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THIS DISCUSSION / SOURCE-DERIVED OVERVIEW
Discussion summary
YOUR RESEARCHAdding/replacing Cab hydraulic fluid?
Leading reported evidence
Disconnect from the ball joints
Performed · outcome unconfirmed
No successful repair reported for this finding.
0
Reported fixes
0
Unsuccessful attempts
1
Discussions
Read evidence and context
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Performed · outcome unconfirmed · Original poster
Also I was surprised to notice that both the cables at the back were disconnected from the ball joints.
Leading evidence: 'Disconnect from the ball joints' (no explicit attributable resolution; this is a reported action or suggestion). Across 1 matching discussions, The most frequently discussed action is 'Clean just not enough of it' (1 discussions). For that action, 0 discussions report a resolution and 0 report an unsuccessful attempt. No action has an explicit, attributable resolution report under the current rules. These are forum reports and suggestions, not a confirmed diagnosis.
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Performed · outcome unconfirmed · Original poster
That was a pain but eventually I got the spray straw from a can of WD-40 through the fill hole and down into the reservoir and then used a vacuum brake bleeder to suck it out through that.
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Suggestion · Original poster
Old fluid looks fine, a light brown oil that looked clean, just not enough of it.
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Suggestion
Looking at the rams carefully at where the seals are, and below the rams mounts, you might see some tell tale signs if you've filled/leaked numerous times.
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Suggestion · Original poster
That was a pain but eventually I got the spray straw from a can of WD-40 through the fill hole and down into the reservoir and then used a vacuum brake bleeder to suck it out through that.
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Suggestion
Looking at the rams carefully at where the seals are, and below the rams mounts, you might see some tell tale signs if you've filled/leaked numerous times.
0 original-poster resolution reports. Counts can overlap; they are not unique people or a success rate.
0 discussions have direct query context; 0 report a fix in that context. Other evidence may inherit the discussion’s subject.
Suggestion · Original poster
That was a pain but eventually I got the spray straw from a can of WD-40 through the fill hole and down into the reservoir and then used a vacuum brake bleeder to suck it out through that.
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Suggestion
I originally bought the Porsche recommended hydraulic fluid, but it was expensive, and there was barely enough there to bleed both cylinders and fill the reservoir, even if you don't spill a drop.
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Suggestion
I originally bought the Porsche recommended hydraulic fluid, but it was expensive, and there was barely enough there to bleed both cylinders and fill the reservoir, even if you don't spill a drop.
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10 eligible posts · 0 unverified posts · 1 discussions match the subject in their title or opening post.
Rennlist: 1 discussions
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Generation: 20261026T072535Z · outcome-qualification-6. Deterministic extraction; no AI model inference. How we use sources
Top on my �02 Cab was acting a little funky and sure enough when I opened up the back it was below the Min mark. After doing a bit of reading on the subject I hit the easy button and picked up a can of Pentosin CHF 11S at my local auto parts store.
Slightly surprised that the Pentosin is a bold green color compared to the original fluid. I decided to try and extract the old to take a look at it. That was a pain but eventually I got the spray straw from a can of WD-40 through the fill hole and down into the reservoir and then used a vacuum brake bleeder to suck it out through that. Old fluid looks fine, a light brown oil that looked clean, just not enough of it. Refilled the reservoir with the Pentosin and top now works fine.
I guess the question I have is if there is if it was necessary to get the old hydraulic fluid out before adding the Pentosin? And is there some easier way to get it out? I tried a variety of small tubes but they don�t seem to want to negotiate the 90 degree turn down into the reservoir.
Also I was surprised to notice that both the cables at the back were disconnected from the ball joints. I thought the top seemed slightly loose but it�s my first Cab and just figured that�s the way it was. Top seems much tighter and as I would expect now.
No need to flush system or remove old fluid if it looks ok. Suppose a total fluid change wouldn't be a bad thing, but to get all the fluid out of the rams would be a task for sure. Also,,, if you're low on fluid, probably got a leak and won't be long till a ram rebuild is needed getting all new fluid then...
The oem fluid is mineral based as is the Pentosin11s making both compatible. Can even use ATF mineral based oil, have it in mine working fine for years now. Its just hydraulic fluid. Many cars just use ATF in their Hydraulic tops.
jmo
Good to know, thanks
I looked around for any fluid/leaks but didn�t see anything� not to say there couldn�t be but nothing obvious. Are there any places that leaked fluid tends to settle that I should look?
My top stays down pretty much all the time, the only reason it goes up is if I get caught by rain or to wash the car.
When my left hand cylinder went it was pretty obvious, left a noticeable puddle in front of the back wheel. Skinny arms help with the cylinder job, i would rate it a 4 out of 10 for difficulty.
The fluid is so thin and clear, and there really is not much of it that can leak out before it doesn't work at all. Its Hard to find the leaked fluid after the fact. Till it leaks badly and then you'll get some on the garage floor right in front of the rear tires. After the leak on the floor, if you look at the rams, will still be hard to see where it leaked from. Looking at the rams carefully at where the seals are, and below the rams mounts, you might see some tell tale signs if you've filled/leaked numerous times.
Thats been my experience with a few 996 tops...
Ya, my top stays down most of the time. Both my cabs, 996.1 & 996.2 are fair weather cars for me, not daily drivers. Leave them in the garage with the tops down for months at a time the top never goes up, taking them out probably once twice a week for a rip when feeling the need for speed & air blowing thru my lacking hair... Although this summer its been so hot and the suns rays beating down so hard, had the top up with AC on a lot.
My suspicion due to the low mileage of my car and the look of things when I took it apart to add fluid is that it�s never been added before. Will see how things go� if I was thinking about it I would have put some pieces of absorbent cloth under the rams to see if they were leaking much. In figure the green Pentosin fluid would show up nicely on some white cotton.
I just went through this a week ago, and started a new thread today about a related top issue, and maybe someone in this thread can recognize what I'm experiencing and have any suggestions?
After everything had been reassembled (my first time doing this) I notice an almost 1" gap when the top is down, right were the front of the top should be meeting the top of the rear seats. (Image attached). The clam-shell shuts fully, but there's a bumper under the center of the clam-shell that now presses on the top.
Edit: Never mind. This gap is normal, I just don't remember seeing it before I did the work and thought I must have done something wrong.
I see the Pentosin CHF 11s comes in 1 ltr cans. How much hydraulic oil is used in one top cylinder?
Is the the same oil recommended for Porsche power steering top ups?
Dunno about the amount in the cylinder but the reservoir is pretty small.
I couldn�t find any hydraulic oil recommended for the cab top in the manual, my next step was to look on Pelican Parts to see what they were selling. They had a couple different kinds but nothing real definitive. Then I looked around online and most of the recommendations in various threads here were for CHF 11S with a smaller number of people saying you could use John Deere hydraulic fluid. Since CHF 11S is what is recommended in the manual for the power steering pump and it was available at my local auto parts store ($45) I went ahead and bought it. If I ever find myself in farm country and in desperate need of hydraulic fluid for my top I might just swing by the John Deere dealership.
I originally bought the Porsche recommended hydraulic fluid, but it was expensive, and there was barely enough there to bleed both cylinders and fill the reservoir, even if you don't spill a drop. The person who rebuilt my pistons recommenced the Pentosin chf11s, $23 for a liter on Amazon.
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