Early 80s L275DT Cold Start

[forrest carver]

Thanks all. We're back in business. I drained the tank into a can with a rag to catch debris. It stopped up a few times but the compressed air worked great to clear it up. All in all I collected about 1/8 cup of sludge. It was not magnetic and appeared to just be mud or slimy detritus. I poured some more diesel in a few times after that to rinse out whatever else I could. There still appears to be some crap down there but it's not stopping up on its own now. And the inside of the tank doesn't look rusty at all which is great.

The only remaining urgent issue is the leaking fuel filter but I have one arriving this week. It does come with the spring. There's no spring on the current filter. That may explain the leak but it's more likely a crack in the filter pot.

I think there's there's a tiny leak where the frontmost injector connects to the engine (much lower than where I had cracked them to bleed the air. Right on the engine pretty much.) I see a tiny bit of fuel and some tiny air bubbles coming out.

The gap between the exhaust manifold and the muffler flange has enlarged significantly, pic attached. How should I seal that? I don't think a new muffler flange gasket would seat appropriately due to the rust. I suspect this is not a big deal regardless

I could not find a recommended tire pressure in the manual

Can you recommend an oil weight? Will probably be operating year-round in the range of 0F to 90F

 

[Russell King]

Use the same weight oil as your car would us. Something like 10w40. I don’t deal with cold weather much so don’t worry about the lower end of your range so don’t really know.

The exhaust will just continue to blow away from the exhaust gas blowing it away.
You could try to put one or two exhaust gaskets but I don’t think that will hold. The flange in the top looks broken near the left bolt. The exhaust pipe is probably steel and can be repaired by a welder or muffler shop. Th The manifold and gasket at the engine block will need to be replaced. I think that would be cheaper than trying to repair it since it is (probably) cast iron. Dealer items probably

The leak at the injector is probably the crush washer underneath the injector leaking. When you bled the injector the fuel puddled there. You should remove the injector and replace the copper washer. You need a deep socket and a torque wrench to do that. Bleed the injector again when done. I don’t think you have to remove the fuel lines but if you do you need to hold the larger nut below the fuel line nut. Don’t let the larger nut turn at all.

Read the tire sidewall for the maximum pressure allowed ant set ir at that and let pressure out until you are happy with the ride. When useing the loader you need to be near the maximum pressure to keep the tires on the rims

 

[Russell King]

There is some algae that can grow in the tank. Use some type of algaecide in the fuel. Since you are in a colder place you need to worry about the fuel gelling in the cold weather and use the proper fuel or additives when colder

Glad you got it going again (and that it didn’t die before you made it to your property)

 

[forrest carver]

(and that it didn’t die before you made it to your property)

Yup, that would have been a disaster. Really got lucky with that one!

 

[forrest carver]

Got the hood removed last night. I'm not sure it will be going back on unless I can rig up a different way to mount it. The battery mount is completely rusted out and both of the bolts that attach it to the front axle bracket are basically welded in place (the left one is tight and won't loosen, the right one is unthreaded by about an inch and won't move it all. This is the root cause of the hood misalignment I believe.)

Should I expect any weathering issues with the hood removed? I don't yet have a place to keep the tractor under cover.

Am I all right to pressure wash the entire tractor or are there sensitive areas that I should avoid? Wiring and small fuel lines, I assume

P.S. I have verified that it's a model year 1984

 

[forrest carver]

I changed the oil last night. You're right, it really couldn't be easier.

I did forget to change the oil filter before filling the engine again, but it looks high enough that I can still change it even when the oil is full, is that the case? Do you guys have thoughts on marvel mystery oil? Seems like mixed opinions

 

[Russell King]

You can change the filter with no problem. Let it set over night and then change it. Probably no oil in the filter but put a pan underneath it just in case.

Run tractor engine for a few minutes then check oil level.

After sitting for a while the oil level may read high (above the upper line). If so run it a few minutes then check the oil level again and make sure it is back down to normal level.

You can pressure wash but don’t use too high of pressure and stay back away from the surface using a wide angle nozzle. Avoid the alternator and all wheel bearing areas, steering wheel areas and shifter areas. Avoid the fuel tank fill area.

I don’t use a pressure washer much on mine. But it was pretty clear when I got it.
You may want to see if the spray foams will work or some Zep or something like purple power. Those can be hard on point but I don’t think that you have much paint to fret about.

 

[forrest carver]

Great, thanks. Another question. I made a separate topic but figure I will mention it here, too.

When I first went to use the rear hydraulic lift, it lifted the implement no problem. When I pushed it down, it went down very fast and would not lift again. I have since verified that the lift still functions as normal, but can barely lift any weight at all. Any ideas?

EDIT: The lift decided to start working again. Nice