NEGLECTED TRACTOR

little diesel · Mar 3, 2011

UGH...WHAT DID I GET MYSELF INTO? I JUST BOUGHT A TRACTOR (WHICH I FEEL I GOT FOR A GOOD PRICE) BUT I'M FINDING OUT THAT IT WAS NEGLECTED BADLY! TODAY I WENT TO DRAIN THE OIL AND ITS LIKE MUD. THE DRAIN PLUG HAD A 1/8 INCH OF SLUDGE ON IT. I'M PLANNING ON DROPPING THE PAN ,CLEANING IT OUT AND MAYBE ADDING SOME ADDITIVE TO THE NEW OIL TO HELP CLEAN OUT WHAT I CANT CLEAN....IS THIS A GOOD IDEA ? SOMEBODY TOLD ME I COULD DO MORE HARM BY LOOSENING THE GRIME UP. HOW WOULD YOU HANDLE THIS? HOW ABOUT THE OTHER FLUIDS WHEN I GO THUR THEM. I WOULDN'T HAVE A PROBLEM WITH DUMPING THE OIL AGAIN AFTER RUNNING FOR A SHORT TIME. THANKS IN ADVANCE .

banjodunn · Mar 3, 2011

G'day fresh oils and filters and WORK it for a couple of hours and change while hot and hope it goes well. I recently had a ferg 35 in for a tune up and it turned into an engine rebuild after we changed the oil, it picked up a brg when the new oil flushed through it

Jon
P.S Turn your caps lock off mate makes it easier to read

davygp38 · Mar 3, 2011

I don't hold with the opinion on being afraid to flush the system, and leave in some of the old sludge. that was something you did to a car transmission, if the tranny fluid smelled burnt, you were better off not replacing the oil. On a tractor, just clean it out like you said, and run it. if you have to do a rebuild, after the oil change, you were going to have to do it anyway. I will say this, I helped a friend of mine go get an old Minneapolis Moline, that he was given for scrap, it had sat in the same spot since the 70's. When we got it to his place, we could not help it, we had to see if it would turn over, and it did we added some used oil, and spun it a bit, then we did a fluid change, and monkeyed with it for a couple days and it ran somewhat. Point is that tractor could start working in a few days if somebody wants to put a few hundred dollars in it. I always figure that if you put good oil in, and it runs you are still in the game.

Scotty370 · Mar 3, 2011

Why do I always have to be the "Heavy" here? Come on newer members! Pony up with a 'smigen' of a profile!! In this case Make, Model, Age, stored inside or outside, what State or climate, time since last use, hours, hydro or gear, last owners maintanence habits, if any, etc, etc, etc, You asked for help, but this group need a little to go on!

:thumbsup:

tcreeley · Mar 3, 2011

I had gotten a 1948 Farmall Cub -4 cylinder gas, and was afraid to change the oil for the reasons you said. It was dark, like thin tar, and gunky. I did change it - filter and oil and have done it a bunch of times since. It runs smoothly and does not burn oil. Like they said- if it needs rings it needs rings. The oil isn't going to seal anything- it will just burn off and you're more likely to cause a problem by poor oil circulation. I wouldn't add any additives. Just let the oil do its job. With gas engines I used to throw in Marvel Mystery oil into the gas - for upper cylinder lubrication - can't say it did anything except add smoke to the exhaust. I certainly would add Marvel to diesel oil! They also used to say add a little keroscene to the oil to clean out gunk - run it a few minutes and change the oil. I knew a guy who did it in his 8 cylinder car in the early 80's. He took a good engine and ruined it. It needed a ring job and more he said after that.
Good luck.
Change the oil and throw in a new filter. Change all of the filters- air, gas, hydraulic, etc. Change all of the fluids too and antifreeze mix.
Use the right oil viscocity depending on the temperature and tractor type. Think what the current oil was when they made the tractor and go from there.

Good luck again

tcreeley · Mar 3, 2011

typo-- don't add Marvel to the diesel oil unless you want to kill an engine!

little diesel · Mar 3, 2011

It a Massey 1020. The year I don't know yet. It has been sitting for awhile. I bought it off a guy knowing that it didn't run. He bought it when it wasn't running and didn't have time to work on it. That's all I know for history on it. Wish I would have more information.

fbson395 · Mar 3, 2011

I once flushed a 59 ford I had and then had to rebuild the engine.That was a long time ago?The oils today may be better? Why not change all the fluids and see how it acts. You may be surprised and find that it runs ok. If you are still not happy then flush the system and the tractor will let you know if it needs more. Keep us informed as to your progress.:confused2::confused2:

bp fick · Mar 3, 2011

A gallon of oil at WalMart will set you back $12-$13.
A quality filter? $8

I'd just change it, but turn around in a 10 hours and do it again. $20 isn't going to break you. The new oil will clean things up in an amazing way. Let the detergents do their work.

If I still wasn't satisfied, I'd change it again in another 10 hours.

First rule of medicine is Do No Harm.

Scotty370 · Mar 3, 2011

See what I mean? Here's a little more data:

TractorData.com Massey Ferguson 1020 tractor information

Not tryin' to be a smart ***** over here.........

little diesel · Mar 3, 2011

I have looked on Tractordata and it has been helpful. Thanks to ALLfor your advice! I did forget to mention that I live around the GreenBay area. I plan to change all filters and fluids as I go through it. I think this will be a nice tractor if I get it running.

D7E · Mar 3, 2011

Common practice used to be to drain the oil and run with the oil pan full of diesel for a minute or 2 than replace with new oil and filter , Dont tend to see many that bad these days .

Soundguy · Mar 4, 2011

fbson395 said:
I once flushed a 59 ford I had and then had to rebuild the engine.That was a long time ago?The oils today may be better? Why not change all the fluids and see how it acts. You may be surprised and find that it runs ok. If you are still not happy then flush the system and the tractor will let you know if it needs more. Keep us informed as to your progress.:confused2::confused2:

then it needed rebuilding before the flush.. pure and simple...

soundguy

davygp38 · Mar 4, 2011

Soundguy said:
then it needed rebuilding before the flush.. pure and simple...

soundguy

Yeah, but the point is he rolled the dice for a few bucks and tried the flush. Then he found out he needed a rebuild. I'll change the oil any-day before I roll in for a rebuild right out of the blocks.

Soundguy · Mar 4, 2011

sure.. i change the oil on every tractor i get even if it looks clean.. only time i don't is if I watch / help the prev owner do the service / see the numbers written on the new filters.. etc.

and I'm not afraid tpo flush dirty sumps either.. worst case is you find out it's broke.. which is what you should be ecpecting when mud pours out of a drain..

soundguy

davygp38 · Mar 4, 2011

Soundguy said:
sure.. i change the oil on every tractor i get even if it looks clean.. only time i don't is if I watch / help the prev owner do the service / see the numbers written on the new filters.. etc.

and I'm not afraid tpo flush dirty sumps either.. worst case is you find out it's broke.. which is what you should be ecpecting when mud pours out of a drain..

soundguy

Haaa:laughing:Can't argue with that.

jonyyuma · Mar 4, 2011

My neighbor Killed his Ford pouring kerosene into the engine and running it 5 min to clean the pan. He was an Engineeer, did not like results.Jy.

kencunningham · Mar 4, 2011

The problem with flushing a engine is that all that old sludge will come loose from the upper part of the engine and make its way down into the oil pan where it is happy to clog the oil pump screen. So if you are going to pull the pan off, then just put it back on good enough to run it, because you will need to pull it off again.

whodat526 · Mar 4, 2011

tcreeley said:
typo-- don't add Marvel to the diesel oil unless you want to kill an engine!

how do u figure it will kill the engine the guy that rebuilts my injection pumps said u said put marvel mystery oil in the diesel to help lub the pumps becuase the diesel has been dried out so much. i have run many tanks of diesel with marvel mystery oil in it. i guess what i am saying is how does oil hurt a engine because diesel is a oil

Soundguy · Mar 4, 2011

kencunningham said:
The problem with flushing a engine is that all that old sludge will come loose from the upper part of the engine and make its way down into the oil pan where it is happy to clog the oil pump screen. So if you are going to pull the pan off, then just put it back on good enough to run it, because you will need to pull it off again.

oil pump pickup screen is attached to the drain plug for easy cleaning and removal.

soundguy