hi all, I have a 1975 michican clark 175B wheel loader (and 275 that needs a pump) the previous owner ran it with a big hydrolic leak out the steering wheel, when I picked it up the bucket would not move so I put 2-3 gallons of 32 weight in it, anyhow as I write this I am feeling kinda stupid but I put another 5 gallons in it, and when I went to move the bucket it barely moved, seeing as the tank must be about 150 gallons and was less than half full by the sound of the fluid going in I put another 15 gallons in. Now it works great! For some reason no more leak from the steering wheel, I saw a dipstick to the left of my drivers seat and when I checked it whatever fluid it is is way overfull, and it looks like hydrolic. so my questions (it is a pressurized system) 1) if I have overfilled it can I hurt it? 2) how do I check the fluid level? 3) if it is over filled how should I drain it? or should I? 4)how could this have stopped the leak or did I not run it long enough for the leak to appear (10 mins) 5) is everyone shaking their head at this newbee to wheel loaders mistake? thanks in advance all ! Dave
1&2. If you overfilled the transmission, this can cause foaming and overheating. The dip stick by the seat is for the transmission and should be checked with the oil hot, transmission in neutral with the engine running. Warm the oil by putting the machine in high gear and lock the brakes and run the engine at a fast idle whatching the trans temp guage, go back to neutral every 30 seconds for 10 seconds to prevent overheating seals in the convertor, temp guage should reach mid point to get accurate reading. Once you have the correct level set, check the level at the end of the working period each day. 3. If the trans is overfull, either drain at the trans sump or put a hose into a test port and start the engine and drain some into a bucket. 4. The dipstick for the hydraulic tank is under the fill cap. The steering uses a Saginaw steer valve, there is a seal to keep the oil from going up the steering column. If the machine has been sitting for sometime the seal may have dryed up and usage may have caused it to start sealing again. There was a service bulletin for an improved seal. Seal P/N 873293 and backup washer P/N 962993. Parts for the Michigan Loaders are available at minnpar.com. I did a post about oil specs on this machine under a thread about 175B or C. scroll through the Wheel loader index to find. I think the person that asked the question was from Australia. The biggest mistake a Newbie can make is to not ask questions, there are folks here to help but they need to know the question.
thank you old sea, I will look under the cap on the hydraulic tank for a stick but I did not see one when I was filling, that is the only fluid I have put in it so far, I will follow your directions for the trans fluid check tomorrow.
There should be a screen under the cap on the hydraulic tank and there is a slot on the edge and the dipstick doesn't really have a handle, just is a strip of steel about 1/2 inch wide and bent over at the top so it doesn't fall through. Trans in your area in winter should use Dexron trans oil. Not Dexron II. in the summer you can go to 30 W engine oil. Hydraulic oil in your area use 10W engine oil winter or you can use 20W all year as long as you give the machine some warm up time in real cold weather. I lived in St. Thomas for 10 years so I know what winter is like.
I don't know alot about these old girls but is it possible that besides the steering wheel leak the hyd pump seals are bad and that is why the trany is over full of hyd oil?
If the pump seals are leaking, the oil will go into the convertor housing and back to the transmission sump. How much is the trans gaining over time? A gallon a week or a gallon an hour, or a quart a week? Both the steering pump and main hydraulic pump are on the convertor and can leak into it. Although the two pumps look similar they operate differently. The main hydraulic pump is pressure controlled, when there is a light or no load in the bucket both sections work. When there is a heavy load, one sections drops out and just dumps back to tank to keep from loading the engine down too much. The steering pump is flow controlled, when the engine is at low rpm both sections are working to give good steering. When the engine rpm increases one section of the steer pump drops off and dumps back to tank so the steering isn't too jerky. Is the steering wheel still leaking? Back to your first question, the hydraulic tank is pressurized to 7 PSI.