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Been offline a few days, so I didn't see your latest, Rich. Thanks for clearing up how to read a screw-in dipstick. I always wondered about that and had been doing it the wrong way, by screwing it all the way in. But wouldn't incorrectly screwing it all the way in to read the level tend to under fill it?
And here's what I think part of my problem was too: I had last filled my sump as the tractor sat out in the field for days as I worked on that injector pump problem. I had the FEL all the way up to get the side arms out of the way of the engine compartment. With the rams all the way extended when I filled the sump, they had a greater volume inside them than when they are down.
Is there a general rule about what position hydraulic cylinders should be in when you check and fill the sump?
Thanks for your explanation, Rich. It makes perfect sense as I think about.
I have been puzzling since you wrote, that this loss of fluid has occurred only twice now in the time I've owned the tractor, even though there have been a good number of times I've lowered the FEL with the engine off.
The only answer I can come up with is that the system had been low on fluid all that time and there was room for it in the sump as it left the cylinders with the pump off.
Does this sound plausible?
Furnace filter sounds like a great idea. I'm going to try that on my tractor as soon as I get a chance. When I schlepp composting leaves with the FEL, most of it seems to end up plastered to the radiator and I need to shop vac it.
See my final post (today), on the Y385T engine forum to see what a difference a clean radiator made in my case.
Glad to run the thread to its end. You may have sensed I was in pretty high spirits when I posted the resolution.
Almost kept the thread going yesterday when I worked the tractor for the first time since fixing the engine. The water temp barely got above 60 C after 15 minutes of tilling. Typically, since I've owned it, the temp gets up to 80 after just a bit of work, and can hit 90 or more on a hot day. So I feared I'd messed something up with the temp sensor or the cooling system when I put things back together.
It turns out all those mashed over fins I fixed when the radiator was out, and the packed crud I hosed out, was having a bigger effect on the cooling performance than I would have guessed. After half and hour's work today, it got almost to 80. Feels good to have a cooler running engine.
YESSSSS!!! The sweet sound of success at 4PM today.
Started right up after timing set — ran very rough.
Advanced pump at timing gear: Didn't start at all.
Retarded pump same amount: Purrrrs.
Thanks to all of you for assistance, warnings, and entertainment.
Mike Klaus
Thanks, Bob. I was thinking to try a simpler way, but your suggestion gives me a reason to continue cleaning the engine, at least to get all the crud off around the valve cover. And give me a chance to check and adjust the valve lashes, (which I bet has never been done on this machine.)
As my new pump makes its way here from Texas, I'm giving Tommy a few days break from phone babysitting. Anyway, removing the radiator to get a good view of the timing marks on the crank pulley afforded an excellent opportunity to straighten the many bent fins and hose out the accumulated debris.
So now that I've got the crank at 14 degrees before top dead center per his instructions, here's my stupid question to you all: how do I know if it's TDC of compression or TDC of exhaust? (This is a 4-stoke engine, right?)
Wow, Bob, that is one dramatic video. I found myself instinctively pulling back away from the computer screen as that baby revved up.
Just got off the phone with Tommy ordering my new pump. Had another good chat with him, he described how the timing is done, and said he'll be glad to walk me through the procedure when the pump gets here. Thanks again, Rich, for steering me to Affordable. Between the valuable help of Tommy, Harold, and all you guys, this job is going to get done.
Well, Bob and Spring, you have certainly put the fear of God into me as regards trying to fix the pump myself. Thanks. Truthfully, when I saw the mangled metal bits in the bottom of the out-of-oil pump, I pretty much figured I'd be buying a new one. I'll still probably take the thing apart to see what went wrong, but will be ordering a new one tomorrow.
It took me until today to get the old pump completely off. I had to make a puller to get the flange that the helical drive gear it mounted to off the pump shaft. The shaft is keyed to the flange and the key looked like it had long since been sheared. The only thing keeping it timed properly was the bolt holding the flange to the shaft.
This is my first tractor so I am no expert, but from the looks of that pump, I'd guess the truth was stretched somewhere along the line when it came to me with “only 280 hours” last year. And I've put on less than 120 hours since.
