assuming it is a tow behind style dump a gallon or two of diesel in the tank. hook it up and tow up and down a rough road for a mile or so. jack or block it up so the drain plug is lower than the rest of the tank. drain it and use a tank sprayer w/ diesel to wash what you can by sticking the wand down the fill hole. if it doesn't already have one i strongly recommend a hyd filter on the suction line since there's no guarantee the tank will be absolutely clean. hyd pumps aren't cheap!! mike

Good point on the need of a filter because my splitter does not have one. Would most or all non-professional or non-commercial grade splitters come stock with a filter? I have checked Northern Tools filters and surveyed possible areas to mount one. Would splitting 2-4 cords a season at home only still be a good idea? Maintenance has all ways been a priority with machinery but I would hate to spend the bucks if it's not enhancing the use or life of the machinery with my level of use. How often would it be recommended to change the element? Is there a minimal in-line filter that you know a link to, since this splitter was not designed with a mounted filter? Ewalk and All: Would seasoning wood in Canada in a shed be slower and last longer than in the open TX sun and rain? I was very surprised (mid 80s) when I lost some quality cut and split Post Oak in 2-3 years. I feel Live Oak will last longer. I was into burning Post Oak stumps then as All Nighters and junk wood 1st because they held so well. I could get 4' X 7' X 3' high utility trailer loads free (due to being left as junk by others). Other cutters cut them just above the ground and the dozer cut them about 16"-18" below the ground. With an ax only there was very little to no work needed on the trunk. No tree or trunk was over 12" dia in the acres of development. Standing free wood or wood period is almost history in the Dallas-Fort Worth Area. Thanks to All! Loger

Personally, I have a lot of equipment with weather checked hoses and they all work fine. I live dangerously (or moneylessly) and only replace hoses when they spray fluid or leak heavy. But if you are concerned about it, just replace them yourself. Take the questionable hoses off. This will be messy as the lines are filled with hydraulic oil. You'll be able to tell if your fluid is contaminated when you take the lines off. I'd recommend having an ice cream bucket or something to catch the oil. Take the pioneer tip(the part that plugs into the tractor) off first and put the hose end in the bucket. Take the other end off and lift it to drain the oil into the bucket from the other end. On a splitter with it's own control lever, there should be 4 hoses - 2 from the tractor to the control and 2 from the conrtol to the cylinder. Keep track of where each of these go. I wouldn't worry about purging the cylinder if the oil is transluscent brown to dark brown. If it's milky, it had water, if it's chunky, the last tractor never had it's hyd oil changed and sludge made it into the splitter. Either way, I'd put the hoses back on loose with the other end in your catch bucket and push and pull the cylinder by hand to purge it. This will take a little muscle. If the splitter has it's own control lever, I'd bypass the control and hook the long hoses to the cylinder itself to purge. Don't worry about getting every last drop out. The tractor has filters and its hydraulic oil should be changed every year or two anyway. Take the hoses to an implement dealership. They will either have ready made hoses on hand or can make them to order while you wait. Since the hoses have air in them now, the splitter may not work right the first few times you run it back and forth. It'll bleed itself out shortly and work properly. When you run the splitter for the first time afterwards, you'll need to check and top off the tractors reservior with hydraulic oil. If this seems like more of a task than you can manage, then I'd take it into a professional. Good luck!

I have a 2001 GT235 with the K71 transmission, and here's what the manual says: "Use John Deere Low Viscosity HY-GARD (J20D) transmission oil to reduce transmission noise. This machine is equipped with an internal wet disc brake transmission. Use only Low Viscosity HY-GARD (J20D) transmission oil. Do not use type "F" automatic transmission fluid. John Deere Low Viscosity HY_GARD (J20D) transmission oil is specially formulated to provide maximum protection against mechanical wear, corrosion, and foaming. It may be used in all operating temperatures." I don't know enough about oils to say whether there is an appropriate substitute. I looked on the bottle of Hy-Gard I have, and it doesn't say anything about any standards (like you would see with motor oil such as "SJ"). If it did, then it would be easy to figure out if there was a good substitute. Sounds like JD black magic to me - a magical way to make sure you buy their high dollar tranny fluid. Under federal law, a manufacturer cannot require you to use their oil, etc. to maintain your warranty unless they provide it free of charge. Chances are if you bought some Cub Cadet or Sears low viscosity tranny fluid, it would be fine since they use TuffTorq trannies in some of their models also. But who knows. If it was me, I'd wait until I could get to the JD dealer and buy some Hy-Gard so I'd sleep better at night.