64 MF 35 Industrial Caught in flood

[Rick Sladewski]

Thanks 1stDeuce. That was the kind of info I was looking for. I actually did not even give thought to the gauges. A quick disconnect will work for now. The problem is going to be timing. My friend so far has not been stopped from going back and forth to the house. Here in NC there is no way they would of let him back in yet or during the flooding. He uses his boat. I think (which is dangerous at any time) I will be able to get there about 2 days after the water is off the tractor. Plus the water will be in the tractor for about a week total. That time line is giving me the most grief because of rust build up. I was planning to drain and use a thinner oil in both engine and tranny/gear box, top of pistons and so forth and turn crank by hand or something I come up with. NOT by putting the battery in. I figure a couple of weeks before I will try hooking it up to juice so electrical dries (and now gauges). My question to you is, would I be better off filling up with diesel as you mentioned, because of the time line it was soaked, sort of as a dissolver/lubricant being so thin or just go straight with the oil.


Thank You

Rick Sladewski

 

[1stDeuce]

Getting the water out, and oil on the cylinder walls as quickly as possible is priority. I don't know that it matters as much what you fill it with, so long as you do it quickly and get it rolling over to spread oil on the cylinder walls. You'd also be pumping it through passages that are likely water filled, so cranking it for a few 30 second bursts would be good. I'd probably start with diesel because it's cheap, then fill it with cheap oil and do it again. A final drain should have most of the water out, and refill with good oil and re-oil the cylinders if you're not going to be starting it fairly quickly...

 

[PatrickS2222]

All good advice here. DON'T CRANK OVER ENGINE YET. Important points are to drain water from various compartments BEFORE cranking or starting engine. If undisturbed, water will sit on the bottom of gearbox and final drive casing. Drain plugs are at the two low points, so drop the water, then catch the oil. Empty the air filter as well.
Gear oil can be heated gently to boil the remaining water out, then re-used temporarily so any water remaining in the gear-case is also caught and drained out when the oil is changed. Don't allow water to be pumped into hydraulics etc - drain off first. Engine oil just needs to be drained overnight, changed and as stated spark plugs removed and cranked a little to spit out water, then a 1/2 cup of oil in each cylinder and cranked over to oil-up the pistons, rings and cylinders etc. That is what needs to be done promptly.
Next day or two is Ok to crank over once more, then re-oil cylinders and crank briefly. When carb is refitted, then refit spark plugs, fresh oil and filter, then start. Once it is tuned well enough to work, it needs to be worked - failing that, driven on a road run - to get everything HOT enough to evaporate the last of the water from the oils. Leaving the filler plugs/caps off for a couple hours afterwards will help - don't allow dirt etc into them!
There will also be many other concerns after a huge flood like that - don't sweat the small stuff. Drain the oils, pull the plugs and oil the cylinders, then attend to other things. Come back later ... they're tough, and it takes more than that to stop 'em!

 

[Rick Sladewski]

I am loving all this exact great advice. Unfortunately, it will be 3 -4 weeks before the water has dropped enough to actually do it. Today was the first drop of 3 inches. Here are the last 2 pictures before and around the cresting. Sept 25 3:58 pm,

Sept 26 8:41 PM

 

[ultrarunner]

I've had a few things totally submerged... nothing bigger than a Craftsman Mower...

It's been 7 years now and still the original parts...

At work I picked up an old Blanket Warmer... basically a portable heater with a flex hose attached and used that to pump warm air into the crankcase after pulling all the drain plugs...

When the plugs were first open almost pure water came out first...

Fluid changes... ran about an 30 minutes or so and changed fluids again.

Is this anything you Insurance will help with?

 

[PatrickS2222]

Wow ... 3-4 weeks ... is that until you can regain access to your property, or you're allowed to return to it? Obviously I don't know your area or the locality at all. Is it flat plainland, or is there a lot of water comes down the river from in mountains, or both? Tell me you don't live there - I couldn't imagine being flooded out for weeks at a time. We have only been hemmed in by floodwater for 4-5 days at the most ... biggest problem is power failures are almost a "given" for such lengths of time so gas (propane) cooking and hot water and generator for everything else for days is normal. We are all on small acreages here, but out of flood reach. Neighbours who don't have a generator chip in and we all help each other a lot. I imagine your neighbours are similarly helpful and genuine people. I hope all turns out Ok for you.

 

[ultrarunner]

I know this is of no help...

A farmer that was family friends with my Grandparents had some of the best soil anywhere... but it was in a flood plain.

After getting flooded out badly he built a concrete block lower story with a ramp access heavy duty loft on top barn.

Sure enough... over the years more floods came but none were ever higher than 11 feet and most in the 5-7 range.

Said it was the best decision he ever made... flood loss was mostly confined to crop and clean up... as all the equipment was high and dry...

Friends in the Delta did the same... so when it floods the concrete block and floors get pressured washed clean...

Flooding is the reason the ground was so fertile...

 

[jimmyhouser]

I know this is of no help...

A farmer that was family friends with my Grandparents had some of the best soil anywhere... but it was in a flood plain.

After getting flooded out badly he built a concrete block lower story with a ramp access heavy duty loft on top barn.

Sure enough... over the years more floods came but none were ever higher than 11 feet and most in the 5-7 range.

Said it was the best decision he ever made... flood loss was mostly confined to crop and clean up... as all the equipment was high and dry...

Friends in the Delta did the same... so when it floods the concrete block and floors get pressured washed clean...

Flooding is the reason the ground was so fertile...

There's always a positive to every negative. Take advantage of the situation at hand and roll with it!

 

[Rick Sladewski]

The water has gone down 4 feet as of today. The top of the tractor is still under water. I do not live there, my best friend does. I am in North Carolina, on high ground. My friends house is on 5 foot high cinder block pad and he still had 5 feet of water in the house. This flood was way higher than any one could of predicted and has never been this high. Matthews flood, which was like a once every 100 year flood, only put 2 inches of water in his house, this one 5 feet. The biggest worry he has is 1 mile upstream a coal ash reservoir was breached. His house might be a total condemned loss due to contamination. We figure hopefully 2 more weeks before the 4X4 trucks might get in (there is a low spot on the road in that would need 4X4's, the property would be dry more or less)

If I had a good work area I would just use this time to do a total engine rebuild / restore. But I really need this machine to get the area cleared and leveled out and help on the build first. Right now I only have my friends (the same friend in SC) old Terramite T5 ( it 3 years younger than me and I am pushing 60) It's running on 1 cylinder, burns 2 quarts of oil a day and 1 quart of hydro a week. Has a bucket 4 times smaller than the MF35. BUT, it is a work horse that does not stop. I took out 235 50 foot pine trees, roots and all with this little baby 3 years ago. As long as you don't let it gas you to death it works great (when it wants to, more picky than my 3rd wife). We call her SQUIRT. ( the T5, not ex wife)

 

[Soundguy]

if it goes under , flush the entire thing with diesel. i rescued a 541 ford that had been under water in katrina that way.