So I'm thinking maybe my remote hydraulics might have to take a backseat to what I found today. I've been having problems starting my TO-35 and I assumed it was a bad battery or possibly a charging system problem. That was until I boosted it and heard just a click and the starter didn't spin. So I took the closest heavy thing (in this case a rock) and gave it a rap on the side of the starter. It started to spin but not even fast enough to engage the starter with the ring gear. Got to thinking about it and on a couple of occasions I noticed a small puff of smoke from the starter just after starting it.
So I took the starter off and noticed it was quite wet on the end which goes into the engine. One sniff revealed that it was gear oil. Took the starter apart and I was able to literally pour out the gear oil. I cleaned it up and put it back together and was able to get it working again but now I'm faced with the leak that caused this.
Could it simply be the weep hole in the bottom that's plugged? Haven't checked that yet. Still haven't got the tractor back to the shop yet, waiting for my booster pack to recharge so I can start the tractor again, all that extra strain took it's toll on the battery too.
So I took the starter off and noticed it was quite wet on the end which goes into the engine. One sniff revealed that it was gear oil. Took the starter apart and I was able to literally pour out the gear oil. I cleaned it up and put it back together and was able to get it working again but now I'm faced with the leak that caused this.
Could it simply be the weep hole in the bottom that's plugged? Haven't checked that yet. Still haven't got the tractor back to the shop yet, waiting for my booster pack to recharge so I can start the tractor again, all that extra strain took it's toll on the battery too.