555G Hydraulic's

[70GTO]

I have a new to me 555G crawler/loader. The machine is a 2000 model & it has right at 4200 hours on it. I bought it about 6 months ago to clear some land I have & I may have operated the machine a total of 15 hours since I got it.
The last time I used it I noticed the arms operated erratic/jerky when I raised them. I thought well maybe it's low on hydraulic oil, so I put a couple of gallons in i " I cannot see a level in the glass". I used the machine again today & the same story "the arms are jerky", THEN whala, the arms (and bucket") quit moving COMPLETELY.
At present I do not have a shop manual, I've been looking, but just haven't found one I could afford yet!
So could anyone point in the right direction to start troubleshooting. By the way, there is no evidence of a hydraulic leak where the machine has been setting & all of the hoses seem to be dry as well. The only oil I have spotted is a small amount around where you rest your feet when operating the machine "around the decelerator petal" and that is just a small amount, BUT It was not there earlier, so it is a NEW leak.
Like so many that post here, I am new to this, SO any help or suggestions you have for a newby would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks, Bruce

[LeonardL]

Bruce,
It has been a few years since I was last into a G series machine. However the first thing I would do is change the hydraulic filter or filters. I'm afraid I can't tell you exactly where the filter or filters are. Most of the G series I was around only had the one filter. However it may very well have two.
If I am remembering correctly, the main filter should be behind a panel on the right hand side of the machine in the area directly under your right arm rest. There should be either a door that will swing open or a bolted on panel. The filter will be a spin on type and the Deere part number is AT120444. You should find a number on the old filter as well. It may be an after market filter so it may have a different number on it. However it should cross back to the Deere number. I would try this first and see what happens.

[70GTO]

I had all of the filters, engine oil & coolant changed by the equipment place that I bought tractor from before they delivered it. I didn't have them change out the hydraulic oil though, just the filter. They used NAPA filters rather than Deere filters. Still think I should start there??
Thank You for the response.....Bruce

[LeonardL]

Well there is certainly nothing wrong with them using NAPA filters. I use them as well and have never had any issues with them.
I would check a couple of things since you have had all the filters changed. The first is easy. Simply take the fill cap off of the hydraulic tank and see if it has pulled a vacuum. Once you take the cap off, try the machine and see what it does. If it works then the vent for the hydraulic tank is not working.
If this isn't the problem, then check the coupler for the hydraulic pump. It is located at the front of the machine and coupled to the crankshaft pulley on the engine. Your coupler may have come undone and caused the hydraulics to quit working. Check these things first and then we will go from there.

[pondhogvt]

I agree with Leonard check the simplest most obvious stuff first..

it sounds like you don't have enough oil...

you said you can't read the site glass, can you look in the tank with a flash light and see any oil?? take a tape measure push it down till it hits the oil then measure along out side of tank and see if it is remotely near the sight glass level..

do the simple stuff, then check the pump drive as Leonard said. if that all checks out maybe cut open that new filter and see if it is full of metal.. hope not but that would be an answer... 1 step at a time..

A couple of years ago I ran dozer on a job, not my dozer,, I told the boss I needed fuel for the morning..he called local delivery Co. they fueled up that night.

next morning Boss says all fueled they did it last night.. So I went right to work.. in about an hour dozer was sputtering for fuel so I hurried up and shut it off... trying to save bleeding time..

Anyway I check dozer,, fuel tank is bone dry!! call the boss he says he saw them down the hill fueling it up... hey all I know is it is empty now..

so I start checking things over,, it is a 450E,, fuel cap is plain as day..
no this guy opened the hydraulic side arm rest and filled hydraulic tank with fuel... it just shows you anything can happen,, check the oil level somehow don't take it for granted.. goodluck Mark.

[70GTO]

Thanks for all of the helpful tips. I'm going to remove, clean & reinstall the glass so I can see the hydraulic level "just as soon as I can move the machine where the glass will be higher than the level" at the moment the rear of the machine is lower than the front end - just my luck!!
Today I pulled the floor panel & whala............there is the problem! The hydraulic hose on the discharge side of the pump is ruptured. I'm told this line supplies the oil to the loader controls. Soon I'll replace it & I'll let everyone know how turns out!

Thanks for all of the help guys, Bruce

[70GTO]

Oh yea, there's a fair amount of hydraulic oil contained in the belly pan/protective plate below the hydraulic pump. Looks like between the accumulated dirt & the belly pan itself, every drop of hyd fluid lost was contained there. This explains why I didn't see any oil on the ground. When I'm operating any equipment, I pay pretty close attention for fluid leaks. No sense in having to replace a blown hose & have to add a bunch of oil unnecessarily!

[70GTO]

Well my machine is finally repaired. Turns out the main hydraulic hose that went from the pump to the loader controls was blown. It took a "I Believe" 4200# 4 braid hose since it was HIGH psi. 10 gallons of hydraulic fluid & I was back in business. After the oil was added I could plainly see it in the sight glass. Thanks everyone for all of the reply's, I really appreciate it.

Bruce