JD540 skidder hydraulic reservoir

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JohnFitzpatrick

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Hi all, just joined and first post. We acquired a 540 skidder with a ruptured hyd oil cooler, so repaired it and now trying to flush and top up the hydraulic system. We bought a TM1003 pdf service manual online but can't figure out the sump location or access and how to fill it and check level. Someone suggested the sump is the transmission case, and likely need to drain the case and refill from the top. Can anyone describe a procedure to drain, refill and check the level of the hydraulic sump on this 540 line skidder, and thanks for your time.
 
Hi all, just joined and first post. We acquired a 540 skidder with a ruptured hyd oil cooler, so repaired it and now trying to flush and top up the hydraulic system. We bought a TM1003 pdf service manual online but can't figure out the sump location or access and how to fill it and check level. Someone suggested the sump is the transmission case, and likely need to drain the case and refill from the top. Can anyone describe a procedure to drain, refill and check the level of the hydraulic sump on this 540 line skidder, and thanks for your time.
a b and d models use more or less the same setup, whether its synchro range, or power shift.

big fill cap through floor board, with dipstick attached, check level with it resting on threads, not tight.

drain the case you will need to pull the center belly pan, there are several plugs on the trans itself.

on the synchro range trans there is a filter on the left side accessible through a hole in the frame..
kinda...

drain and fill etc..

then on the steering column, just under the dash cover is a releif valve of sorts very similar to bleeding brakes, fire it up, crack it and wiggle the steering wheel back and forth until it stops spitting air. this step isn't necessarily necessary, but it will do some weird scary **** if you dont until it clears itself up.

couple things, the hydraulic pump has a feeder pump built into the trans, and only works while the input shaft is spinning, so while the hydraulics will work with the clutch disengaged, try to minimize their use (ya got a out 30 seconds)

these machines only hold about 5 gals of trans/hydraulic fluid, so if you have a leak (dont worry... you will) keep an eye on the level, once its out it gets... interesting... to turn.

lastly, they use Deere type 303 tractor trans fluid in the trans and axles... stealership will insist only blah blah... napa tractor trans fluid works fine and is 1/3 the cost

whatever you do do not use aw46 or aw32 for hydraulic fluid... it's not thick enough and will cause issues
 
a b and d models use more or less the same setup, whether its synchro range, or power shift.

big fill cap through floor board, with dipstick attached, check level with it resting on threads, not tight.

drain the case you will need to pull the center belly pan, there are several plugs on the trans itself.

on the synchro range trans there is a filter on the left side accessible through a hole in the frame..
kinda...

drain and fill etc..

then on the steering column, just under the dash cover is a releif valve of sorts very similar to bleeding brakes, fire it up, crack it and wiggle the steering wheel back and forth until it stops spitting air. this step isn't necessarily necessary, but it will do some weird scary **** if you dont until it clears itself up.

couple things, the hydraulic pump has a feeder pump built into the trans, and only works while the input shaft is spinning, so while the hydraulics will work with the clutch disengaged, try to minimize their use (ya got a out 30 seconds)

these machines only hold about 5 gals of trans/hydraulic fluid, so if you have a leak (dont worry... you will) keep an eye on the level, once its out it gets... interesting... to turn.

lastly, they use Deere type 303 tractor trans fluid in the trans and axles... stealership will insist only blah blah... napa tractor trans fluid works fine and is 1/3 the cost

whatever you do do not use aw46 or aw32 for hydraulic fluid... it's not thick enough and will cause issues
Thank you very much for this information and the heads up on the AWxx.
We'll get in contact with NAPA and source the hyd from there.

Does the hyd transfer pump in the sump feed the main pump when the engine is running with the clutch out in neutral? I don't understand the 30 second warning.
We removed the hyd rad to repair it so air entered the system - does it need to be purged out.

The steering really wheel rotates and jerks violently, really hard, only in one direction, been that way since when we got it, could easy to break a thumb or a wrist.
Do you reckon this erratic behavior is a result of air that's entered the steering circuit and needs to be bled out?

We manged to download the operator manual yesterday and that explained a little more detail.
cheers, John

Hi all, just joined and first post. We acquired a 540 skidder with a ruptured hyd oil cooler, so repaired it and now trying to flush and top up the hydraulic system. We bought a TM1003 pdf service manual online but can't figure out the sump location or access and how to fill it and check level. Someone suggested the sump is the transmission case, and likely need to drain the case and refill from the top. Can anyone describe a procedure to drain, refill and check the level of the hydraulic sump on this 540 line skidder, and thanks for your time.
 
Thank you very much for this information and the heads up on the AWxx.
We'll get in contact with NAPA and source the hyd from there.

Does the hyd transfer pump in the sump feed the main pump when the engine is running with the clutch out in neutral? I don't understand the 30 second warning.
We removed the hyd rad to repair it so air entered the system - does it need to be purged out.

The steering really wheel rotates and jerks violently, really hard, only in one direction, been that way since when we got it, could easy to break a thumb or a wrist.
Do you reckon this erratic behavior is a result of air that's entered the steering circuit and needs to be bled out?

We manged to download the operator manual yesterday and that explained a little more detail.
cheers, John
the transfer pump, yes feeds the main hydro pump in nuetral, so if you need to work the blade or whatnot, just have it at an idle in nuetral with clutch peddle out. Short uses won't hurt it, like quick turns or pushing logs, just don't sit around with the clutch in waiting on traffic, pop it into neutral if its going to be awhile and let the clutch out.

The steering wheel does that when there is air in the system, it can do it at random while trying to blaze down a trail too... fun times yeah

when your ready to bleed the steering, do it while sitting in the seat, absolutely not while standing next to machine, it can and will turn violently in the process, skwershing you between the tires otherwise... Like an unwanted hug from a very fat angry aunt with B.O.

Napa should have 5 gal pails of Tractor trans fluid on hand at all times. hell even my local saw shop carries it
 
the transfer pump, yes feeds the main hydro pump in nuetral, so if you need to work the blade or whatnot, just have it at an idle in nuetral with clutch peddle out. Short uses won't hurt it, like quick turns or pushing logs, just don't sit around with the clutch in waiting on traffic, pop it into neutral if its going to be awhile and let the clutch out.

The steering wheel does that when there is air in the system, it can do it at random while trying to blaze down a trail too... fun times yeah

when your ready to bleed the steering, do it while sitting in the seat, absolutely not while standing next to machine, it can and will turn violently in the process, skwershing you between the tires otherwise... Like an unwanted hug from a very fat angry aunt with B.O.

Napa should have 5 gal pails of Tractor trans fluid on hand at all times. hell even my local saw shop carries it
================================
thanks again, found the filler, fluid was over full by quite a bit, and looked really clean so left it like that. The hyd oil cooling rad repair worked OK, but when I started engine I had 2 leaks from the hexagonal caps on the main hyd pump. The hex caps are right in line with the piston bores, so maybe seal off the top of the cylinder. After while 1 cap began to bubble like a blown head gasket. After discussing the issue with the local repair shop ( British Hydraulics ) it sounds like those 2 caps are either loose, or the seals are missing. Each cap seal is a 2 piece affair consisting of a tapered teflon ring plus a tiny O ring. I'm gonna try snugging up the nuts tomorrow and see it that does the trick, or else I'll have to pull the pump and change the seals on the bench, because it's too inaccessible to attempt seal replacement in situ. I guess someone must have been messing with it. The oil made a mess as it traveled downstream in the airflow, soaking the v belts which were really hard to remove from around the balancer, because they'd swollen up so much with the hyd oil. They were replaced by a matched set of AX54 which turned out to be at least 1" too short, because no markings on the old solid V belts and they had swollen and length shrank a bit. Installing the notched belts cleared the harmonic balancer and frame no problem, and I dismounted the alternator and offered it up to the belts after they were on the sheaves, almost at the end of the adj slot but belts will stretch in future. I'm guessing the correct size belts is AX56 if you ever need to change them.
Can't wait to tackle the steering wheel jerking, that'll be the next project.
Gearmatic 19 winch won't fully free wheel and hard to pull the rope out, but the dealer sent me a link to the pdf. Coming together slow but sure.
Thanks for all the suggestions
 
Hi again guys,
thanks for taking the time to read and give information.
Our biggest prob at present is the 10 gallons of diesel fuel recently added to our hydraulic oil.
Pulled the main hyd pump and installed new seals in it with the help of my bud, put it back together again and no leaks. Then found the air bleeding procedure from service manual, and got started with the several hours of idling the engine, but had another setback.
Since acquiring our skidder last month, my partner has been filling the transmission with diesel fuel, thinking transmission fill pipe was fuel inlet. He couldn't understand why the level never dropped. After it ran for 5 hours I noticed a bit of weeping from the end cover of the hyd pump, no drips just wet, and it was very hot to the touch.
The hydraulics shop advised that we fully drain and refill the sump with new oil, change the hydraulic filter(s), run it awhile, and repeat that drain/fill/run/filter replacement exercise three times in order to dilute the diesel in the hydraulic system.
So now, gotta locate the drains and have earned there's several drains on the transmission sump. Is the lowest drain point OK, or gotta open all drains, because some areas of sump may not free drain?
Would anyone tell me the locations of both the hyd oil sump drain(s) and the hyd oil filter(s) please?
I've searched the service manual and the operator manual and can't find out anything.
This machine is a JD540 line skidder, don't know if it's an ' A ' or a 'B' - it's got a Gearmatic model 19 winch
When trying to bleed out the air from the steering valve, removed the bleeder screw and nut from the valve body, looked into the hole and saw the ball in the end, but no spring - it's item # 141_JD_steeringAndCylinderAssy_bleederItem#12.png on the attached diagram.
Would anyone have information on that spring that sits between the ball and bleeder screw?
The bleeder screw hex, item # 13, was really chewed up. The original part seems complex and elaborate, can't figure out how it's supposed to function...hose connection nut is supposed to operate as a valve but doesn't function.
I'm wondering if it's possible to cap the entire widget off with a version to replace the OEM parts, which appear to be a spring loaded check ball.
 
well thats horrible

The check spring needs to be in there, its a bypass system, not sure where you would find a replacement, but hardware stores have springs available... be fairly stiff one
Should just need to crack the nipple looking bit on the end to get it to bleed, that or just move drive it full tilt back and forth a few times, not perfect but it helps a lot

Definitely drain all the sections of the trans, there is "bulkheads" in between the different sections of the trans that will prevent all of the fluid from draining

the Syncro range trans will have a filter on the left side of the machine, just under where your feet sit... through the frame about a 6" dia hole, filter is accessed through that hole, should be a large round cap with a single bolt in the middle of it, on the power shift version I'm not 100% certain
 
well thats horrible

The check spring needs to be in there, its a bypass system, not sure where you would find a replacement, but hardware stores have springs available... be fairly stiff one
Should just need to crack the nipple looking bit on the end to get it to bleed, that or just move drive it full tilt back and forth a few times, not perfect but it helps a lot

Definitely drain all the sections of the trans, there is "bulkheads" in between the different sections of the trans that will prevent all of the fluid from draining

the Syncro range trans will have a filter on the left side of the machine, just under where your feet sit... through the frame about a 6" dia hole, filter is accessed through that hole, should be a large round cap with a single bolt in the middle of it, on the power shift version I'm not 100% certain


Thanks for the advice.
We'll look for low drain connections on the transmission casing and drain everything we can locate.

I couldn't blow air through the bleeder, so removed it to inspect and clear any blockage. The hose connection screws about 2 turns lock to lock on the threaded part that's got a hole crossdrilled close to the end, can pass a wire into drain hole about an inch then it bottoms out, still can't blow through the hose connection.
You'd think there's a tapered needle and seat arrangement somewhere around the end of the hollow bleeder screw to act as a valve, like an auto wheel brake cylinder. The bleeder screw is captive, and has a 2 turn range.
My guess as to how it works is: loosen bleeder screw, pressurized hyd fluid overcomes the spring loaded ball, travels through the cross drilled hole then on through the needle and seat valve, and exits via the hollow bleeder screw. I'll send in some pictures If it still won't bleed
cheers,
John
 
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