Transmission Flush

Sorry - during the edit I meant to say " using diesel fuel to FLUSH it "

Jack the back end up and manually turn the wheels with the transmission in neutral.

Or jack the back tires up and crank, but don't start it.

The question is nonsensical.

A good suggestion, I guess, thanks very much. I will get sore arms trying to move them, unless you were being sarcastic, it's hard to tell.

Nope. Don't turn the engine, just the gears.

Go here:

Case Tractors Information - SSB Tractor Forum

Ask someone who may know. I don't.

Any lead is a good lead at this point, thanks.

Yes you can do this. I have done it more times than I can remember to do exactly what you are trying to do to engines, transmissions, and hydraulic systems.

It works well and yes you do have to cycle the hydraulics a number of times to get all of the fluids flushed out of the cylinders on that system as well.

Diesel fuel has just enough lubricating ability to not hurt anything as long as you do not put continuous heavy loads on anything plus the remaining fluid help it along even more so as they get mixed in.

For me flushing a transmission is simply draining the old fluids as best as I can then overfilling the transmission followed by a light drive in road gear to stir things up.

I would be hesitant in using diesel for flushing the system.

A lot of the older hydraulic systems use/used "live" rubber oil seals and "O" rings which do not tolerate gas or diesel exposure and usually fail quickly after being subjected to either.

I would drain the old hydraulic fluid, refill with new fluid, and add a hydraulic oil stabilizer from somone such as LUCAS then drive the tractor while operating the hydraulics often.

I would repeat the procedure every 3-4 weeks until the fluid cleans up.

I know the initial cost might seem to be high however, replacing all of the seals and "O" rings in the system would be much higher in cost and very time consuming.

I just did the engine flush with diesel on a Massey Ferguson 202 industrial tractor I picked up a few days ago today. (Lots of nasty black goo broke loose and the whole bottom half of oil filter was full of it after the second flush!)

It's a mid 60's model but to be honest for the few tens of minutes or less the diesel fuel is in the engine or transmission or wherever seal breakdown is typically not going to be a problem.

Unless of course the seals were or are already about done for anyway. If so you would be looking at having to replacing them soon regardless of whether you did a diesel fuel flush or not.

If it was my machine I would not hesitate to do the flush. It's piece of mind if nothing else. Especially if it happens to flush out anything suspicious or nasty!

This would be a hydraulic / transmission flush; the case 580 is the typical backhoe tractor seen everywhere. The cylinder hydraulics seem to get their pressure from the drive train hydraulics, the unit will not move unless pressure is up. I got the same pea-green soup from the rear PTO as from one of the forward blade cylinders. Thanks for your help; I was expecting to do it anyhow and wanted to know if anyone here would point out potential problems. As you say it will only run for a few minutes in any "case" lol.

We have all older farm tractors that are from the 50's and 60's and we usually add 10 - 20% diesel fuel to the hydraulics and transmissions in the winter to make them work smother in the extreme cold. Once the weather warms up it tends to evaporate letting the fluid go back to its normal viscosity.

We've never had seal problems from doing it and leaving it in there permanently until it evaporates on its own.

There is a product call Sea Foam, you need to get a hold of this materials and use per directions listed. It will take care of the issue you are having with out damaging your unit.