Interesting observations...

[5030]

I don't keep my tractors spotlessly clean but do use a blower after each use to get rid of the dust and debris that has gathered. Seldom do I use the tractors in or around muddy conditions but if I do they get washed off with the pressure washer and then blown dry with the blower before being put in their garage.

They will at times get a real bath and coat of wax but then I am retired and finding time to do it is not an issue.

Because I run forage which produces a ton if chaff when bailing, I carry a Bauer 20 volt cordless blower in the cab behind the seat and that is the first thing I use. I use it in the field to blow out the radiator and when I get back to the farm the round bailer gets blown off as well. I never wash my round bailer and I never washed the square bailer I sold last year either.

 

[sea2summit]

Have to ask, how is the a/c in your MX holding up?

My MX is OS, M4 is cabbed. This is its third season and no complaints on the AC…other then the condensation from the condenser once gave me a heart attack because I thought it was a hydro leak

 

[5030]

I've had to top off the refrigerant in my 2002 M9 a couple times now (including this year) and I suspect I have a Schrader valve leaking. I need to order a Schrader valve removal tool so I can pull the valves under pressure and replace them. I could evacuate the refrigerant and pull the system down with the vacuum pump and replace the cores but then I'd have to not only recharge the system but add PAG oil as well. I have a full set of refrigeration tools but not a Schrader valve core removal tool. The ac systems on the tractors hold very little R134 refrigerant when fully charged anyway.

 

[IndyIan]

Yeah, I don't have a convenient set up for my pressure washer, so things get washed when its time to do some maintenance or repairs... I don't like working on dirty stuff, but I don't mind driving it! I do keep the remote outlet plugs in though but the pto cap is on a shelf somewhere? I don't find it rusts or gets dirty?

 

[MossRoad]

Having a fully hydraulic machine, I always wash it down really well before working on it. Dirt is the enemy of hydraulics. I don't cap my fittings on the machine, but do wipe them off really well before using. The implement hose ends get connected together when not in use.

If I mow or brush cut, since the implements are out front, I make a point to use the leaf blower on it to remove all the debris that can get packed up in the front of the unit. Also blow out the rear engine bay, as grass and leaves can build up in there over time and be a fire hazard. But that's about it.

 

[lilranch2001]

I‘m gonna have to side with 5030 on this one. A clean piece of equipment is worlds easier to spot problems on when they are small, maintain correctly (and quickly), and I’d say prevents undue wear in some cases like excessive mud/dirt build up in friction areas. I lost my equipment overhang to a storm this year and having them out in the open is driving me bonkers, pollen and subsequent mold growth in GA is crazy hard on equipment. I’m not gonna say it has to be spotless but generally clean is a old idea.

I hear a lot of fellas saying they work their tractor so they can’t be bothered cleaning it…cool story bro. I put several hundred hours on my tractors per year, not a full time farmer but play a strong hobby farmer game. Washing them enough to keep them clean is not a huge deal, hardest part for me to clean is my disc mower just because of all the angles you have to hit.

Honestly to me the two must under talked about and used implements for a professional homeowner are a pressure washer and air compressor. Told my oldest daughter a while back if the guy she’s marrying doesn’t have a good air-compressor that will probably be my wedding gift Two minutes of air after a job or 5 minutes with a pressure washer takes care of 90% of the cleaning if you keep up with it.

This is actually a picture my neighbor took yesterday when I went down to help him drop some hay, weather has been horrible so I’ve been trying to help him when there’s a weather window. Anyway, I talk crap to him all the time about his equipment. But he also calls the truck when something breaks so maybe that’s the difference
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You paint with a very broad brush!

How about all those guys who have a tractor at some remote location, an old barn or shed, with no water access, or poor water access, or even their tractor stored on a old vacant lot…..

It’s very easy to speak what other people should do, without ever being in their shoes!

 

[sea2summit]

You paint with a very broad brush!

How about all those guys who have a tractor at some remote location, an old barn or shed, with no water access, or poor water access, or even their tractor stored on a old vacant lot…..

It’s very easy to speak what other people should do, without ever being in their shoes!

So do you for knowing nothing about where most of my equipment is kept compared to where I do my maintenance. Take your hurt feelz somewhere else.

 

[DIYOrangeDave]

I have never washed my tractor. It gets greased, maintained, pto and hydraulics capped when not in use and is stored in an open side shed. I treat my tractor as a tool to be respected and cared for. Caked on mud gets rinsed off by driving across the brook. I guess it depends on your relationship to your investment as the lengths one would go to protect it. My 2 cents worth.

 

[riptides]

.... I guess it depends on your relationship to your investment as the lengths one would go to protect it. My 2 cents worth.

I would like to get back what I put into them. Well cared for equipment...sells fast and for a good price.

 

[Wagtail]

Some people take 2-3 showers a day, some people maybe 2-3 a week……

Everyone runs their lives differently.

<snert> Tell me about it... I'm on 'tank' water, so I conserve water appropriately depending on how full the tank is and predicted future rain.

Vehicle washing is the lowest priority.

 

[lilranch2001]

I literally thank the Lord every time I take a shower!

I think showers are one of the great pleasures the Lord invented when he created the Universe .

It ranks up there with food and co-mingling with your mate!

 

[Cycledude]

I am surprised by how some folks seem to worry about possibly getting a rusty PTO shaft, the only rusty PTO shafts I’ve ever seen were on tractors that hadn’t been used in many years and sat outside

 

[5030]

Let me pose this question.... Filthy tractors abound on here (seems like every picture ither than new is filthy) but have you ever seen a filthy motorcycle on here?

Curious minds want to know????

 

[sundaymunday]

Seems like every time a poster posts a picture of their tractors, they are always filthy. Myself, I'd be offended to post a picture of mine (remember, I have more than one) being dirty, you won't find mine dirty unless I just came in from the field and last thing I do is wash them I cringe when I see that because removing and installing parts on a filthy tractor is inviting the filth inside the works... and

The other thing I see on here when someone posts a picture of the backend of their tractor, the remote female connectors never have any plugs in them. My remotes (I have 3 sets on each tractor) are always capped when not in use, You can buy rubber lanyard caps at TSC for cheap or spring for the spring loaded self closing ones that any Kubota dealer sells (what I have). Leaving the remotes open and dirty inside causes internal rust plus they won't seal to the male ends properly and leak and replacements aren't cheap.

I also cover my PTO shaft when not in use. You can buy slip on plastic pto stub covers cheap as well. Keeps then clean and rust free and you can put a bit of grease in the cover as well.

Just things I notice when looking at tractors on this site...

I have learned over the years that if a contractor pulls up to give me a quote on a job and his truck or equipment is a few years old but almost clean as a new one he cares more about his equipment than performing good work. I'll take dirty, used tools and equipment coupled with first class work any day.

 

[NUTTERDW]

Seems like every time a poster posts a picture of their tractors, they are always filthy. Myself, I'd be offended to post a picture of mine (remember, I have more than one) being dirty, you won't find mine dirty unless I just came in from the field and last thing I do is wash them I cringe when I see that because removing and installing parts on a filthy tractor is inviting the filth inside the works... and

The other thing I see on here when someone posts a picture of the backend of their tractor, the remote female connectors never have any plugs in them. My remotes (I have 3 sets on each tractor) are always capped when not in use, You can buy rubber lanyard caps at TSC for cheap or spring for the spring loaded self closing ones that any Kubota dealer sells (what I have). Leaving the remotes open and dirty inside causes internal rust plus they won't seal to the male ends properly and leak and replacements aren't cheap.

I also cover my PTO shaft when not in use. You can buy slip on plastic pto stub covers cheap as well. Keeps then clean and rust free and you can put a bit of grease in the cover as well.

Just things I notice when looking at tractors on this site...

Seems to me like you never use your tractor much. Mine is run 10 to12 hours a day for weeks . You are right it does not get washed very often. I do wash it before I do maintenance on it rather than grease it regularly.

 

[5030]

Seems to me like you never use your tractor much. Mine is run 10 to12 hours a day for weeks . You are right it does not get washed very often. I do wash it before I do maintenance on it rather than grease it regularly.

Wrong. I'd say with 6000+ hours on the open station and 4000+ hours on the cab tractor, they aren't 'sitting in the barn' very much. In fact the round baler is coupled to the cab tractor presently and soon as the 'dew' is off, I'm round bailing.

 

[duffer]

There is a difference between caked on mud on and in, your tractor, and dust. I like everything clean, and the OP has a point about dirt, mud, (or corrosion), having a potential problem with all the electronics and mechanical stuff on a tractor.

But my dealer told me the day he delivered it, not to power wash it (at least under the hood). But rather, use a leaf blower to get rid of debris. If I'm working in mud and it gets on the engine, or body panels, I'll rinse it off, but otherwise I just take the leaf blower to get rid of debris. So technically my tractor is "dirty" with dust, but clean from corrosion.

And I always make sure all the moving parts have grease, oil, coolant, etc.

I view my tractor as a tool, not a vehicle.

 

[Big-Foot]

I used to be pretty fastidious about keeping my stuff clean and would wash up right after use. Many years ago I had a International Harvester. They had a placard right in the engine bay that said “Do not wash”. I thought that was ridiculous so I washed anyways. Well, let me tell you what can happen when you hit your high pressure pump (Bosch in this case) with cold water.. I started the unit to put it away, the engine started running oddly. It hunted a bit and then smoothed out and was fine. The next day as I started it, it blew a big wad of black smoke and then ran fine.. After warm up, it started hunting again at an idle. Under load, it seemed to be down on power and ultimately it barely ran long enough to get it back to the shop. Upon examination, I found bits of shrapnel in the high pressur fuel lines.. The metal in the pump warped/moved and when I first started it after its bath, the pump had started to consume its own parts. The pump was a total loss and I could not rebuild it or a couple injectors that also had “eaten” some of the shrapnel.
I was trained in the US Navy as an Engineman (Diesel mechanic) and we were always taught to never EVER wash a diesel engine when it’s hot - but they never told us why. Well, I learned the hard way. Now I only wash the engine bay when everything is stone cold and just before I work on it.
This tractor I am currently steward of is in a remote location and I don’t have water or power there - but when I bring it back to the shop to perform my inspections and maintenance, it gets a bath first.
You do you - but that’s my story…

 

[CloverKnollFarms]

I use an 80v blower to blow off the tractor and engine compartment after use. I do this with all of my equipment. I hate dirty equipment, and I also dislike fires due to grass, seeds, chaff collecting in hot areas.

 

[Johnb0311]

Sunday go for ride tractor gets washed often, Work tractor gets washed if I get caught in the rain, or I'm gonna perform maintenance on it. Life is short, enjoy all of it, washing tractors is ok if your X generation.