Checking fluid levels

[cmperry]

Hi everyone...got 8 inches of new snow this morning..plugged my 224 in..had a coffee and started right up /forums/images/graemlins/smile.giflove my Jinma!!! anyway,I was checking the fluid in the front differential and I was not sure if you check with the dipstick screwed back in place or check it with just the first thread resting on the hole opening /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif...thanks in advance for the help and by the way I am getting good results with the turf tires getting reasonable traction in snow..plowed everything that has been thrown at us here in Maine so far.

 

[greg_g]

This question will likely generate a lot of debate, but I check my levels by just setting the dipstick on the hole. My Jinma manuals didn't specify, nor does my KAMA manual - so I defer to my old Yanmar manual. Also, it's printed right on the Yamaha dipstick in my riding mower, not to screw in the threads when checking engine oil. But this only applies to THREADED dipsticks. No threads, I push all the way back in - regardless of where the engine was made.

The Chinese have borrowed heavily on Japanese engine principles (the Isuzu-based engine in my KAMA for example), so a logical extension is that Japanese dipstick instructions apply to the use of threaded Chinese dipsticks.

Besides, the crankcase/diffs/tranny/hydraulics are all vented. It's more prudent to vent any excess, rather than take a chance operating with low fluid levels. Depending upon the absence or presence of a mess around the vents, you'll soon figure out which technique is better for your tractor.

//greg//