[AT] stiff tractor day

[dfolske at nccray.net]

Mike,

At 20F I would think that the fresh hydraulic oil should take care of 
most of your problems. Did you flush the system or just drain it 
when you changed oil. Most systems do not drain completely so 
you may still have a little water in it.  Most of the mechanics around 
here will refill very dirty systems with diesel fuel and run them a 
minute or two and then drain them again to help flush out old 
residue and water. 

At -20F even the cleanest system doesn't work very well.  At -20F 
or colder you have to keep working the steering and remote 
cylinders to keep warm oil in them.  If you park the tractor a few 
minutes to do some shoveling of move cattle to a different pen the 
oil in the lines and remote cylinders cool so fast that everything is 
stiff again when you get back in to use it.

I've also heard guys say that wind chill doesn't matter to machinery 
but that tractor sitting exposed to a 20 mph wind cools down much 
quicker than one which is sheltered or on a still day.  It doesn't get 
any colder but it sure gets there faster!

On 6 Jan 2005 at 9:46, Mike Sloane wrote:

> Well, all that sounds very reasonable, but I need you to explain that to 
> my Farmall 560 when I can't turn the steering wheel until the tractor 
> has run for 20 minutes in very cold (below 20F) weather. :-)
> 
> I did change the hydraulic fluid this summer, and it came out looking
> pretty bad - probably 1/4 water and the rest ugly oil. It hasn't been
> cold enough yet this winter to see if that fixed the problem. I was told 
> that the tractor spent most of its previous existence inside a dairy 
> barn and was mostly used daily to run the manure spreader out to the 
> fields. My 706 had the same problem, but appeared to have been an 
> "outside" tractor. Unfortunately, I don't have any place to store the 
> 560 indoors, so it has to sit out in the weather with only a Blue 
> Plastic Tarp for a cover.
> > 
> > I have not tried it yet, but the consensus was that the same trick
> > (adding some alcohol) which acts as "Drygas" would permit the oil,
> > water and alcohol to combine, and not remain separated but suspended,
> > as the emulsifiers do.
> > 
> > By the way, since the oil lasts much longer than the additive's 
> > emulsification ability does, it's also possible to add some
> > emulsifier to gain  back the protection the new stuff had.
> It would be interesting to find out where one can get some of these 
> "emulsifiers" - I have never seen anything like that at any of the 
> outlets I have frequented.
> > 
> > -Bruce Thompson 
> > 
> > 
> 
> -- 
> Mike Sloane
> Allamuchy NJ
> mikesloane at verizon.net
> Images: <www.fotki.com/mikesloane>
> 
> A faith that cannot survive collision with the truth is not worth many
> regrets. -Arthur C Clarke, science fiction writer (1917- )
> 
> 
> -- 
> Internal Virus Database is out-of-date.
> Checked by AVG Anti-Virus.
> Version: 7.0.298 / Virus Database: 265.6.7 - Release Date: 12/30/2004
> 
> _______________________________________________
> AT mailing list
> http://www.antique-tractor.com/mailman/listinfo/at
> 
>