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L3400, LA463. Box Blade
Oct 19, 2015
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Ft. Pierce. Fla. United States
Ok , about 2 gallons of AW32 (non UDT) was added :eek:

I was able to locate the HYD Oil container that was used.....

after this non-UDT oil was added, there has been a noticeable decrease in the performance of the Hydraulic system,,, less weight capacity and more than regular noise under operation of the system, as Stated in my first post,,, the oil clearly looks contaminated in the sight gauge.

please can someone elaborate on the potential HARM this may have done to the system, and ANY Recommendations on how to proceed :confused:

Thanks for the HELP "rentthis"

PS: I only know of one filter for the hydraulic system, what other filter(s) should I be concerned with ?

Thanks in Advance for Any HELP sent my way.
 
Last edited:

Sammy3700

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Equipment
L3800HST,524Loader,BH77,Landplane,Disk,Mowers and more
Feb 20, 2012
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Red Springs, NC
I did not see if you have a DT or HST. If it is a DT you only have one filter. HST one under left and one under right floor board.
 

lugbolt

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Equipment
ZG127S-54
Oct 15, 2015
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Mid, South, USA
Also on the subject of L3400 (and L2800-basically same tractor), some had issues with the pump suction hose breaking. This will obviously cause loss of hydraulic system performance (pump cavitation/oil aeration). Easy to check for it. Engine off, park brake on, run your hand around the back side of the pump suction hose. It connects the hydrualic pump to the pump's suction PIPE (metal pipe about 1 1/8" dia that runs from about right side floorboard to the back side of the trans). If it is cracked, you will feel it with your fingers, usually at the pipe's "barb". Very common on 2800/3400's. New part number TC220-33332, comes with clamps and the hose. I saw more HST tractors' hose leaking than DT's but not by a large margin.

Conventional wisdom says there should be a fluid leak if the hose is cracked, but if the tractor is parked on an uneven surface and/or the oil level is a little low, you will not see any leak. That is why you have to feel around the back side of it by hand.
 

Green Planet

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L3400, LA463. Box Blade
Oct 19, 2015
18
0
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Ft. Pierce. Fla. United States
Also on the subject of L3400 (and L2800-basically same tractor), some had issues with the pump suction hose breaking. This will obviously cause loss of hydraulic system performance (pump cavitation/oil aeration). Easy to check for it. Engine off, park brake on, run your hand around the back side of the pump suction hose. It connects the hydrualic pump to the pump's suction PIPE (metal pipe about 1 1/8" dia that runs from about right side floorboard to the back side of the trans). If it is cracked, you will feel it with your fingers, usually at the pipe's "barb". Very common on 2800/3400's. New part number TC220-33332, comes with clamps and the hose. I saw more HST tractors' hose leaking than DT's but not by a large margin.

Conventional wisdom says there should be a fluid leak if the hose is cracked, but if the tractor is parked on an uneven surface and/or the oil level is a little low, you will not see any leak. That is why you have to feel around the back side of it by hand.
Will Do, Thanks for the info and HELP :)
 

Tooljunkie

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L1501,home built carry all, mini plow blade.
May 13, 2014
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Aw32 is a straight hydraulic oil, where your tractor uses a fluid for hydraulics and driveline together. More important to use correct fluid in hst tractors.

As you mentioned it getting a couple gallons added, that tells me there is a leak, and as mentioned the suction line could be your source. Leaking oil out and letting air on, making fluid appear milky. Unless the oil used had water in it.
Pail stores outdoors and a leaky cap or bad vent on pail.
 

Green Planet

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L3400, LA463. Box Blade
Oct 19, 2015
18
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Ft. Pierce. Fla. United States
Ok I'll check. .. I found a leak in the hydraulic system, so I cleaned
Everything and am going to see if I can track the leak after I raised the box blade and left pressure in the system.

Thx for the help. I'll keep ya ll posted
 

Myrle

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L3400 HST
Apr 16, 2020
1
0
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Lancaster, CA
I have an L3400 HST with a hydraulic fluid leak originating just over the engine block, not sure exact location. Aprox 2-3 gallons+- leaks out, then it stops. At that point it is too low to run of course.

Is this a shop fix or is there a few things I can look for?