I love this B1700, but man is it ever rough!!

[jasons]

I just purchased this little tractor. I think I got a pretty nice deal, but good grief...it's really been let go.

I should have unloaded it off the trailer and put it right into the shop to service it, but I really needed to mow and turn the garden over:


I took the hood off and it will stay off until I'm done working on it:


I'm curious if it's a gray market tractor. I've read a bit about them and I'm still not sure:


Issues:
Smokes out the blow by tube like crazy!
Fluid leaks
Hydraulics leak down pretty quick
Hydro stat creeps forward or reverse when hi or low is selected
Ball joints are worn
Fluids and filters are all disgusting







I noticed this sensor seems to have an air leak out of the black portion near the electrical connections...is that possible? Just noticed it in passing whille the tractor was running...


Leaking something from somewhere! Is there no alternator on this model?


This steering rod flops around and I guess that's due to ball joints?

 

[jasons]

A couple more pictures

Is it common for the front end to rock back and forth on this pin? Maybe 1/8"?


I'm not going to spend a ton of money on such a worn machine, so this is what I bought so far:


Advise is certainly welcome!
-Jason

 

[hodge]

It's a diamond in the rough, but if it runs, there is hope. Your B7100 is a US model, not grey market. All the HST's with some age creep a little- that is pretty normal. The axle movement is from wear on the pin. Does the 4WD work? PTO? Is the HST strong? How many hours are on it?
It doesn't have an alternator, it has a dynamo. It is belt driven, and looks like a water pump, but it isn't. The coolant circulates by convection.
I don't know what you paid for it, or how much you want to put into it. I would say, though, that it is worth putting money into. If you don't want to, I am sure that you would be able to find a buyer who wants to restore it. Many folks have put more into a lesser tractor. If it still runs and generally works, then it has life left in it. There are tractors out there with thousands of hours on them, and still going.
You can use the serial number to look up the year, or you can look on one of the rear rims- if they are original to the tractor (which they likely are), there will be a date stamped into them. That would be the year of manufacture for the rims, which would coincide with the year of the tractor.
Welcome to OTT, and thanks for sharing photos- it is great to see an abused tractor wind up in the hands of someone who will treat it better. There are lots of B7100's still out there, so parts are readily available, as well as experienced owners.

 

[Stumpy]

Many folks have put more into a lesser tractor.

You ain't kidding!

From what I'm seeing you've got a lot of small problems that would certainly be repairable but for one potentially large problem.

You appear to have a minor leak from the valve cover seal but that's as easy as changing a gasket. Of more concern in the oil dripping down onto the mower deck. I'd guess it's coming out of the oil pressure sender (the piece you claim is leaking air) because everything below that is wet with oil. You shouldn't be feeling air leaking out of that sender, it must be coming from something else.

The smoke blowing out the draft tube is the biggest concern. It's usually an indication of excessive blow-by from the rings. These tractors are easy to overheat without knowing it and that could be the cause. A little smoke is normally especially at startup but it shouldn't be billowing out. Do you get smoke out of the exhaust at the same time as the draft tube too? If it is the rings you're looking at a rebuild or replacement engine to fix the problem. A compression\leakdown test would be the most reliable method of determining if this is problem.

 

[jasons]

Excellent, excellent information.

4wd works well. When I was pulling a disc through the garden I had the rear diff locked and 4wd engaged. Seemed to work well. Seemed like the 4wd lever would bind every once in a while.

Rear PTO works (although I've not run anything off of it).

HST seems strong, but the tractor needs to be at idle to engage or disengage it into hi or low and once it engaged it wants to slowly roll forward or reverse.

Another fun issue is the clutch. When you push the clutch down it makes an awful noise and vibration. It gets louder when the mower is engaged and then goes back to being quiet once I let off the clutch. The mower deck is super quiet when mowing.

I can't keep the mower deck at a specific height as I mow because it will drop all the way down in a matter or a minute or two. I'm constantly adjusting it.

Oil pressure sender: I saw little bubbles coming out of it...strange huh!

Blow by: Oh yeah...it smokes a little out of the tube once it's running, but once warmed out it smokes like a bbq grill. Someone actually connected a rubber hose to the blow by tube and routed it out the back of the tractor. It's that bad!! At start up I give it full throttle it starts right up and blows a giant cloud of black smoke and I immediately drop it to an idle. While working the tractor it does smoke out the exhaust a little.

I looked at the rear wheels but couldn't find anything. I did see "K1 81325" stamped on the right side of the tractor towards the rear.

-Jason

 

[Big Kahuna]

Hodge and Stumpy are right, fix the engine first and then all the little problems, parts are easy to find and this tractor is a strong little beast!
What did you pay for it? might help how much is reasonable to put in it.

Big Kahuna

 

[Stumpy]

That's probably oil bubbling out. Replace the sender and add some thread sealant that oughta solve the biggest oil leak.

I remember someone else here having very similar breather tube symptoms though I can't remember anything else about it. The only thing that makes sense to me for those symptoms is ring, cylinder, or piston damage. If it's been going on long enough that the PO rerouted the breather you might be able to just keep running it but it will likely lose more and more power the longer you run it and it may seize one day and ruin the rest of the engine.

The clutch noise is most likely the throw out bearing. The tractor must be split to replace the throw out bearing. The clutch should also be changed at this time. It's probably best to get that done sooner rather than later because the bearing carrier will eventually wear out and that will need to be replaced as well.

The HST linkage just need to be adjusted for the creep problem.

The mower deck is probably a leaking oring in the lift cylinder or possibly in the control valve.

 

[jasons]

I don't believe I'm financially ready to rebuild this motor. I'll replace the valve cover gasket, oil pressure sensor, change the fluids/filters and then clean the tractor up for starters. From there I'll look into a clutch kit and ball joints.

I'll do some research on the motor.

Thank you all. I'll keep you posted.

-Jason

 

[jasons]

Hycraulic fluid filter/screen

I've looked 3 times now and I don't see it back there. Am I missing something?

-Jason

 

[eserv]

Re: Hycraulic fluid filter/screen

I've looked 3 times now and I don't see it back there. Am I missing something?

-Jason

If you do decide to do something with the engine I'd suggest looking for a D950 to install. It is not a direct bolt in but close enough and you'll have a vastly superior tractor.

 

[tthorkil]

Re: Hycraulic fluid filter/screen

http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/wsh/grd/3761486633.html

 

[eserv]

Re: Hycraulic fluid filter/screen

http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/wsh/grd/3761486633.html

That engine will bolt right in, but because it has a water pump the rad hoses will have to be changed and an alternator will need to be installed! But what a tractor you would have!!

 

[Stumpy]

Re: Hycraulic fluid filter/screen

Sorry but what don't you see back there?

 

[jasons]

Re: Hydraulic fluid filter/screen

Sorry but what don't you see back there?

Hydraulic fluid filter/screen.

-Jason

 

[jasons]

Ruh Roh!!

Well I got the little B7100 cleaned up and de-greased. Changed the oil/filter, air filter, fuel filter...everything was atrocious! I couldn't find an oil pressure switch today, so I put a little thread sealer on it and popped it back in.
I cleaned the deck, greased everything and made some adjustments to the deck:



I mowed for about an hour and the tractor did fantastic. I was so proud of my little machine until I pulled it up in the shop and found a mess.

This is the ventilation tube off the valve cover/ Previous owner attacked a hose and ran it out towards the middle of the tractor:


Here is where the hose terminates just above the back of the mower deck. I don't believe oil is supposed to be dripping out this tube:




I bet I'm a little low on oil now.

 

[BadDog]

How did this work out for you?

I'm in a similar situation. Cosmetically, I think mine is worse. PO (or earlier?) dumped a load of something over the back of the FEL and crushed the hood over the headlights, and it's been stored in full sun for a long time. But I don't think I have as much blow by as you. My front drive is not functional, but everything else seems to work so far. Now that I have a reasonable expectation that it is worth fooling with, I will be acquiring stuff for a full fluid change, perhaps adding an in-line spin-on hydraulic filter.

And like you, I just want to use it, not restore it. I hope it turned out well for you.

 

[tmessenger]

You might want to install a catch tank at the bottom of the vent tube and recycle some of that oil