Change Hydraulic Filter

[gerdathome]

Hi all!
I have a 1998 Dutch Star DP with 3126 Cat on Freightliner Chassis, side Radiator and would like to change the Hydraulic Filter at the back of the motorhome.The filter that is on there now is a Fleet guard HF7622 and I managed to get the exact replacement for it. Kind of pricey at $67.48 Can.
Will I loose a lot of fluid when I remove the filter or is it only the fluid contained in the filter???
Gerry

[gerdathome]

Hi all!
I have a 1998 Dutch Star DP with 3126 Cat on Freightliner Chassis, side Radiator and would like to change the Hydraulic Filter at the back of the motorhome.The filter that is on there now is a Fleet guard HF7622 and I managed to get the exact replacement for it. Kind of pricey at $67.48 Can.
Will I loose a lot of fluid when I remove the filter or is it only the fluid contained in the filter???
Gerry

[Garbageman]

I'm not sure of RV's but on my trucks some of them have a shut of valve at the hydrulic tank which you would close when working on the system. If you don't find a shut off valve and there is no pressure on the system, ie jacks down, then you should only lose a minimum amount of fluid.

Paul

[Monkey Wrench]

$67.48 Can. is not very pricey for 9 years of service. You should only loose what fluid that is in the can. Do you know what type of fluid is required for re-fill?

[gerdathome]

Monkey Wrench
I did not say that it was not serviced for 9 years , I bought the unit in the fall of 2004 and felt that it was time to change the filter since I had no record of previous changes by the previous owner.
The fluid looks to be light green and I have no Idea what type of fluid is in there. If I can't find out what type it is I will try to get as much of it out and replace it with standard Hydraulic fluid. The rig used be owned by an Alberta Farmer or Rancher who dusted the engine and had a new long block installed to the tune of 12,000.00$ when its air filter system came apart after the filter and ingested enough dust and crud to blow the engine. This was in 2004 and I will have to assume that the fluid was changed at this time.
Thanks for letting me know that I won't loose to much of the fluid by changing the filter only.
Gerry

[JoeT]

Why not change the filter and fluid at the same time? Freightliner says they need to be changed every 12 months.

[gerdathome]

Thanks Joe! You are right I should and I will change fluid at the same time but I need to find out where to brake the system open in order to get most of the fluid out. I have looked and looked under there and can not find any valves or plugs to remove to drain the system.And I cant believe they want me to take off the filter and start the engine to pump the fluid out.I am afraid I ruin something if I do it wrong.I need some help here.
Gerry

[JoeT]

Gerry,
The fluid change procedure is in the Chasis Maintenance Manual. If you don't have one it's available for download on the Freightliner web site.