Author Topic: Hydraulic reservoir factory mistake ?  (Read 2087 times)

Mark Lorentz

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Hydraulic reservoir factory mistake ?
« on: June 22, 2021, 11:49:51 AM »
Hey guys, I discovered something wrong with my hydraulic reservoir on my 2007 Contessa  C9.
I was changing the fluid and filters and was looking everything over and discovered there is no hose or line going to the center fitting on the bottom of the hydraulic reservoir just a plug. It is a nelson hydraulic reservoir looks to hold about 4 gallons looks factory installed. This means of course no fluid has ever flowed thru the 3 stacked filters inside the hydraulic reservoir. There is a spin on “oil filter sized” filter in the line from the hydraulic oil cooler to the hydraulic reservoir so oil filtering was being done, the spin on filter also looks factory installed.  Just wondering if anyone else has the same configuration.  Thanks
2007 42' Contessa C9

Bryan Beamon

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Re: Hydraulic reservoir factory mistake ?
« Reply #1 on: June 22, 2021, 03:53:52 PM »
Mark, we have the same configuration as you described and have always used the hose fittings to drain the hydrolic reservoir and not used the plug fitting at the bottom of the reservoir. No problems with our hydrolic system with 186k on our coach. Maybe others on the forum can explain the flow of fluid utilization of the 3 drop in filters.
C & Bryan Beamon
2006  to present
2007 Contessa 42ft Cat C-9 400hp
1996 to 2006 97 Beaver Patriot Camden

Mark Lorentz

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Re: Hydraulic reservoir factory mistake ?
« Reply #2 on: June 22, 2021, 06:43:17 PM »
Bryan, thanks for your reply
My issue is that without a hose from the Fan or power steering circuit connected to the bottom center fitting, that no fluid at all flows thru the 3 filter stack.
There is no reason to change them as they are doing nothing at all. The only way fluid can flow thru the filters is thru that center fitting.
Is your configuration the same in that the bottom dead center fitting has only a plug in it ?

Thanks
2007 42' Contessa C9

Bryan Beamon

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Re: Hydraulic reservoir factory mistake ?
« Reply #3 on: June 22, 2021, 10:00:21 PM »
Mark, yes the bottom plug has no hoses connected but it's hard to believe that Monaco inappropriately enginered the filtering of the hydrolic fluid. But since we have had zero problems over the last 14 years I am sticking with changing the 3 drop in filters annually.
C & Bryan Beamon
2006  to present
2007 Contessa 42ft Cat C-9 400hp
1996 to 2006 97 Beaver Patriot Camden

Bryan Beamon

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Re: Hydraulic reservoir factory mistake ?
« Reply #4 on: June 22, 2021, 10:47:05 PM »
Mark here are 2 pictures of our configuration
C & Bryan Beamon
2006  to present
2007 Contessa 42ft Cat C-9 400hp
1996 to 2006 97 Beaver Patriot Camden

Bryan Beamon

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Re: Hydraulic reservoir factory mistake ?
« Reply #5 on: June 22, 2021, 10:49:18 PM »
Second picture
C & Bryan Beamon
2006  to present
2007 Contessa 42ft Cat C-9 400hp
1996 to 2006 97 Beaver Patriot Camden

Mark Lorentz

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Re: Hydraulic reservoir factory mistake ?
« Reply #6 on: June 22, 2021, 11:54:28 PM »
Thanks for the Pics Bryan,
Yes my setup is identical in every way, that tells me our setup is unchanged from the way they left the factory.
I could not believe it either that it was engineered that way that’s why I think it is a mistake by an installer.
Maybe I’m wrong but it looks very simple, that center bottom fitting looks to be the only way fluid could get into or out of the center core of the filters.
I removed every drop of fluid out of the reservoir so I could really inspect what was going on with it.
I did wonder why they had 2 different filters that are filtering the same oil.
Glad to here you have so many trouble free miles on your Contessa, I have 88K on mine.
I have read the whole power steering/hydraulic fan system is hard to find parts for and expensive to repair so taking care of it is wise.
Maybe someone else will have some insight.

Thanks again
2007 42' Contessa C9

Don and Kathy DuCharme

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Re: Hydraulic reservoir factory mistake ?
« Reply #7 on: June 23, 2021, 01:10:22 AM »
We have exactly the same set-up as Bryan illustrated. I have changed the spin on filter regularly, but did not change the internal filters until this past year. I changed them because we blew a hole in the power steering line near the pump, and since the system was nearly empty it seemed like the prudent thing to do. We bought our coach new in 07 so it is as designed by factory.
07 Contessa
C9;400HP

Mark Lorentz

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Re: Hydraulic reservoir factory mistake ?
« Reply #8 on: June 26, 2021, 10:38:11 AM »
I took my rig out for a test drive yesterday after a bunch of preventive maint and stopped by a large hydraulic repair shop and asked them to look at my hydraulic reservoir.
I talked to a tech with 15 years exp and he said he had never seen anything like it.
He said he works on many similar systems, RV’s Garbage trucks bucket trucks and all need the center bottom  hose to move fluid thru the filters.
I pressed him on it and he had 2 other techs come over and look, they all agreed that the way all the filter canister systems work is the filters are held down tight with a gasket sealing the filter to the reservoir bottom and fluid enters the filter center hole thru the bottom center fitting, the fluid then flows up the filter center and out thru the filter media and into the reservoir. ( Dirt is trapped in the inside pleats of the filter )
One of the techs thought it was changed after it was built but the others thought maybe it was built using the spin on as the filter and the reservoir as just a reservoir.
They all agreed the microglass spin on filter I had on there was better in every way to the 3 cartridge filters in the reservoir.

My question is, is this plumbing configuration limited to the Contessa or do other models have the same “no hose to the center bottom” configuration and do all models have the spin on filter as well as the 3 in the reservoir.

Thanks for your input

-Mark
2007 42' Contessa C9