1972 Massey Ferguson backhoe transmission moisture

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Southwestern Ontario, Canada
Hi all,
I am the proud owner of a 1972 Massey Ferguson MF50 backhoe. I only use it for my own personal yard work. This is a full size backhoe. It has a gasoline engine, and the hydraulics and transmission are completely separate systems.

I bought the backhoe about three years ago, and it sat outside before my purchase, and unfortunately I also have to keep it outside. The previous owner warned me there "might" be water in the hydraulic system. There was visible water, I changed the hydraulic fluid and filter. That system isn't the problem.

It has an "instant-reverse" type of transmission. It has two gearshift levers to select the ranges, but there is no clutch pedal. There is a thing similar to a torque converter behind the engine. There are two pedals on the right side. You press one for forwards, and the other for reverse. You are only supposed to press one pedal at a time. When you press either pedal, it is also connected to the throttle and speeds up the engine.

Three years ago I thought it would be good to change the transmission fluid. All I can say is, wow. There is a brass screen in the removable (heavy) transmission pan that was full of crud. It also has a pleated paper type filter in the return line from the transmission cooler. It was also full of crud. There was also visible water in the bottom of the fluid. I also couldn't tell what kind of fluid the previous owners were using.

The fluid is supposed to be the equivalent of Massey-Ferguson Permatran. I have been using a universal TDH (tractor, differential, hydraulic) fluid from Canadian Tire. It is their Motomaster/Certified brand that is supplied by Shell. This fluid has a tan colour, and looks like "thick" beer without the foam.

I changed the fluid three years ago, and when I checked it a while later, the fluid looked milky, a light cream colour. I changed it a second time and didn't get around to checking it later.
I finally checked it the following year and it was creamy looking again.
For the past two years I have been draining the fluid in the late fall before the temperature freezes, then filling with fresh fluid. It takes about 15 litres. The past two fills had been in the backhoe for a year, with only about 25 hours of use each year.

Without getting the fluid analyzed, I am wondering if this is moisture in the fluid, or if it is still mixing with old fluid? I have done about five changes so far over the past three years all with the same brand of new fluid.
Since the backhoe sits outside, through all cold and hot seasons, and the transmission case and axle are very large pieces of metal, is this moisture just all condensation?

Since I started changing the fluid every fall, the fluid looks clean, except for the milkiness. I thought that by changing the fluid annually I would eventually catch up to getting all the old fluid from prior to three years ago out and all the moisture, but the drained fluid has not been clear yet.

By the way, I keep a plastic pail upside down over the gearshift levers to keep rain and melting snow from entering through the ripped rubber gearshift boots.

I could keep doing repeated fluid changes until the fluid is clear, but I don't want to waste fluid if the fluid is not going to clear up or the same appearance would just come back soon anyways.

Any thoughts welcomed.

(For the engine oil, (gas engine), I am using my stash of 10W30 Formula Shell Conventional SM oil, and some really old filters I pick up at swap meets and flea markets.)
 
I have a friend whom complains of the same problem with the same type tractor. He has changed it each year, covered it with tarps, etc....you must keep it inside in a heated garage to stop the problem for some reason. If you use pure hydraulic fluid, it will foam up quicker than the tractor type hydraulic/oil fluids....
 
Hi LargeCarManX2, thanks for the reply. Unfortunately I do not have a heated, or even an unheated building to keep my backhoe inside of.

Hopefully my annual change of the universal tractor fluid in the transmission will be enough to keep the moisture at safe and harmless levels.

Maybe the problem is all just condensation. There is a vent about the size of a pencil eraser under the seat. I may experiment with a larger opening to vent the transmission more and increase ventilation. The whole transmission is a very large piece of metal with a large air space inside, above the fluid.

Maybe my fluid is also staying too cool all the time. It goes to a cooling radiator in front of the engine radiator. I only drive my backhoe very infrequently around my yard. Maybe the fluid is not even getting hot enough to evaporate condensation.

I think the root cause may take a couple years worth of experiments to figure out. I'll report back with my findings in the future.
 
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