u/seahorsemountain

Image 1 — Cat 279C hydraulic oil in coolant
Image 2 — Cat 279C hydraulic oil in coolant
Image 3 — Cat 279C hydraulic oil in coolant

Cat 279C hydraulic oil in coolant

I bought this machine used about 150 hours (1330 current hours) ago. I’ve had a few issues with it, despite pretty low hours on the clock. Was running it today, and power started dropping on a moderate to steep slope. Felt like a fuel delivery issue. I checked to make sure I had closed the water separator drain, started it back up, and drove 20 yards down to level ground. When I opened the rear door again, there was hydraulic fluid on the belt shield shown here. There was also oil on the coolant reservoir on the back door. Reservoir was totally full, but I drew fluid out with a syringe, and there was oil on the top.

Is there any way to determine if I have a failure in my oil cooler, or if the previous owner mistakenly added oil to the coolant, as those caps are both on the cooler?

Pics for clarity

u/seahorsemountain — 5 days ago

I bought a piece of land with a patch of decades old high bush blueberries. This fall, I will be a point with the property that I want to start increasing and actively tending the fruit trees and bushes. I’d like to move the suckers out to other places, create more patches, but I’ve never tried to do that.

Is the likelihood of survival worth the effort? Should I be aiming to transplant in late fall or early spring? Any other advice or suggestions?

u/seahorsemountain — 21 days ago