John Deere 2010 Hydrualics Problem

[CJF1981]

I am currently working on fixing the hydraulics on my 1963 Model 2010. I have checked pressure in the hydraulic lines (reads zero) and obviously the 3 pt arms do not lift. When I cleaned out the hydraulic filter, there was a lot of sludge in the bottom. I removed the sludge, and flushed the system. I installed new seals on the hydraulic filter and got new John Deere hydraulic fluid. I checked the hydraulic lines again by installing a guage in the ports with still zero pressure. Also, still no lift on the 3 pt arms as well.

Now, the 3 pt worked when I bought the tractor, but it was slow/sluggish. It eventually went out with a scraper blade on. I have the current parts and service manuals for the tractor. In reviewing them and looking over forums such as this, I believe it is the pump that has failed. I have no power steering as well.

Currently, I have drained the hydraulic fluid, pulled the clutch housing door, and disconnected one of the power steering lines on top of the hydraulic pump. When removing the the throwout lever, I noticed there was no spring connected to the lever. Would this cause any of the problems I have? I"m assuming not bad had to ask before I go further. From the manuals, it looks like you have to split the tractor between the clutch housing and transmission in order to service the pump?

Any help/suggestions would be appreciated.
 

[buickanddeere]

In all honesty and no offence intended.
Sorry but the 2010 is a pityful peice of crap. That can not be fixed due to numerous design flaws and a shortage of parts.
On behalf of the other posters and readers here. We wish you had checked here before purchasing the 2010 and that we could have stopped the sale.
It's about 50 years past the best before date. time to scrap it and move on.
 

[CJF1981]

Buickanddeere,

No offense taken. Other than the hydraulics issue, the tractor starts up well, and I've used it to skid logs/pull things. I skidded over 7,000 board feet of hemlock this past year to side my 65 x 40 barn. Some of the logs were 18 feet and over 2 ft in diameter. i bought it several years ago before finding these forums. It is definitely not a popular model as far as John Deere goes. To be honest, I paid 3,000 for the tractor. I spoke to a guy recently that could test the pump and he mentioned he could put a new hydraulic pump in it instead of paying for a rebuilt pump. I assume by what I've tore into and looked thru in the manuals, its not an easy switch to convert to a newer pump. Any thoughts?
 

[Todd Young]

I own a JD 2010, and everyone is right, it is a piece of junk. Most complicated system on earth, and everything is INSIDE the tractor. I have a JD 2020 also, it"s a very nice easy to work on tractor. I gave up on the 2010. It"s now collecting dust, because I can"t sell it. I can be fixed but it will be hours of labor. More than likely the problem isn"t the pump. Did you make sure the pump is running? You can turn it off down by the foot petal? On mine I got remote working, but the 3 pt. won"t lift anything. Inside the lift it looks like an erector set. I am thinking of just gutting the rear and hooking the hydraulic cylinder up directly to the remote system some how.

Take Care,
Todd
 

[44 Diesel Tech]

I have spent a lot of time working on these tractors in my 43 years with JD. Anytime I had the filter serviced or hyd oil drained, I had to rev the engine wide open and turn and hold steering wheel hard to right or left. I was ALWAYS able to get the hyd,s 'primed' this way. By the way, you can remove the hyd. pump out the bottom without splitting the tractor. I have done it many times.
By the way B&D, this gentleman asked for help with his hyd. problem, not your thoughts on the ownership of the tractor. We had one on our farm and worked well for us.(gas engine). Your fellow CDN.
 

[Tx Jim]

[CJF1981]

Todd,

Thanks for the reply. I am hoping it is not the pump, but it seems to be pointing that direction. When you say you can turn it off down by the foot petal (you mean on the clutch side?). The manual calls for disconnecting the throwout arm and spring. When I disconnected the throwout arm, I never found a spring even though there is a hole on the outside (below the clutch) for one. I was able to pull the throwout arm as the manual called for. I started working from the access door on the right side of the tractor (below the foot petals) and its a very tight space to work in. I have heard people say the guts are put together like a swiss watch and the parts shown in the instruction manuals verify that.

Chris
 

[CJF1981]

44 Diesel Tech,

Thanks for the reply. Can you explain how to
remove the hydraulic pump without splitting the
tractor? I have the shortened IT shop service
manual and it doesn't state anything about
splitting the tractor to remove the hydraulic
pump. The John Deere service manual and parts
manuals I have tell you to split the tractor so
that you can disconnect the hyd. pump from the
transmission. I assumed if I get the pump
disconnected, I can pull it thru the clutch
housing cover. Currently, I have one of the power
steering lines disconnected from the top of the
hyd. pump by going thru the access door. I assume
there is another one or two power steering lines I
cannot get to?

Chris
 

[CJF1981]

Tx Jim,

Thanks for the reply. How do I tell the pump
drive is engaged? None of the service manuals
(at least I didn't see this) mentioned this in the
troubleshooting section. The hydraulic filter was
cleaned with a carb cleaner and looked new when I
reinstalled it. I also got new seals for the
filter.

Chris
 

[Tx Jim]

Parts key # 28 shouldn't be resting on the footrest when pump is engaged.
 

[keh]

I had a 2010, not bought new. I found that it was necesary to put in a new hydraulic filter from time to time. Probably the old one could have been cleaned by boiling it in some cleaner, like maybe an ammonia mix, but ordinary cleaning in gasoline was not enough.

KEH
 

[farm-al]

Very interesting replies on your 2010 hyd. problem,I have had mine about 25 years now and it's a love/hate tractor. It does sound like a pump problem,the disconect may be the the trouble,the book tells the operater to disconect the pump when starting the tractor in cold weather,one very cold night I found out why,I opened up the throttle after starting it and oil came out the holes for the cult rock shaft,broke the center section in the pump,I could write a book about this tracter! Al
 

[Jo Bird]

Chris
2010 hdy issues.. 1) Make sure the pump is engaged. You could possibly have a bad splined coupilng # 25 in Tx Jim's diagram. 2)Is the micro fabric filter has to be clean, ordinary flushing does not do the job. Test it this way, stand it up in a container and fill it full of oil. If it is slow to run out it is not clean enough..and is likely starving the pump of oil. 3)The last thing is a plug in the oil flow control valve..# 14 in diagram. Sludge in the tranny and gobs of silicone hanging out of the cover on the transmission are major contributors to it being plugged..In early 2010's the valve was located on the front of the transmission housing, next to the elbow that sent the hdy line up to the steering, later models it was built in to the hdy pump as shown in the diagram Jim attached. Check serial # break down on JD parts catalog to see where your's is located. Finally the pump can be taken out IF need be WITH OUT SPLITTING the tractor (20 minute job) if you know the secrets..LOL..Let me know if you need further help. .
PS: Todd sorry to hear you have given up on the tractor.
Jo
 

[CJF1981]

Tx Jim,

Thanks for the reply. I will print the diagram and look into this.

Chris
 

[CJF1981]

KEH,

Thanks for the reply. I cleaned the filter out and it looked brand new when I was done. I also got new seals as well.

Chris