no hydraulics 300 Utility

[300 dave]

Trying to plow snow today and have no hydraulics it seems; no lift on plow. Cylinder is mounted in the rear such that when front plow is lifted, draw bar goes up. A long rod connects the front. So, no lift. I check the fluid level and it was spot on FULL. I saw no movement of fluid in the tank while checking level. Is fluid so thick from the cold it's not pumping? I'm using the Tractor Supply stuff in the yellow and green bucket. Last week it took a long time to "warm up" and lift properly. Today-nothing. It's about zero F. Any thoughts or advice welcome. oh fluid is creamy colored, long way from white. Again, thanks in advance
dave

 

[Roger Tomfohrde]

Cream colored means water and it is likely frozen. Need to get it in and thawed out and replace the oil and then see if it works.

 

[Harold Hubbard]

Yup, turned into "Tasti-freeze" and probably choking the screen in the reservoir. Get the tractor into a warm place if you can, try to warm up the reservoir if you can't, Drain it, pour some hot water through it until it comes out mostly clear, flush it with some alchohol, then refill with Hy-tran, Premium tractor fluid, or AW-32 straight hydraulic fluid, save the yellow bucket stuff for summer. Plan on changing the fluid at least once more, maybe twice, until you loose the cream color. There will be a bunch of contaminated fluid in the cylinder, take the hoses off and push the cylinder back and forth to empty that out.

 

[300 dave]

yeah, I thought frozen, seems I have plowed with "more whiter" in colder weather, but I did not write down the data. This is NOT the cheap easy fix I had hoped for.

What kind and where to get alcohol?

flush whole system? or just tank?




thanks again dave

 

[BarnyardEngineering]

Just hope that you didn't starve the pump for oil and burn it up.

The oil itself may not be frozen but it will be the consistency of snot anywhere there is a restriction, such as the strainer screen. Most likely the strainer screen is plugged with this snot and not allowing much/any oil to flow.

 

[ih560]

Honestly, on that tractor you are better off to pull the top off the reservoir and clean it out really good, there is no real good way to flush it with it all together.

The screen is probably collapsed and needs attention as well. Be very careful when lifting the top off and setting it back down so you do not damage the strainer screen.

I had issues with my 300 utility hydraulics acting up off and on. I pulled the cover and cleaned out all the crap in the bottom of the reservoir with brake clean, rags, and shop vac. Then I repaired damage to the strainer and put it all back together. Works like a new tractor now.

Pulling the cover and cleaning it may have taken an hour, it really wasn't that bad. An engine hoist made lifting the cover out of the way easy.

 

[Dave H (MI)]

Keep it simple. I would start with a heat source on the reservoir. Cold is hard even on some newer tractor hydraulics. I have a 20 series Ford where the pump howls in cold weather until the engine heats up and enough migrates to the fluid to make it flow. Loader cylinders work slow until it warms up. I don't work it until the howl stops. But back to the 300. The screens in these tractors have really fine mesh. The ones I have seen are a fine rolled mesh in a frame. Frozen fluid is not going to pass. Screens can crumple under pressure. I had a cub where one collapsed and came off. This leaves the whole system open to dirt. So well worth the time to get the tractor warm before you start pushing hydraulics and also worth the trouble maybe to put a brooder lamp under the reservoir for a bit. I think you are always going to have some condensation. If you think you have a serious problem, pull the top off and have a look. Mostly a screen and a lot of o-rings. Not the most difficult thing to work on.

 

[Brownie450]

You can get denatured alcohol in gallon cans at Menards [hardware/ paint]
store. If your screen is beyond repair, you may have to get a new one.
We had to get one---cost over $75 a couple of years ago for the 450.
Jim

 

[300 dave]

1) I have pulled the resivour off a couple winters ago. really want to avoid that in teens weather if possible- gaskets aren't cheap either, hoist is - well, can't get with out plow-
2) am draning fluid, is not really cream as just slightly creamy, looks good actually. So, I am going to drain all, heat up, put back in, see what happens.
3) apparently, I am not the first and only guy to have this problem. Has anyone invented a submersible heater for this application? Why not a "block heater" that goes right in the tank? Might even go in the fill hole with no extra drilling and tapping.
Anybody ever see one?

again, thanks all

 

[Dave H (MI)]

That heater thought had passed my mind too. Most block heaters I have seen have an element that looks like it needs to be wet at all times to keep it from burning thru. I'm not sure such a device would be a good idea in a reservoir full of something that might actually burn if it got hot enough. I don't think it would take much heat if you are icing up to keep it from doing it. If the tractor is inside I'm thinking a lamp would probably keep it above freezing and that is all that matters. You don't need it hot. That's assuming your problem is ice and not some other issue. I assume it worked fine in warm weather and you have done nothing else to it since? I don't use my 300U in the winter. The diesels seem to start so much better in the cold.

 

[bc]

I picked up a pan heater from Amazing for about 25 bux. 4"by5" silicone pad that sticks to the oil pan at 250 watt. It is hot to the touch. Those come in different sizes from 15 bux and up. Should stick to cast.


They have the magnetic heaters for 50-65 bux or so. They stick to the pan and can be moved around in places or another tractor. Made more for oil pans so don't think they would stick to cast. Have to add a power strip for the pan heater, hose heater, and the trickle charger for the battery.

 

[Janicholson]

A "dip Stick" heater could be bent to allow it to be used up on top. OR The drain hole plug could be drilled for the Dip stick heater and it could be JB welded into the hole then it could be straight. The heaters are designed to be in oil. Jim
NAPAs

 

[Janicholson]

Cast iron is certainly iron, so they stick! the issue is how well they can heat the mass of the tractor, and the oil. I also believe the type
of oil being used in this case is suspect. Hytran is very different than farm store yellow bucket stuff. Jim

 

[Paul 300 U]

One of the first repairs to my 300 u was the hydraulic fluid filter. It didn't take winter freezing to make the hydraulics practically nonexistent. The pump whined loudly whenever i used the hydraulics. Thought the pump was shot for sure. Sure enough, filter was collapsed and the reservoir was a mess. Changed filter and fluid, cleaned the reservoir pump and hydraulics work great. Still needs a good 5 minutes plus to warm up but in 10 degree weather that's not surprising. Good luck.

 

[36F30]

Kats makes immersion heaters that replace drain plugs. The stainless element models are made for water and oil use. No use to jury rig something. scroll down to page 87 https://katsblockheater.com/block-heaters/all

 

[36F30]

(quoted from post at 08:13:37 02/07/21) Kats makes immersion heaters that replace drain plugs. The stainless element models are made for water and oil use. No use to jury rig something. scroll down to page 87 https://katsblockheater.com/block-heaters/all

This is the link i meant to post. https://www.fivestarmanufacturing.com/pdf/kats_2020_catalog_complete_web-(1).pdf