450C Water in Hydraulics- how to get it out?

[PenderBen]

Hi all, first time posting. I have a 450c, it's getting rough but it still gets the job done.
Well the other day I went to top up the hydraulic fluid and apparently my bucket of TDH had picked up some water over the winter that I didn't know about. So as I poured in a little a large glop of water went in the reservoir. I needed to use the machine and did, not sure if that made it worse or not but needless to say the fluid is all milky white now.
So my question is, how do I drain the whole hydraulic system? I know I can drain the reservoir but what about the rest of the fluid in the cylinders and lines? I searched around on here and google but couldn't find any info that really suited my problem.
Thanks

[Manstein]

I had the same problem on a machine I just purchased. I took the rubber return line off where it dumps the fluid back into the resivoir and hooked a 12 foot rubber hose to it and vented it into a 5 gal. bucket. I drained the containmentated fluid from the resivoir and filled it up with waste transmission fluid, started the engine and raised and lowered the boom until the 5 gal. waste fluid bucket was about half full. I added more waste transmission fluid to the resivoir and repeated the process until the milky containmentated fluid changed over to red transmission fluid. Once that was done, I drained the transmission fluid from the resivoir and installed fresh hydraulic fluid and ran 5 gallons thru the system the same way as the transmission fluid and exhausted it into the waste buckets. Reconnect the return rubber line to the resivoir and the fluid will stay clean.
If you don't disconnect the return line and vent it to the waste buckets, you will never be able to cycle enough fluid thru the system because it just keeps containmenating the fresh fluid in the resivoir.

[digitup2]

Here is what I do look in your auto parts retailers for a gas tank water eliminator .It looks like a 1 inch diameter plastic screen with a small bag inside it and a 18 inch to 24inch heavy cord on it .It is made to go into the gas or diesel tank and absorb the water off the bottom .I put it into the hydraulic oil reserve tank and .They aren't recommended but work great and you save all the oil in the system as it will draw the water from the oil and clear it up quickly .All you have to do is run it several times for twenty minutes per time and the oil will clear right up .That is how I do it and the guy at the parts counter thought I was nuts [some times being considered off your rocker is a good thing !] others are scared to ask stupid questions that way.Digitup.

[PenderBen]

That sounds like a nice fix, I'm willing to try something simple first. Is that water eliminator like this: http://www.michiganmotorz.com/mercruise ... -1132.html

Thanks for the inputs.

[Tigerhaze]

That sounds like a nice fix, I'm willing to try something simple first. Is that water eliminator like this: http://www.michiganmotorz.com/mercruise ... -1132.html

Thanks for the inputs.

Digitup mentioned the use of an adsorber like this before for hydraulic fluid and says it works well. Read about 1/2 way down in this thread:

http://www.jdcrawlers.com/messageboard/ ... ight=water

[digitup2]

That is what they look like .Digitup.