Cat 955L Hydraulic Blow Out

[humblepie]

Hello,
I recently picked up a Cat 955L 13X series for odd jobs around the farm. Was recently using it to push burn piles together in a cleared field. On one push, got a few drops of splatter of something on the front and side cab glass. Didn't think much of it (maybe a passing pterodactyl?), but within a few seconds the hydraulic pump started clicking and the bucket wouldn't lift anymore. Got out and there was a long trail of oil behind me. I shut it down and am wondering how to approach this repair.
Machine is cab variant. Everything is pretty well buried out of site at the moment. Bucket is on the ground.
So, questions are:
Is the clicking hydraulic pump normal if the reservoir empties, or does the sound suggest that the fault occurred at the pump itself.
Is it reasonable to think that if I take the panels off on either side of the engine that I'll be able to see and reach all of the hydraulic lines with the lift arms down?
If I'm going to need to get the lift arms out of the way, how do I do that? That machine is the heaviest tractor that I have by far. I do have the ROPs on the front. Will that support the weight of the bucket if I jack it up, or should I learn how to remove the bucket.
Did I cause this? I had recently noticed that the hydraulic level site gauge was low so I brought back to the "full" level with 30 weight oil.
Should I just use the machine for a rose trellis and buy something newer?
Thanks for any suggestions!

 

[Welder Dave]

What type of 30 weight oil? If the machine runs decent even if you need a new pump it's worth fixing.

 

[leadfarmer]

Sounds like you have an issue with a line on the arms if it was spraying on the cab, but you can lift up the can floor and have a look at the hydraulic pump on the front left of the torque converter housing. It has two big lines entering it from the right side. Dropping the large belly pan under the transmission will give you a view of the hard lines located down low. Hopefully spot the leak one way or another. If you lost all the fluid youve lost 39 gallons, eeek. Should be SAE 10W. That would make quite a mess so the leak might not be obvious. May have to add more fluid and run it to spot the problem if it isnt apparent.

 

[DMiller]

Snail trail outside is likely a Lift or Curl loader hose. Most everything from control to loader frame is tubes. Will need to get oil in it and get the loader frame raised or have a boom truck raise and safety the frame full up if on a loader arm cylinder, on a Curl cylinder should be able to remove the cylinder from the tractor end to access the hoses.

 

[humblepie]

Welder Dave, I topped off with a gallon of "Straight Grade" SAE 30 "Heavy Duty Diesel Engine Oil".
Hope that wasn't a terribly foolish thing to do.

 

[Welder Dave]

It's not the right oil but a gallon shouldn't hurt anything. It's always good to have some of the proper oil on hand so the level can be topped off if required. Technically you shouldn't have to add oil but sometimes cylinders and stuff can weep a little over time.

 

[Cat977]

With my 977's the oil is 10W diesel engine oil from farm and fleet. My guy swears by it. (He should really go into full retirement, but I sure hope he doesn't). Let this be a lesson if you even smell oil get out and look. Or maybe just shut her down fast. The pumps can pump allot of oil fast!

 

[bunkclimber]

955L with a full hydraulic tank and engine at 1500-1800rpm you empty the tank in 20-30seconds with a full flow blowout..55gpm pump+/-..if you don't already have a set of loader arm props then make some,don't trust any part of the loader with your life..I made a set in an afternoon with some pipe and plate..those slip over the extended lift cylinder rams..coupled with the Cat lift arm lock and a 6x6 post as an additional safety I can work with a reasonable measure of confidence.I always take the bucket off when working on the front end..As far as lifting the loader arms up put the hyd lift control lever in float and use a telehandler or excavator to raise the arms..if you dont have one rent one for a weekend..work safe don't take chances..rental on a lift is nothing compared to medical bills or a change of life incident

 

[skyking1]

If you can't recall ever changing the hydraulic oil, then after you fix the leak do change it and the filter, your gallon of 30 weight problem solved. It is a good thing to do.

 

[ippielb]

If you look in my thread about my cat purchase, i just supported my lift arms on my 973c, might give you some ideas, i put a picture up in there.