Duck Pond Redneckery

[Duck]

 

[ironpony]

The aliens in th' UFO are takin' showers in yer hydraulic tank?

weird...

 

[GAnthony]

Well this tractor came with the farm.

It was under 30 inches of dust and lead paint chips.

There was aluminum foil over the top of the filler tube on the hydraulic tank. I think the missing cap also had a dipstick.

Big old foot long crack on the left side of the engine block.

One day I dragged it out & aired up the tires and towed it 1/4 mile up the street to the metal fab shop and had him weld up that crack.

It sat outside his shop through an entire spring rain season and wind blew that foil cap off.

So when it was welded up we towed it home and I got it running.

Hydraulics didn't work at all so I changed the fluid.

The only drain on that system is to remove the rubber hose from the pump. But it's the lowest point on the system.

The oil came out tan colored like coffee with lots of creamer.

So I filled it up, ran the bucket up and down a few times, drained it, and it was just as bad.

Two more times at 50 bucks each (5 gallons of universal hydraulic oil ain't cheap) and it was still coming out tan colored but it was working OK so I said **** it.

I changed it again in 2014, same thing.



In cold temps, what happens is oil can't get to the pump.

I made a new filler tube and cap, using a Milton male coupler on the end of the vent so I can blow air into it using a female coupler and a two foot hose.

Just pressurizing it with my mouth used to get it working but eventually it got so I would have to put 20-30 psi into it before it would work.

The only way to heat the oil is to install a radiator hose type engine heater and hope the oil can disperse heat fast enough not to burn the oil. That's why dipstick heaters aren't good.

The reservoir is pot metal or aluminum. All I know is it's painted, looks like crap and magnets won't stick to it.

I'm just gonna take the top off the reservoir and see what it looks like in there, clean it out, and remove the long steel tube and pull a kerosene soaked rag through it with a wire.

If the tube is that bad I'll figure out a way to cap one end of it and leave it full of kerosene overnight.


I'm not worried about the high pressure side of the system.

i would use a mix of ATF fluid and Marvel Mystery oil to flush it out again. ATF fluid, is what we used in our jeep's snow plow system. it's thinner than most other hydraulic fluids, and as a result, flows better in cold temps. i'd recommend an ATF fluid for whatever make of tractor you have (i forgot what you said it was), like if it's a ford, use mercon fluid. try to get regular ATF fluid, not synthetic. then if you wish, refill with the expensive stuff you bought.

 

[Hammer166]

A filtering flying saucer! Did it just set on the suction port?

 

[Duck]

I figured it out...

It's not a filter. It's a diffuser..

Here's how it's installed:



About 7-8" from the top but about equal distance to the bottom of this, (which is upside down in the pic):



It's on the return. Loader lift is power up, gravity down. Pressurized oil returns to the reservoir through it.

It's purpose is not to screen or filter the oil, but to slow down and disperse the returning oil to prevent foaming up the oil and causing cavitation at the pump.

So I don't need to replace it with something with more surface area, just clean it and put it back in. Which I already did... Just need to clean out the sludge from the bottom of the reservoir, make a new gasket and put it back together.

 

[Duck]

USPS delivered my spark plug wire terminals from Sparks, NV but FedEx ain't been here yet with the crap I ordered from Port Townsend, WA. I don't remember what I ordered from there because early onset senility is apparently hereditary.....

 

[Duck]

Here's what nuts and bolts looked like in the stone age:

 

[GAnthony]

USPS delivered my spark plug wire terminals from Sparks, NV but FedEx ain't been here yet with the crap I ordered from Port Townsend, WA. I don't remember what I ordered from there because early onset senility is apparently hereditary.....

a mind is a terrible thing to waste.

 

[GAnthony]

Here's what nuts and bolts looked like in the stone age:

View attachment 40122

yep..i got cans full of those, but much cleaner of course.

 

[Duck]

a mind is a terrible thing to waste.

A waist is a terrible thing to mind..

That's why I have this beer belly.

 

[Duck]

I removed this spark plug wire holding tube:

Because I didn't like it.



Made this thing instead.

With the generator replaced with an alternator, different pulley size and location, it slightly changed the path of the belt, making it require 400 zip ties to secure the plug wires away from the belt after they exit the curved end of the tube in kind of a bad location.

This makes routing the wires way easier.

Although #3 & 4 wires are still closer to the water pump pulley than I'd prefer.

 

[Duck]

The sumbitch runs.

All I did was bypass this resistor (white thing in the pic) with a jumper lead, turned on the key and tapped the starter. It started f'ing immediately and ran for a few seconds on what was in the carburetor. There's no gas tank hooked up.

 

[Duck]

I don't get this:.



It's running just fine but the original Ford resistor is glowing orange?

Maybe try switching to the 12 volt coil?

 

[krelithous]

i take what i said back you just might blow yourself up after all

 

[Injun]

i take what i said back you just might blow yourself up after all

You're just jealous that Ducky is able to do actual productive things.

Now, drop it, already.

 

[Duck]

Volts divided by ohms = amps delivered to coil..

I think..

Coil ohms is 1.2, tractor's ballast resistor (the glowing orange thing) is supposedly 1 ohm, so 2.2 total ohms..

So 6.59 amps and its supposed to be 3.5 amps.

 

[ironpony]

Volts divided by ohms = amps delivered to coil..

I think..

Coil ohms is 1.2, tractor's ballast resistor (the glowing orange thing) is supposedly 1 ohm, so 2.2 total ohms..

So 6.59 amps and its supposed to be 3.5 amps.

Somethin' is drawing too much current. 12V system, yes? So a nominal 12V/6.59A is...

1.82 ohms.

12V/3.5 (supposed to be)A is...

3.4 ohms.

Got some missin' ohmage in there.



Yer gonna blow yerself up!

 

[Duck]

Somethin' is drawing too much current. 12V system, yes? So a nominal 12V/6.59A is...

1.82 ohms.

12V/3.5 (supposed to be)A is...

3.4 ohms.

Got some missin' ohmage in there.



Yer gonna blow yerself up!

Go with 14.5 volts.

The alternator works.

 

[Injun]

Go with 14.5 volts.

The alternator works.

Is that glowie thing a 6V remnant?

 

[ironpony]

Is that glowie thing a 6V remnant?

Resistors aren't voltage limited, although doubling the working voltage in a circuit without resizing the components usually leads to...

blowing yerself up!

14.5V/3.5 (supposed ta be)A is...

4.14 ohms, total circuit resistance.

So you're looking at a 3-ohm ballast resistor...

(3.5A)^2 * 3-ohms = 36.75 Watts or better power rating.

Unless you really like the glowie thingy effect.