atschirner
Silver Member
I upgraded the old Ford 860 for a much newer JD 2000 model 4400 with a 420 loader and 960 hours. The deal was with a "buy here, pay here" car lot. I inspected the machine as closely as possible on the paved lot but it all seemed to work.
After upgrading the battery that was mounted in the grill guard to an Optima in the correct location I hitched up my trusty Woods M5 for some brush cutting.
This is when the whole trade started to seem like a bad idea.
My plan was to mow for awhile to warm up the fluids before I changed them. I had a complete compliment of filters, a sump filter gasket and 10 gallons of Hy-Gard at the ready.
Well, about five minutes into mowing I lost my ground drive and the loader bucket was starting to fall. I shut her down and checked the hydro level at the sight glass. With the earlier "DuPont overhaul" the site glass was painted over so after cleaning the window with carb cleaner I was able to see that the oil level was in the window.
After letting the tractor cool off for 15 minutes I was able to raise the loader bucket and drive back to the shop. It did seem strange that lower engine speed produced more ground speed.
Once up in the air on the lift I pulled the threaded plug on the sump screen housing only to find a trickle of fluid draining. First clue.
I loosened the housing bolts and a heaver stream of fluid started to flow. Second clue.
Once I was able to pull the sump screen out of the transmission housing the story was complete. It was caked with a gray slimey coating that totally blocked the hydro fluid flow.
I cleaned the screen with diesel fuel, a brush and compressed air.
Once reassembled all function is restored.
Moral of the story, Fluid and filter maintenance is top priority on a hydro machine.
I hope I can save another member the painful feeling of making a BIG mistake by buying a used tractor without any service history.
In closing, are there any long term effects of the fluid starvation that I should watch for in the future? Do I need to change hydralic oil more frequently than the factor recommends because of this or do I just count my blessing and enjoy my new machine?
After upgrading the battery that was mounted in the grill guard to an Optima in the correct location I hitched up my trusty Woods M5 for some brush cutting.
This is when the whole trade started to seem like a bad idea.
My plan was to mow for awhile to warm up the fluids before I changed them. I had a complete compliment of filters, a sump filter gasket and 10 gallons of Hy-Gard at the ready.
Well, about five minutes into mowing I lost my ground drive and the loader bucket was starting to fall. I shut her down and checked the hydro level at the sight glass. With the earlier "DuPont overhaul" the site glass was painted over so after cleaning the window with carb cleaner I was able to see that the oil level was in the window.
After letting the tractor cool off for 15 minutes I was able to raise the loader bucket and drive back to the shop. It did seem strange that lower engine speed produced more ground speed.
Once up in the air on the lift I pulled the threaded plug on the sump screen housing only to find a trickle of fluid draining. First clue.
I loosened the housing bolts and a heaver stream of fluid started to flow. Second clue.
Once I was able to pull the sump screen out of the transmission housing the story was complete. It was caked with a gray slimey coating that totally blocked the hydro fluid flow.
I cleaned the screen with diesel fuel, a brush and compressed air.
Once reassembled all function is restored.
Moral of the story, Fluid and filter maintenance is top priority on a hydro machine.
I hope I can save another member the painful feeling of making a BIG mistake by buying a used tractor without any service history.
In closing, are there any long term effects of the fluid starvation that I should watch for in the future? Do I need to change hydralic oil more frequently than the factor recommends because of this or do I just count my blessing and enjoy my new machine?
