White Foam fluid coming out Breather tube.

BAMBAM1971

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Dec 2, 2011
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I have a 1996 Kubota B20. I recently changed a leaking hose on the oil cooler and refilled the oil. Today when starting the tractor i noticed white foamy oil coming out of the lift arm breather tube. Does anyone have any idea what would cause this. I believe there is air pressure in the hydraulic system. how do i fix this?
 

85Hokie

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I have a 1996 Kubota B20. I recently changed a leaking hose on the oil cooler and refilled the oil. Today when starting the tractor i noticed white foamy oil coming out of the lift arm breather tube. Does anyone have any idea what would cause this. I believe there is air pressure in the hydraulic system. how do i fix this?
Is it overfilled?

Air would purge itself over time - foamy is a sign of water in the system.

check level and report back - look at dipstick ( assuming it has one) and see if the oil is clear - or see if there is any film on it.
 

Tooljunkie

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I think someone recently had a similar problem. Pail of oil was stored outdoors and water made its way into pail through a crack or open vent.
 

North Idaho Wolfman

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I do not like when someone uses the term oil when they talk about the hydraulic system and hydraulic fluid, too easy to make a mistake.
It's kind of the same as saying "they put gas their tractor" when the better term would be they put diesel in their tractor. ;)
 

Daren Todd

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I do not like when someone uses the term oil when they talk about the hydraulic system and hydraulic fluid, too easy to make a mistake.
It's kind of the same as saying "they put gas their tractor" when the better term would be they put diesel in their tractor. ;)
Now dsys, it's really easy to get the wrong product from a pump. Especially at the newer stations in town since they also carry e85. They have a second nozzle at each pump, and each station uses a different color code on the handles. We had an employee fill up our f250 diesel with e85 last week. Just went to the yellow handle with out reading the label on the pump :rolleyes:
 

BAMBAM1971

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B20 / TL420A
Dec 2, 2011
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Is it overfilled?

Air would purge itself over time - foamy is a sign of water in the system.

check level and report back - look at dipstick ( assuming it has one) and see if the oil is clear - or see if there is any film on it.
I checked the dip stick and the fluid is clear, It is over the top of the full mark by a 1/4 " What would that mean? There is no filmy residue at all. I Assumed all air would purge itself......Yesterday when the fluid was coming out I also cked the dipstick and a burt of air came out of the hole when pulling the stick. The fluid then stopped seeping out of the Breather tube. any additional advice?
 

BAMBAM1971

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I think someone recently had a similar problem. Pail of oil was stored outdoors and water made its way into pail through a crack or open vent.
All my products Fluid products are kept inside for that reason. The breather tube is located under the seat of the Kubota so the chances of water entering that are is slightly possible. If water did get into the breather tube how can I correct this issue?
 

85Hokie

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All my products Fluid products are kept inside for that reason. The breather tube is located under the seat of the Kubota so the chances of water entering that are is slightly possible. If water did get into the breather tube how can I correct this issue?
Might be time to empty and start over, bad thing is if any water IS in the system, not all of it will come out when drained - some "might" still be in there, but it is really the only way to go.:)
 

BAMBAM1971

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Might be time to empty and start over, bad thing is if any water IS in the system, not all of it will come out when drained - some "might" still be in there, but it is really the only way to go.:)
I was doing some research..when starting the tractor, It takes a little time before the Fluid comes out of the breather. I pulled the dip stick to ck the fluid and thee seamed to be some pressure in the system. One this pressure was released the fluid stopped coming out of the breather. You think this air getting sucked into the system which is building pressure and then overflowing out of the breather pipe? I was going to recheck all the hoses I replaced to make sure they are tight. Is there any easy way to check and see which fitting it might be?...Let me know thanks.
 

North Idaho Wolfman

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Pull the hose off the breather and check that hose and fitting, because if there is air in the transmission case it's trapping air.

1/4" over full could (still unlikely) cause issues, you might be good to drain it back down to just full.

Yes it's also possible that it's sucking air, most likely not on the HST cooling side that you were into, but on the other (suction) side of the system.
Your hydraulic system is a lot more complicated than most as you have 2 hydraulic pumps on that system.

Just curious when you changed the filter did you change both?

HST RETURN


Hydraulic Suction Lines
 

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BAMBAM1971

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Equipment
B20 / TL420A
Dec 2, 2011
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NEW JERSEY
Yes, I changed both hoses by the radiator on the HST and loosened the next 2 hose fittings behind each side to get a better fit. Once I set the hoses I re-tightened everything. This is why I'm confused. I will check all the fittings and drain the oil. Thx
 

BAMBAM1971

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Equipment
B20 / TL420A
Dec 2, 2011
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NEW JERSEY
Pull the hose off the breather and check that hose and fitting, because if there is air in the transmission case it's trapping air.

1/4" over full could (still unlikely) cause issues, you might be good to drain it back down to just full.

Yes it's also possible that it's sucking air, most likely not on the HST cooling side that you were into, but on the other (suction) side of the system.
Your hydraulic system is a lot more complicated than most as you have 2 hydraulic pumps on that system.

Just curious when you changed the filter did you change both?

HST RETURN


Hydraulic Suction Lines
There is no hose on the breather, looks like that's been missing since I purchased it. I'll drain it down tomorrow and ck those lines on the suction side. All records indicate that both filters were changed. I ordered a new hose today as wekl