Hi Guys,
I'm a tractor noob but I like to do things myself. Last winter I replaced the clutch in a 95 Ford Ranger so I'm not a complete mechanical novice. I just did the 50 hour fluid change on my
B2320 and had some of the same difficulties finding the engine oil drain plug. There appears to be only one on the
B2320. And it is pretty difficult to find. I had to get down with a mirror and flashlight and eventually used common sense to find the low point on the oil pan.
I'm lazy and decided to leave the 60" mower deck on the mid-pto. This made changing the engine oil a challenge but I was able to get a socket, with extension, through the hole in the cross member (sorry, if I'm not using correct terms for the parts). The drain plug is rather difficult to get in and out and makes collecting the oil tricky (perhaps a tin foil guide would help here). I was able to get a funnel under the drip to catch most of it.
The engine oil filter is positioned in between water lines and was a little tricky to get off with an old filter removal tool (I cut my fingers on the sharp and exposed hose clamps below the filter - where you can't see them).
The front axle fluid was easy but messy as you can't get anything under the drain plugs (on the right and left side) to collect about 3/4 gallon of fluid. Putting the new fluid back in is tricky. I needed to use an old transmission funnel with the flex hose. What I didn't like was the yellow plastic dip stick as this is very difficult to get a good fluid level indication with clean oil.
The transmission filters and fluid change was a little better. There are 3 drain plugs and enough room under the transmission to use a standard automotive oil catch pan. For anyone doing this for the first time (like me), remove the drain plug at the base of the mid-pto first and allow as much of the oil to drain before removing the side plugs. If you do what I did, and remove one of the side plugs, the oil will shoot out against the rear tire and make a big mess.
There is about 4 gal of fluid to drain from the transmission so I had to stop half way to empty the catch pan. Replacing with new HST oil wasn't that difficult, but I still don't like the yellow plastic dip stick. It is so difficult to see the oil level on this. I over filled by about 1 quart and had to drain this off.
I replaced the fuel filter also at this time. The manual said to make sure that the fuel tank is less than 1/2 full so this was a good time for me to do it. This wasn't too difficult but was a little messy. I lost about 1/4 cup of fuel during the process ( I think there is an automatic shut off on this). And I can't wash the diesel smell out of my favorite sweatshirt
Overall this wasn't too difficult a job but it took me about 3 to 4 hours. A lot of that time was spent trying to find where my grand kids hid my tools and to identify plugs from the manual. It wasn't always easy to determine if I was looking at the front or the rear in the pictures. I suggest getting a photo copy of just the maintenance pages from the manual. This makes it easier to find stuff and you can make notes for next time.
And finally... normally I like to see if I can do oil changes without spilling a drop of fluid. I think that is probably impossible with this tractor. I'm still trying to clean up the garage floor. Next time should be better.
Hope this helps anyone who wants to do this themselves. If I can do it you certainly can do it better. Good luck.
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