davesisk
Platinum Member
Well, my fan still doesn't work. I've jumpered the wires around the temperature switch, and the fan doesn't start. I've still got some trouble-shooting to do (like finding and checking the fuse, checking the voltage with a multimeter, following the wiring, etc.). I've checked the temp on the oil cooler by touching the radiator with my hand, and it isn't hot enough to burn my hand or anything, although it is fairly warm.
Other than performing the catch-up maintenance, I'm trying to minimize working on the tractor and maximize working on the patio. Given that the oil doesn't seem to be that hot, do I run any risk of damaging any hydraulic components by running the tractor with the oil cooler fan presumably not working?
Also, an interesting maintenance note from yesterday. I had noticed that the travel speed of the machine had gotten slower and slower. Yesterday it would barely crawl backwards. I was thinking "oh boy, during all the screwing around with the busted hydraulic hoses, have I damaged the main hydraulic pump?" Then I recalled that I've grinded several stumps over the past week, and that slings tons of wood shreds and dirt at the bottom front of the tractor, and there's two slots in the front that open to the housing where the forward/reverse rocker pedal (terminology?) is attached. So, I decided to take the side panel off this housing and have a look. Sure enough, there was about a ton of wood shreds inside the housing where the stump grinder has slung the stuff through the slots in the front. The pedal assembly didn't have enough "rock" for it to properly activate forward and especially reverse! So, I took the panel on the other side off and blew it out with the air compressor, and now it moves as quickly as it did when I got it 7 days ago! Whew!
By the way, I think I kinda like the sounds that this hydraulic driven machine makes. There's this high-pitched kind of mult-frequency sound that's kind of eerie. It reminds me of that old black-n-white horror movie "Them" that was about a nest of giant ants on a rampage (they kind of made that same sound). Funny, eh?
Regards,
Dave
Other than performing the catch-up maintenance, I'm trying to minimize working on the tractor and maximize working on the patio. Given that the oil doesn't seem to be that hot, do I run any risk of damaging any hydraulic components by running the tractor with the oil cooler fan presumably not working?
Also, an interesting maintenance note from yesterday. I had noticed that the travel speed of the machine had gotten slower and slower. Yesterday it would barely crawl backwards. I was thinking "oh boy, during all the screwing around with the busted hydraulic hoses, have I damaged the main hydraulic pump?" Then I recalled that I've grinded several stumps over the past week, and that slings tons of wood shreds and dirt at the bottom front of the tractor, and there's two slots in the front that open to the housing where the forward/reverse rocker pedal (terminology?) is attached. So, I decided to take the side panel off this housing and have a look. Sure enough, there was about a ton of wood shreds inside the housing where the stump grinder has slung the stuff through the slots in the front. The pedal assembly didn't have enough "rock" for it to properly activate forward and especially reverse! So, I took the panel on the other side off and blew it out with the air compressor, and now it moves as quickly as it did when I got it 7 days ago! Whew!
By the way, I think I kinda like the sounds that this hydraulic driven machine makes. There's this high-pitched kind of mult-frequency sound that's kind of eerie. It reminds me of that old black-n-white horror movie "Them" that was about a nest of giant ants on a rampage (they kind of made that same sound). Funny, eh?
Regards,
Dave
