May 10th

Today was a messy day. Was working on the 8870 articulated tractor trying to diagnose a hydraulic problem. The problem that was reported was the axles were hot to the touch. While I was heating the hydraulic oil up, a hydraulic line ruptured (strictly coincidence) and proceeded to shower me and the tractor with hydraulic fluid before I could shut down the tractor. Removed the hydraulic hose and off to the shop to get a replacement made. After returning to the tractor and installing the newly made hose, I proceeded to heat the hydraulic oil up and performed temperature measurements throughout the system. I found that the filter housing and valve was heating up before anything else was. Checked the tech manual and found that there was a screen in the housing that could be plugged. I called the shop and talked with a more experienced tech about pulling the access plug for the screen and was informed that a little oil would come out when the plug was removed. I started to remove the plug and was just about drenched with hydraulic oil because there was sump pressure behind it. Needless to say I will have to drain the system to remove the screen. I guess that will be tomorrows job.