Case 680K Sudden loss of all Hydraulics

[stinky64]

Letting it sit and freeze harder may do more harm. Tarp and a torpedo heater, even kerosene heater could be a game changer. make a barrier around bottom and over the hood of machine, even if you have to build a frame out of some crappy old lumber or even branches and let 'er rip, not for just 20 minutes or so, for a couple of hours. just be careful not to burn anything up. Have used this method in the past with great success. May give you some insight as to whether something in the system is broken or just frozen. Good luck.

 

[HarleyHappy]

That set up sounds all well and good but it’s winter.
Even if you get it warm, you would have to flush out the hydraulic system and that’s going to suck.
Wish there was a good way to get the water out of the hydraulic system, without wasting a lot of good hydraulic fluid and freezing your ass off but there isn’t.
Good luck and make sure you let us know how it goes.

 

[stinky64]

If adverse/cold weather up north deterred anything from getting done, nothing would get done. Make it warm and get it done.

 

[Welder Dave]

I have 1 function on my backhoe valve that wouldn't work if it got quite cold. It was very odd because there's no water in the hyd. fluid. After running for 15 minutes it would warm up and was fine. I thought maybe the linkage was somehow freezing or the valve spool had just enough moisture to freeze. Replacing the fluid is much cheaper than replacing the pumps. If there's water could prevent the spools from working but still have a little fluid being able to circulate. Torpedo heater and a tarp is a good idea. I bought a portable fabric garage for about $300 to put around my track loader to pull the engine in winter. It was nice and toasty with a 70,000 btu kerosene/diesel torpedo heater. Unfortunately I also had a to buy a generator but I needed one anyway. I used a 30x50 tarp when I had thaw the tracks after I got stuck in deep loam that wasn't frozen enough. It got real cold for a few days until the gravel pit could bring a D5M over to pull it out. The loam was packed in the sprockets and froze solid. Barely got it out with the frozen tracks. Lifting it with the backhoe was the saving grace otherwise it would have waited till spring but that wasn't a good option because once the ground thawed it would sink further. A torpedo heater is a great thing to have.

 

[DustyShackleford]

UPDATE: It appears you're all correct it appears to be temperature related. As mentioned it hadn't been above mid 20's for weeks. Then as all of you in the Continental US know we had that "Artic Blast" or whatever they called it come though. It was -10 to -16 here for almost a week, high winds to boot. No amount of torpedo heater was going to counteract that.

Well it's been high 30's during the day for a few days now, warm enough for all the metal to stay warm and for me to go out and work on it. I had gotten all new hoses made for the loader as mine were barely held together with hopes and dreams. I figured It would be a good opportunity to drain everything since the lines would be fresh and uncontaminated. Before I did I fired her up and EVERYTHING WORKED AS IT SHOULD! Smooth and flawless. It's amazing what a difference 37 degrees makes over 20s. I have replace half the hoses on the loader today and will do the other half in the upcoming. I drained the hydraulic Reservoir and let the drain plug out to completely drain the next day or two while it will be in the 40's and I replace the remaining hydraulic hoses. Once she is all back together and filled with clean fluid I will report back.

I'm sure I'll need to flush her a few more times in the near future to get it all cleared out. I'm just blow away that Temp was that much of a factor, even with milkshake oil.