Some thoughts on troubleshooting hydro leaks on Wide Frames, Quietlines, and 82 series tractors. Whenever someone mentions leakage on a Hydro the first thing that comes to mind is (that darn cork gasket is leaking), and more times than not, that is correct but before you jump on it you need to find all of the leaks. Hear are some ideas that you might want to consider.
1. First thing to check is the check valves, which can be accessed by removing the transmission cover. Clean the area good, drive the tractor and see if they leak. If this is your leak you can clean them or replace them, costly but the fix is fairly easy. Check the hydro lift lines at the same time.
2. If you still have leakage, check the gasket on the rear end plate and the hydro filter.
3. Still leaking, time to get serious, remove the rear fenders and clean up the hydro area on the tractor, get it as clean as you can.
4. Put the tractor up on jacks (be very careful as this is dangerous). Hook up the battery with a jumper cable. Run the tractor at full throttle several minutes, raise and lower the hydro lift, shift the transmission from forward to reverse, back and forth. Shut the tractor off and with a good light check for leaks.
5. If you don’t have a heavy leak you will need to look carefully, the fluid will seep out and usually run to a point and drip. Like this drip coming off the casting below a bolt.
6. If the leak is the cork gasket you need to check here, it is recessed so you have to look closely. If this is bad you are going to have to remove the hydro to replace the cork gasket. One word of caution here, I have seen the rear seal leak, run down the back of the hydro and it looked like the cork gasket was leaking.
This got too long so will break it up in two parts.