Hydraulic filter

[Ken Sair]

I am doing my annual maintenance on the hydraulic filters, the three in the large reservoir. Additionally, I have an exterior filter also. Maintenance says change after the first 50 hours which was done. The next change is when the dial moves into the yellow area of the gauge. Its been four years and the gauge reads only 10% into the green. Going to be a long time till it gets to the yellow.

Should I change this out due to it being four years old or wait till its yellow, many more years in the future?

Thanks.

Ken Sair 2007 Beaver Contessa

[Gerald Farris]

Ken,
I would not change the filter just because it is four years old if I was sure that your sensor is operating properly. However if you are due for a hydraulic system oil change in the future, I would change the filter when I changed the hydraulic oil.    

Gerald

[Ken Sair]

Thanks Gerald. I can confirm the needle does move when the engine is running. I have heard others say filters should be changed 2-3 years just because the filter begins to break down. FYI, I cannot find any reference on how often to change the hydraulic fluid. Any suggestions.

Ken

[Gerald Farris]

Ken,
I can not find any information on hydraulic fluid change intervals on your coach, however I found fluid change recommendations by Spartan Chassis on a very similar system that runs the same AW 46 oil, and they recommend changing fluid every 4 years.

So I guess that it is a judgment call. Fresh clean fluid will reduce fan motor and pump wear, but if it does not prevent a maintenance problem, you are not saving money. If the system will run for 20 years without fluid changes and 40 years with fluid changes, and you are going to keep the coach for 15 years, you would be wasting your money by changing fluid. However if it fails in 10 years without changes, it is a different story.

Gerald  

[Ken Sair]

Thanks Gerald. How often do you change yours?

[Richard And Babs Ames]

Just a note we had not changed the hydraulic filter on our 1997 Beaver Patriot in over 100,000 miles and the seal on the hydraulic radiator fan failed. The mechanic that changed the motor used to build hydraulic systems and stated the fluid was clean and OK. We changed the filter anyway last oil change and cut open the old one and it was clean.

Our expierence seems to indicate a filter change is not necessary unless the system is contaminated or 4 years or longer as Gerald states.

[Gerald Farris]

 Ken,
My coach runs Dexron III fluid in the hydraulic system, so it may not be a direct correlation to your coach. That being said, I change the hydraulic fluid in my coach every five years. However I do not go to all of the trouble of flushing out the lines, I just drain the reservoir and replace the filter which takes about 4 gallons.

The next fluid change that is coming up, I intend to use Transynd instead of Dexron III. Transynd is the same viscosity as Dexron III and it has much better lubricating characteristics, especially a much higher shear strength, so it should extend the hydraulic pump and fan motor life substantially. Transynd will also require fewer changes.

Gerald  

[Edward Buker]

The 89 Contessa that I owned had no change interval that I remember except for the filter which I changed about once every 5 years. I would pull a sample every couple of years and compare color and feel (not too scientific) to new Dexron and could not see any difference. When I first bought the coach it was about 8 year old with just 35K miles and the power steering pump had a shaft seal leak due to lack of use mostly. It was replaced and some Dexron was added at that time. When I sold that coach it was 20 years old with 100K miles and the fluid still looked new and the original power steering unit, hydraulic switch, and hydraulic fan motor were still chugging away with no leaks or problems.

Change intervals would depend on the system design, pressures, and temperatures that the fluid reach. Compared to transmissions I suspect this is light duty. Maybe pull a sample at 5 years and have analyzeded would be a good way for us all to go. Always a chance of getting contaminants in the system when a shop does an oil change. That could be the greater evil...

later Ed

[Gerald Farris]

Ed,
On your current coach, the hydraulic filter screws directly to the bottom of the tank, and when you remove the filter to change it you had better be very fast if you do not want to change the oil because without the filter in place there is about about a 3/4 inch hole open in the bottom of the tank and it will empty very quickly.  The only option is to arrange a way to catch the fluid without contamination and reuse it. By the way the filter is available at NAPA.

Gerald

[Edward Buker]

Gerald,

I had Beaver Coach Sales change my hydraulic filter and fluid as part of the PDI. There was a fluid leak at a tank fitting when I looked at the coach that they had to repair anyway. I had them use the NAPA version of the filter. I never thought of the TranSynd that you are planning on using. That is a good idea.

Thanks for the warning on the fluid draining with the filter removal. Given I have not done that job yet I probably would have been wary but maybe not wise. :-) I'm not sure this filter/fluid needs to be done even at a 5 year interval...

Later Ed

[Richard And Babs Ames]

FYI: Dexron V and VI are full synthetic same as transynd and are backwards compatible with III so if Beaver Coach sales used either one you have it.

[Edward Buker]

That was April of 2009 when they did the PDI,  I am really not sure what they had on hand or bought at that time. I guess I have Marvel Mystery Oil in there now...

later Ed

[Richard And Babs Ames]

Difference in cost is several dollars a quart so I would guess you do not.

[Ken Sair]

Thanks Gerald. My coach came with AW 46 originally but all that leaked out on my toad because of a gasket leak. We were unable to get any AW 46 anywhere near where we were so with Monaco's blessing we refilled with Dexron III. I have not experienced any leaks or other performance issues since.

I like the 5 year guidline you mentioned. Especially the Transynd when replacing fluid. I will add that to my maintenance schedule.

I know you and Glenda are back somewhere in that weather mess. Be careful.

ken Sair