MF 1655 Hydraulic issue

[Swamprat1442]

Good Morning all, I am new to this group, I have a 1977 Massey Ferguson Mf1655 that I recently purchased, it has a FEL and a tiller, I did a complete service on it to include the transmission fluid and filter, drained what I could of the hydraulic tank and lines, here is my issue, I ran the tractor and parked it for the day with no issues, When I went out the following morning to move it I noticed transmission fluid leaking from the FEL Valve, I was under the impression that they were separate systems that take different fluids which is what I did DEX in the trans and aw32 in the hydraulic tank, is there a seal that could be bad in between the pump and transmission causing the trans fluid to mix with the hydraulic fluid, any help is appreciated. I am not to familiar with hydraulics

 

[used red MN]

Hello SR, welcome to YT! Must be a garden tractor. I am far from an expert on such machine. I doubt your fluids are mixing, is the hydraulic system for the loader overfull? If you think the fluids have mixed and ruined a seal that is not very likely at all. Most seals/orings are compatible with about any petroleum lubricant. My guess is that it was just a coincidence that the leak happened soon after the service work.

 

[Jim.ME]

It looks like 1977 would make it a Snapper built lawn/garden tractor badged for Massey Ferguson (built 1976-1979). (There is also a MF 1655 compact utility tractor built 2009-2013.) The only hydraulic system shown in the MF 1655 lawn/garden tractor parts book is for the mower lift, nothing for a loader for it, so the loader may be an aftermarket/short line loader.

What brand and model, is the loader? You mention a hydraulic tank. There is no hydraulic tank in the parts book (the mower lift is supplied from the transaxle). How is the loader hydraulic pump mounted, and driven? Pictures of the hydraulic tank, pump, loader and valve might help identify possible problems. I am thinking along the same lines as used red MN, the leak may have been there but happened to become more noticeable after you serviced it.

Do you have the operator's manuals (tractor and loader) for it? Did you use the oils/fluids specified?

 

[Swamprat1442]

The FEL is not factory equipment. The hydraulic tank is part of the left loader arm. I researched the fluids on this until my eyes bleed. 2 separate fluids DEX III for the transmission and AW32,hydraulic fluid for the loader. I guess I have to follow the hydraulic lines and see where they are plumbed into. I am not familiar with the Sunstran series 15/90 hydro units. Time to do some more research I was just curious if anyone knew weather the transmission had a seal that could fail and pump transmission fluid thru the hydraulic system.

 

[Jim.ME]

The FEL is not factory equipment. The hydraulic tank is part of the left loader arm. I researched the fluids on this until my eyes bleed. 2 separate fluids DEX III for the transmission and AW32,hydraulic fluid for the loader. I guess I have to follow the hydraulic lines and see where they are plumbed into. I am not familiar with the Sunstran series 15/90 hydro units. Time to do some more research I was just curious if anyone knew weather the transmission had a seal that could fail and pump transmission fluid thru the hydraulic system.

To me that setup should have a separate pump for the loader, not use the Sundstrand drive pump. If it did use the Sundstrand, I would expect it have the same fluid and use the same reservoir as the transmission/transaxle.

 

[used red MN]

The FEL is not factory equipment. The hydraulic tank is part of the left loader arm. I researched the fluids on this until my eyes bleed. 2 separate fluids DEX III for the transmission and AW32,hydraulic fluid for the loader. I guess I have to follow the hydraulic lines and see where they are plumbed into. I am not familiar with the Sunstran series 15/90 hydro units. Time to do some more research I was just curious if anyone knew weather the transmission had a seal that could fail and pump transmission fluid thru the hydraulic system.

Was the mixing in of the wrong fluid your reasoning for the leak to start? As I said that would be doubtful even if it was happening. The different fluids are more for the reason of providing wear resistance to certain metals or clutch lining materials or reacting badly to a lining material in a system. As I said most orings or seals are compatible with the majority of petroleum products. In cases they are not the system is probably highly specialized. For instance hydraulic systems on lock and dam gates use vegetable based fluid to be more environmentally friendly if a leak occurs.

 

[Swamprat1442]

No it had leaks before the service was done and the fluid was pretty much clear looking. when I drained the transmission and changed the fluid the fluid was red. What came out of the hydraulic system was clear. Now everything is red. And I agree I’m going to put a separate pump off the front pto if I can’t solve it in a timely inexpensive way.

 

[Jim.ME]

No it had leaks before the service was done and the fluid was pretty much clear looking. when I drained the transmission and changed the fluid the fluid was red. What came out of the hydraulic system was clear. Now everything is red. And I agree I’m going to put a separate pump off the front pto if I can’t solve it in a timely inexpensive way.

Without seeing how it is currently plumbed it is going to be difficult, if not impossible, to help you. If the fluids were two different colors and types when you drained them, it would sound like there are two different pumps and systems, in which case they should be now, unless some hoses or such were crossed in the process of servicing it.

I suggest pictures and drawing schematics of the plumbing may help.

 

[Swamprat1442]

Mystery solved. I followed the hydraulic lines and found that the FEL is only plumbed to the factory pump. The tank line was capped and tucked up under the Frame that I couldn’t see until I crawled under it. . This is why the FEL was leaking trans fluid. The previous owner must have used a different fluid in the transmission which was a light red in color I was thinking it had water in the system but he must have mixed fluids in the transmission. Time for a separate pump for the FEL. Time to flush the trans a few times and get most of the fluid out to fill it with new fluid. Anyone have any idea what this unit actually calls for. My local hydraulic shop said the rebuild the pumps and test them with aw32.

 

[Jim.ME]

This site lists having the Service Manual and Parts Book for the 1655 L&G tractor, no Operator's Manual.

The Operator's manual will have the original fluid recommendations, to start with. Once you have the original recommendation you can see if and what it may have been changed to now. Go to AGCOPubs.com and you can get the Operator's Manual from them. Below is a picture of the search terms I used there. Read carefully as the 1655 compact tractor (which is not your tractor) also appears in that search.

AGCOpubs.com

You can use the Massey Ferguson Publication/part numbers from that site to see that the manuals you find other places are the correct ones
:
Operator's manual is 1448382M2
Service manual is 1448782M2
Parts Book is 651390M92 (this is available to use, for free, online at AGCOparts.com)



As for info on the loader you need to figure out what it is for a loader to find info on it. I would look at using the same oil/fluid in both, to save keeping another type of oil around just for the loader.