Tractor supply log splitter is shooting out oil

[tlhfirelion]

Hey folks. So I have a 25 ton tractor supply log splitter. It has about 75 hours on it, 1.5 years old. Today as we were splitting some red oak, I notice oil squirting out of the fill plug cap hole but only when the splitter head was retracted and only on the last third of the retraction. The fluid level was fine, so ran it a little bit but didn’t retract the head all the way. I noticed the hydraulic hoses seemed more jerky than normal so I turned it off. The hydraulic level is fine, it’s not foamy and I see no obvious leaks anywhere so I’m stumped.
any advice on what to check is appreciated.

 

[jetsam]

Foamy oil plus overflow equals air leak on the intake side.

If it's not foamy, it could be expanding because it's too hot. Do the cylinder and reservoir get real hot when this happens? Hit it with an IR gun if you have one, 150 is the top limit of where you want to be.

If the unit always has done this, invest in bigger lines and/or an oil cooler, or reduce the maximum duty cycle. If it's new behavior, start taking lines off and looking for restrictions (chunk of crud where it shouldn't be).

 

[tlhfirelion]

Foamy oil plus overflow equals air leak on the intake side.

If it's not foamy, it could be expanding because it's too hot. Do the cylinder and reservoir get real hot when this happens? Hit it with an IR gun if you have one, 150 is the top limit of where you want to be.

If the unit always has done this, invest in bigger lines and/or an oil cooler, or reduce the maximum duty cycle. If it's new behavior, start taking lines off and looking for restrictions (chunk of crud where it shouldn't be).

It’s new behavior. I’ll use my temp gun and see what I find. When you say “look for restrictions”, how could crud get in a closed system? Would a filter change help? It didn’t say in the manual it was a break in filter so I didn’t change it. Thanks for the reply.

 

[jetsam]

It’s new behavior. I’ll use my temp gun and see what I find. When you say “look for restrictions”, how could crud get in a closed system? Would a filter change help? It didn’t say in the manual it was a break in filter so I didn’t change it. Thanks for the reply.

Anything that's there that didn't used to be! Chunk of rubber line, wood chip, baked on goo... restriction equals heat in a hydraulic machine. Anything that makes a hole smaller is making your oil hotter.

Not to be That Guy, but don't take the plug off the tank when you suspect an overpressure situation... boiling pressurized hydraulic oil is no joke, and reliefs can fail.

 

[JRHAWK9]

Are you splitting on a level surface? I've had oil come out of my old Speeco's vent hole before when I was splitting on an uneven surface, with the low side being at the vent hole. I've also had the same thing happen when towing it back to the garage, again on an uneven surface with the vent hole being on the low side. I now run an extended pipe with the plug/vent raised.

 

[tlhfirelion]

Anything that's there that didn't used to be! Chunk of rubber line, wood chip, baked on goo... restriction equals heat in a hydraulic machine. Anything that makes a hole smaller is making your oil hotter.

Not to be That Guy, but don't take the plug off the tank when you suspect an overpressure situation... boiling pressurized hydraulic oil is no joke, and reliefs can fail.

Understood, thank you.

 

[tlhfirelion]

Are you splitting on a level surface? I've had oil come out of my old Speeco's vent hole before when I was splitting on an uneven surface, with the low side being at the vent hole. I've also had the same thing happen when towing it back to the garage, again on an uneven surface with the vent hole being on the low side. I now run an extended pipe with the plug/vent raised.

Mostly. It’s hilly everywhere where I live so it’s close to level, but not Kansas level. How’d you set up that raised vent?

 

[JRHAWK9]

Mostly. It’s hilly everywhere where I live so it’s close to level, but not Kansas level. How’d you set up that raised vent?

Just go to Home Depot and pick up the correct fittings. This is what I did with my County Line 40 ton. You don't have to go that tall though. I went taller than I needed to.

Also make sure the vent hole is pointing down, as you don't want water/debris to enter the tank. The only reason I put an elbow on it is so I could point the vent hole down.

 

[maple1]

The only time I've experienced that was when I had it on unlevel ground, with the fill on the low side. I think it's just borderline too full. Could either get the fill hole side up a little higher (board under wheel?), or just run it as-is and let it expel the little bit extra. As long as it's not tipped over a lot.

 

[tlhfirelion]

Just go to Home Depot and pick up the correct fittings. This is what I did with my County Line 40 ton. You don't have to go that tall though. I went taller than I needed to.

Also make sure the vent hole is pointing down, as you don't want water/debris to enter the tank. The only reason I put an elbow on it is so I could point the vent hole down.

View attachment 275496

Good deal. Thanks for the pic.

 

[tlhfirelion]

The only time I've experienced that was when I had it on unlevel ground, with the fill on the low side. I think it's just borderline too full. Could either get the fill hole side up a little higher (board under wheel?), or just run it as-is and let it expel the little bit extra. As long as it's not tipped over a lot.

I guess I need to try harder to make it level. I have an old bubble from a level I may just glue to the top of the fluid res to ensure I get it level.

 

[salecker]

Sounds like it was to full,heat expanded the oil.
Vent may have been downhill as well.

 

[jetsam]

I would still take the IR gun and look for a heat problem. But if there's no heat problem, there's probably not going to be an issue with running a a 5 gallon system a quart low either.