Yeager_Farms
Member
Posting because my grandfather is having issues with his TO-30 tractor.
He bought the tractor about 2 years ago. It has always had to "warm up" the hydraulic/transmission before his lift arms would work very well. If it didnt run for about 10-15 minutes prior to using it, the lift arms wouldnt raise at all. We live in southern Oklahoma, so its not a cold weather issue. Im not sure exactly what type of oil it had in it. But its a strong little tractor regardless of the lift issues.
Until Saturday everything had been working well just letting it warm up. He was dragging the pond trying to get some dirt moved around and the lift arms just stopped raising suddenly. He said it didnt make a noise, pop or crack at all. It just stopped.
I took the side plate off and drained the fluid from it today. About half a cup of water drained out first then all the oil. Not too badly considering he hasnt even checked it in the past 2 years and doesnt even know when the last time it was changed. It looks like it has some motor oil in it, and its pretty thick. So that is my thinking for the needing it to warm up and thin down so the pump can pick it up.
After it finished draining and I looked into the side plate where the dipstick is at, I could see about a half inch or so of sludge in the pan and on the bottom. Im in the process of cleaning it out with a 5 gallon bucket of diesel now and a little pressure sprayer. Its working well.
What do I need to look at to see if there is a pump problem, or even if there is an internal hydraulic/oil filter on it. Can someone give me an idea on where to start looking?
Thanks in advance!
He bought the tractor about 2 years ago. It has always had to "warm up" the hydraulic/transmission before his lift arms would work very well. If it didnt run for about 10-15 minutes prior to using it, the lift arms wouldnt raise at all. We live in southern Oklahoma, so its not a cold weather issue. Im not sure exactly what type of oil it had in it. But its a strong little tractor regardless of the lift issues.
Until Saturday everything had been working well just letting it warm up. He was dragging the pond trying to get some dirt moved around and the lift arms just stopped raising suddenly. He said it didnt make a noise, pop or crack at all. It just stopped.
I took the side plate off and drained the fluid from it today. About half a cup of water drained out first then all the oil. Not too badly considering he hasnt even checked it in the past 2 years and doesnt even know when the last time it was changed. It looks like it has some motor oil in it, and its pretty thick. So that is my thinking for the needing it to warm up and thin down so the pump can pick it up.
After it finished draining and I looked into the side plate where the dipstick is at, I could see about a half inch or so of sludge in the pan and on the bottom. Im in the process of cleaning it out with a 5 gallon bucket of diesel now and a little pressure sprayer. Its working well.
What do I need to look at to see if there is a pump problem, or even if there is an internal hydraulic/oil filter on it. Can someone give me an idea on where to start looking?
Thanks in advance!