9500 JD feeder house settling question

[Farminatr]

No oil leaking on the ground from the lift cylinders.  Can I be sure one or both cyllinders need oring kit or could it be in the lift control valve. Thanks. Farminatr

[Pupdaddy]

...I don't have any experience with Deere combines..but I'll give my thoughts anyways, LOL. If the lift cylinders are only one way cylinders (ie. they only have one hose hooked to them) then the oil that is allowing the cylinder to sink..would be escaping past the o-rings..and seeping out of the cylinder at the dirt shield. Since you say there's no leakage visable...then more than likely it's going past an o-ring or seat in the hydraulic valve..OR...check valve somewhere. I don't think there is a check valve in the system..but funnier things have happened.

[Farminatr]

Makes sense to me.  I'll turn my attention to the control valve.  Thanks.

[Nebrfarmr]

Also, follow the lines.  I run an old IH1440, not a JD, but I once had a hose with a slow leak under the cab, and the oil would get into the guts of the combine, and never onto the ground.  I knew the head settled, so I would either let it way down or put the safety stand down when parked, and it never leaked enough to get to the ground.  The giveaway that it was a leaking hose was that I had to add hydraulic oil every 3-4 days, so I knew it had to be going somewhere.

[Farminatr]

You know, I bought this combine during harvest last year and it has a crack in the welding on a bung on the hydraulic oil holding tank.  Right in the middle of the weld there's a crack abot an inch long that seeps oil, so I had to add hydraulic oil anyway.  It made a mess but it was during harvest so I lived wwith it for a couple weeks.  I tried cleaning it with carb cleaner and immediately smearing JB weld on it, but the seeping would find its way through.  I'll have to drain the  tank and weld it.  I wish I'd thought of trying a center punch to see if I could beat the crack closed, but that would have been a long shot..