25 ton DHT splitter oil leak

[Ctwoodtick]

Trying to figure out what’s going on here. This 5 yr old splitter just started leaking small amount of oil in the 2 spots in the pics. Last use was in Maine about 2.5 months ago and then it got trailered back to CT where it’s sat in the garage since. I recently moved the splitter a few feet so I know the oil spots on the garage floor are new. I put a piece of cardboard down to see if it would continue dripping and a couple days later I saw that it had. I checked the oil level and that is good/oil clean.
I should Jack the thing up and take a better look underneath. I took a couple pics of the underneath area where the 2 leaks are occurring. Was curious if you all had thoughts on what this could be.

 

[Jags]

The pics aren't doing me much good. But I would start by checking all hose fittings for tightness then move on to checking seals and oil filter Etc. it shouldn't be hard to chase down the source of the leak

 

[brenndatomu]

Leave the fuel valve on and the engine is overfull with gassy oil now? Seen it before...

 

[Eman85]

Look closely at the bottom where the stub axles weld onto the tank. The design isn't very good and they are made to tow around the property, not really durable enough for road use. The strain can crack the tank causing leaks.

 

[Ctwoodtick]

Leave the fuel valve on and the engine is overfull with gassy oil now? Seen it before...

Thanks- just checked but the gas level is off.

 

[Ctwoodtick]

Look closely at the bottom where the stub axles weld onto the tank. The design isn't very good and they are made to tow around the property, not really durable enough for road use. The strain can crack the tank causing leaks.

I will have to take a close look at that. I don’t row on the road. I have rolled it onto the landscape trailer and tied it down for one trip to Maine. Doesn’t seem like to abusive but if this area is poorly made, who knows.
If it turns out that that is the issue, would that be fixable?

 

[Ctwoodtick]

Look closely at the bottom where the stub axles weld onto the tank. The design isn't very good and they are made to tow around the property, not really durable enough for road use. The strain can crack the tank causing leaks.

I should ask to confirm, when you say the tank, you mean the hydraulic fluid tank right?

 

[hedge wood]

I should ask to confirm, when you say the tank, you mean the hydraulic fluid tank right

He is talking about the hydraulic fluid tank. Most of the time they leak were the spindle for the wheel is welded onto the hydraulic tank. You drain the oil out and clean out the tank and it can be welded to be repaired. It was a bad design. I seen a fair amount of them crack and leak over the years.

 

[Ctwoodtick]

He is talking about the hydraulic fluid tank. Most of the time they leak were the spindle for the wheel is welded onto the hydraulic tank. You drain the oil out and clean out the tank and it can be welded to be repaired. It was a bad design. I seen a fair amount of them crack and leak over the years.

OK thanks for the input. I can drain the tank of hydraulic oil no problem. How do I clean out the tank though?

 

[Ctwoodtick]

Also, it may be a dumb question, but if the leak is fairly small, is that something that I could fix without welding.? Maybe using a product of some sort by JD Weld?

 

[brenndatomu]

OK thanks for the input. I can drain the tank of hydraulic oil no problem. How do I clean out the tank though?

You have to find where its leaking first...which means oil left in the tank. Clean it all up with some contact cleaner, dry it off with a clean rag and then watch for a wet spot to start...a bright light might help....and you may have to check back in every few hours if its just a tiny leak.

 

[ericm979]

Also, it may be a dumb question, but if the leak is fairly small, is that something that I could fix without welding.? Maybe using a product of some sort by JD Weld?

If it's a crack in the tank, JB Weld won't last long under stress.

If it's a leaking fitting, there are better ways to fix it.

 

[Ctwoodtick]

You have to find where its leaking first...which means oil left in the tank. Clean it all up with some contact cleaner, dry it off with a clean rag and then watch for a wet spot to start...a bright light might help....and you may have to check back in every few hours if its just a tiny leak.

Will do

 

[brenndatomu]

Will do

The issue here is going to be being able to see it...an oil leak on gloss black is almost invisible...a trick that may help is to get a can of foot powder spray and coat the suspected area after its been cleaned and dried well...an oil leak will really stand out on that then. Baby powder works too, but may be really hard to get onto this surface up underneath like that.

 

[Ctwoodtick]

The issue here is going to be being able to see it...an oil leak on gloss black is almost invisible...a trick that may help is to get a can of foot powder spray and coat the suspected area after its been cleaned and dried well...an oil leak will really stand out on that then. Baby powder works too, but may be really hard to get onto this surface up underneath like that.

Thanks for the tip. I will clean up the tank area this weekend and do the foot powered spray trick. I’ll report back on how it’s going

 

[Eman85]

Sorry I hadn't been back to see your question. Sounds like your question was answered. Yes, the hydraulic is what I meant. Clean it and wipe it down with some brake cleaner. The foot powder trick works well if you can't see the leak. I wouldn't fool with JB weld on something like that. There is no pressure but the leak, if that's where it is would be because of a stress crack. The JB weld isn't going to stop the crack from spreading. Just my opinion but those splitters are back breakers, they are so low. They split well so I would look at putting an axle under the tank which would allow you to raise the whole splitter up to working level.

 

[Ctwoodtick]

So quick update on the oil leak situation on my splitter. I wipe down really good. The areas that I saw that were wet with oil previously. To completely rule out another possibility, I tightened up the oil plugs. Not overtightened, but there was a bit of movement. I also used the spray on foot powder trick and hit all areas with that. I put a piece of cardboard underneath to see if there was any new oil dripping from anywhere. After about three days, I don’t see any trips of oil. When I run my bare hand on the underside of the hydraulic oil reservoir, I’m coming up with his some white foot powder spray on my hands. I’m gonna give it more time, but I’m wondering if it may have had something to do with the oil plug’s needing a tightening. With that said, I did see a fair bit of gunk in the areas of the oil plugs where the motor assembly sits upon. It was gunky with debris mixed in with that oily gunk. With that cleaned away now, I’m not seeing any oil residue anywhere.
I’ll keep my eyes open and watching, but I’ll be hopeful that maybe it wasn’t a big issue after all.

 

[mark cline]

Fire it up and get the hydraulic oil up to operating temperature, the oil will flow easier when hot . Then check for leaks .👍

 

[Ctwoodtick]

Fire it up and get the hydraulic oil up to operating temperature, the oil will flow easier when hot . Then check for leaks .👍

Good call. Will do soon