MikePA
Super Moderator
As I've chronicled before, since purchasing the TC25D our faithful Wheel Horse GT-1600 garden tractor was relegated to sitting outside the garage. Just no room in the inn. /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif
Given the unusual amount of rain this spring, I've been using the Wheel Horse to cut the lawn since the TC25D is too heavy. I was cleaning the underside of the Wheel Horse deck the other day, and noticed a nice sized hole near one of the front supports. The back two supports already have a plate welded underneath them, the baffles are long gone (rust), so I decided to buy a new deck.
Surprisingly, I can still get a new one despite the fact that Toro bought out Wheel Horse and they offer only one model tractor that looks like the old Wheel Horse tractors. Also surprising is that in the 19 years since I originally bought the tractor, the price of the deck (42" rear discharge) has only gone from $555 to $800 (probably means the quality has gone down /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif). I could have bought just the deck shell for $310, but when I added in all the other pieces I would have needed, e.g., 3 blades, 3 spindles, 2 gauge wheels, etc. I was up over $500, and still would have had to put it all together. Anyway, the deck should be here in about a week. Since this means I will be using the garden tractor for several more years to come (Anyone want to buy a 914A mmm?), I thought I'd better check all the usual maintenance items. I also bought a Curtis Tractor Cover. Kinda pricey at $100, but it will prevent the situation I am about the describe.
So what's this gotta do with Oil, Fuel & Lubricants, you're wondering?
I checked the transmission fluid (the GT-1600 has the 8 speed transaxle) and it looked a bit frothy and the color was not what I expected. Since it was about an hour after I cut the lawn, I let the tractor sit overnight and checked it. Still frothy. So, I drained and refilled the transaxle with 85W - 140 gear oil. The manual called for 140 weight, but I couldn't find that anywhere.
The oil I drained out was still slippery, still smelled bad but was the color of chocolate milk. Having just seen what happens when water and oil mix on the Nascar circuit (Ward Burton and Kenny Wallace had their oil coolers, which were integral with their radiators, bust and spit chocolate colored liquid all over the place) I think I know what this means. /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif
With the tractor sitting outside, and with the seat tilted up to keep rain off the seat, the top of the transmission, which is relatively flat probably collected water/snow and the water managed to seep into the transmission. Glad I got a cover which will prevent a recurrence.
So, if any of you have to leave your tractors sit outside, keep an eye on both the fluid levels as well as the consistency.
Given the unusual amount of rain this spring, I've been using the Wheel Horse to cut the lawn since the TC25D is too heavy. I was cleaning the underside of the Wheel Horse deck the other day, and noticed a nice sized hole near one of the front supports. The back two supports already have a plate welded underneath them, the baffles are long gone (rust), so I decided to buy a new deck.
Surprisingly, I can still get a new one despite the fact that Toro bought out Wheel Horse and they offer only one model tractor that looks like the old Wheel Horse tractors. Also surprising is that in the 19 years since I originally bought the tractor, the price of the deck (42" rear discharge) has only gone from $555 to $800 (probably means the quality has gone down /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif). I could have bought just the deck shell for $310, but when I added in all the other pieces I would have needed, e.g., 3 blades, 3 spindles, 2 gauge wheels, etc. I was up over $500, and still would have had to put it all together. Anyway, the deck should be here in about a week. Since this means I will be using the garden tractor for several more years to come (Anyone want to buy a 914A mmm?), I thought I'd better check all the usual maintenance items. I also bought a Curtis Tractor Cover. Kinda pricey at $100, but it will prevent the situation I am about the describe.
So what's this gotta do with Oil, Fuel & Lubricants, you're wondering?
I checked the transmission fluid (the GT-1600 has the 8 speed transaxle) and it looked a bit frothy and the color was not what I expected. Since it was about an hour after I cut the lawn, I let the tractor sit overnight and checked it. Still frothy. So, I drained and refilled the transaxle with 85W - 140 gear oil. The manual called for 140 weight, but I couldn't find that anywhere.
The oil I drained out was still slippery, still smelled bad but was the color of chocolate milk. Having just seen what happens when water and oil mix on the Nascar circuit (Ward Burton and Kenny Wallace had their oil coolers, which were integral with their radiators, bust and spit chocolate colored liquid all over the place) I think I know what this means. /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif
With the tractor sitting outside, and with the seat tilted up to keep rain off the seat, the top of the transmission, which is relatively flat probably collected water/snow and the water managed to seep into the transmission. Glad I got a cover which will prevent a recurrence.
So, if any of you have to leave your tractors sit outside, keep an eye on both the fluid levels as well as the consistency.
