Doesn't look good. Checked the rear oil sight glass, it is milky white. Front oil filler cap has milky residue in it (couldn't find sight glass at 7 this morning). Let's see what this dealer is made of. I hope and pray he is a man of his word.
I can't advise you about the dealer. Only you are in a position to decide if and how you want to do business with him.
But I can tell you a lot about oil and water mix. I've done all of our mechanical work on trucks and tractors for the last 50 years. And we just went through a flood here five years ago. Water was up to the lower windows on the house. That's about hood level on truck or tractor. The flood happened at midnight. We only had time to move two tractors, plus a camper and car to higher ground. Everything else got submerged.
So I know about tractors and floods the hard way. Water itself won't hurt an old style pre-computer type tractor as long as the electrics dry out before you turn them on. It all depends on how long the water has sat there. And only your dealer knows. Even that emulsion of water and oil probably didn't do any damage if it was only there a month or two. Any longer, and there starts to be corrosion in the bearings inside. So if it hasn't been long and ALL the filters and oils get changed at least TWICE or until no vestige of milky oil remains. And that in particular that the fuel tank is cleaned out. Do all that and then the tractor could be fine. That's really all it takes for a recently submerged machine. A few days of easy mechanical attention plus $500 or so in cheap oil changes. Maybe twice that $$.
That's a great opportunity for a poorer person to get a really nice machine for dimes on the dollar.
But if a flood submerged machine sits for half a year or more on some wholesale lot - which is more common - then the water displaces the oil inside. The water also becomes acidic and it begins to attack things like sliding surfaces and ball bearings. Now you can change oils and filters all you like and get back to clean-looking oil, but the damage is done. The tractor just won't last as long as it should. Usually the first place you see problems is in the 3 point hitch hydraulic lift and in the front axle. The 3point lift - which normally has no problems of any kind on any tractor - begins to jerk or stick when lifting or lowering an implement. For the front axle, the hardest place for them to drain water is at the lower outer wheel bearings. You will see leaks there. Not just seepage - they all seep there - but actual leakage running down the inside of the tire as rusty bearings allow motion which eats up front axle seals.
For the really good mechanic with not much money these "salvage tractors" can still be good buys because they are now pennys on the new dollar cost. Some sweat equity and the expectation that he will have to do work all it's life, but still these salvage tractors can be worth it to a really good good but poor mechanic willing to put up with hassle.
Only problem is, which one is yours? If either? That's why I thought you should pull some oil samples. Otherwise you need to be on an honest footing with a dealer who will tell you honest answers. How common is that?
On some John Deere machines the dealer can look up the history of the machine by the serial number. I've had them do that on mine in fact. At the very least you can find out where and when it was sold and to whom.
I suspect that other makes do the same thing, or at least have the information at some level. But I only know about Deere's that way. It's worth asking, though.
rScotty
Only problem is that if the machine sits with water in it for a few months then it begins to have life-shortening problems
