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Greetings,
When I bought a home recently the previous owner left behind a Rhino 184 tractor. I've never owned a tractor, much less a Chinese one, nor worked on a diesel single cylinder engine. From what I've seen the previous owner wasn't much for TLC on his equipment. The Rhino has a bucket, a three point hitch, and about 90 hours on the hour meter. I did manage to find the oil drain (is there an oil filter?) so I changed the oil, coolant and put in fresh fuel. It started after some coaxing and seems to run fine.
Here's my question: Assuming it's been ignored for a while, what should I check/change/refill on this guy? As I said, I'm a complete novice here. I do have a manual, but it seems to assume more experience than I have. Any guidance would be much appreciated.
Thanks.
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At 90 hours the thing is just about due for the 100-hour checkup so I'd suggest you go ahead and do all that now. Change the engine oil (15W-40 diesel service motor oil). Drain out some of the hydraulic fluid and examine it – if it is anything other than clear and clean, drain it all and replace it with new AW-32 hydraulic oil. Do the same for the transmission case – it should have something like 85W-90 gear oil in it. If you have any doubt at all about the quality of it, replace it. Lubricants are what make tractor stay alive and well. The fuel injector pump uses a few ounces of motor oil – you'll have to study the manual to decipher how yours is checked/added. Replace it with new.
I'd recommend replacing the hydraulic filter, if so equipped, and the oil filter, of course. Get good ones. Cheap filters are a false economy, believe me.
Ideally, at this time the head should be re-torqued and the valve lash set to factory specs. If you're not comfortable doing this and don't have a buddy who can help, I'd recommend paying a diesel mechanic to do it. Neglecting this may result i a blown head gasket before long, and improper valve lash means poor performance and reduced life.
Get a grease gun and lube every zerk fitting you can find. Search hard!
Drain and replace the coolant with a brand name SCA coolant suitable for diesel engines. The Prestone or whatever you use in your car is NOT the right stuff. Make sure the radiator is clean inside and out. Wash it carefully, flush the system if indicated by the presence of rust or sludge, and check the fan belt for condition and tension.
Go over all the nuts and bolts on the whole tractor and make sure they're tight. Tractors vibrate a lot and loosen bolts all the time. Don't forget the lug nuts, the worst offenders for loosening up.
Check battery fluid levels, check all electrical connections, and test the lights.
Examine the fuel in the sediment bowl. If there is any indication of contamination with anything, clean the fuel tank and refill with fresh diesel fuel. If you have to do this, you will probably have to re-prime the fuel system – instructions are in the manual or ask here.
Check and adjust your tire pressures to factory specs.
After you've done all this, get a spray can of 95% zinc cold galvanizing and touch up any rust spots and then paint with something that somewhat matches the factory color.
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Rich, Bob, thanks for the replies. My biggest problem right now is trying to figure out where things like drains, filters and fill plugs are located. I do have a parts manual but it's slow going.
Bob, it looks like we're nearly neighbors. I'm actually in Snohomish.
Thanks for the help and the welcome. I've got lots of questions, just don't know what they are yet.
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Thanks for the tip Larry. I note that in the Filling Capacities section of the operator's manual there is nothing listed after “Transmission and final drive case”. Everything else (fuel tank, oil sump, etc) shows a capacity in liters. However, the parts manual does show a dipstick and what looks like a drain plug on the drive gearbox schematic. Is there a way to know if its a common sump?
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I would get in touch with the guys at Farmboys as Larry suggested. There just aren't enough of those tractors out there to get info on, except these guys who took over. It's my understanding they bought out the remaining inventory from the original importer and are THE source of knowledge and parts for your tractor.
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. Best to at least get you to the experts on your particular machine
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