New to tractors ford 1700 question.

   / New to tractors ford 1700 question. #1  

BG4985

Member
Joined
Apr 14, 2010
Messages
35
Location
Polk county Florida
Tractor
ford 1700
I recently purchased a ford 1700 with a 5' rotary to cut my 4 acres. After reading many great posts on changing things on the 1700 and studying the pictures (thanks JC) My question is what should i be absolutely replacing/changing right now before i start its use on my property. Its got about 1450 hours on it and mechanically it seems sound, Unk on its last maintenance or how often it was done. It has a wiring issue that im not sure if i should mess with now or not since it was running and starting fine when i brought it home. Right now im changing all the fluids/filters, cleaning the trans/hyd screen, flushing the radiator, changing the upper and lower hoses, belt (thanks to the advance auto skus) etc. Anything that im missing that i should do while ive still got it in the garage? $ is limited as ive got a new member to the family but want to make sure that when i do take this out back its not going to die out there. Thanks for any help.
 
   / New to tractors ford 1700 question. #2  
You are doing well doing what you are doing. Since you will be running a rotary cutter with your 1700 you need to watch the temperature guage. When the operating temperature begins to rise, stop and clean the screen that is located in front of the radiator. It will collect a lot of seeds and other small particles. Enjoy your rig.
 
   / New to tractors ford 1700 question. #3  
I recently purchased a ford 1700 with a 5' rotary to cut my 4 acres. After reading many great posts on changing things on the 1700 and studying the pictures (thanks JC) My question is what should i be absolutely replacing/changing right now before i start its use on my property. Its got about 1450 hours on it and mechanically it seems sound, Unk on its last maintenance or how often it was done. It has a wiring issue that im not sure if i should mess with now or not since it was running and starting fine when i brought it home. Right now im changing all the fluids/filters, cleaning the trans/hyd screen, flushing the radiator, changing the upper and lower hoses, belt (thanks to the advance auto skus) etc. Anything that im missing that i should do while ive still got it in the garage? $ is limited as ive got a new member to the family but want to make sure that when i do take this out back its not going to die out there. Thanks for any help.

Howdy and welcome to few and the proud brotherhood of 1700 owners and secret hand shake:D Congrats on your purchase. All the stuff you said above can be done with a little $$. Since major parts availability might be an issue and expensive such as hyd pump , fuel injector pump and injectors it's best to be proactive about them than reactive. I for sure change the fuel injector pump oil so it continues to perform, you do not want it to run dry. Hyd pump overhaul can be done for about $50, but again a destroyed gear pump with damaged gears and inside of casing must be replaced as repair not feasible, so let's not allow the pump to ever cavitate. Changing screen would allow pump inlet volute to be primed and that mean a happy pump. Make sure you change the oil bath air cleaner and replace the oil, that might cost you a whopping 50 cents, so you get clean air void of dust and foreign particle in your cylinder. Make sure your gages all work along with idiot lights. if you have infra res non contact thermometer check the radiator temp to get a batter feel what it is telling you. Make sure you check the fuel filter , quality of diesel in the tank and clean the tank if needs be. Make sure your neutral safety switch works okay. all the hyd lift system along with piston seal replacement can be done quickly and very cheaply. Buy a $5.99 on sale HF metric o-ring set. that'll save you a lot when yo need orings. The rest of stuff you can deal with as it comes. Your 1700 should have no issue at all with 5 foot brush hog or tiller as it is perfectly matched. I have done much to my tractor and to date I have spent very little for the upkeep. Any work I have done to it I have archived it with pictures, so if you get in a bind one of us can give you probably good answer. Post some pics as we all like them, I particularly am a bit over the edge on that one.:eek:


JC:)
 
Last edited:
   / New to tractors ford 1700 question.
  • Thread Starter
#4  
thanks for the replys...i have the oil bath filter cup on the way from NH, since it was missing when i got it... i cleaned the rest of the air screen for about 2 hours until the cleaning fluid ran clear. They no longer sell the gaskets though, do you think i could just use RTV to make the seal? Previous ownere had an inline filter on it instead of fixing the cracked fuel bowl (on the way from NH). Cleaned out all the dirt dobbers and will replace the bowl and o rings. Im glad you mentioned the lights because the dash is part of the wiring mess i had mentioned. Not having an idea of what it used to look like is hard for me to know what got changed over the years, though i know some things did because there are holes and extra switches, I dont see any lights though. The tach and meters worked when i got them so thats why im hesitant to mess with them? Here are some pictures..
 

Attachments

  • improper switches april2010.JPG
    improper switches april2010.JPG
    134.7 KB · Views: 687
  • steering wheel closeup april2010.JPG
    steering wheel closeup april2010.JPG
    149.1 KB · Views: 688
  • SDC11178.JPG
    SDC11178.JPG
    154.3 KB · Views: 729
  • hood off.JPG
    hood off.JPG
    176.7 KB · Views: 840
   / New to tractors ford 1700 question. #5  
Congrats on the "new" 1700. I see you also have the turf tires like JC. Mine has the ag tires so it sits alittle different, and a roll bar, which I dont think either of us have on ours. All the maintenance you are or will be doing is the most important steps to take. I agree with JC also, it should have no trouble with the 5' mower. I run a 5' also with no trouble. When you get it all back together, how bout a few more pics of it in action. TB
 
   / New to tractors ford 1700 question. #6  
Dash has been changed as follows: Big Hole at bottom used to be the Key, Where the key is now used to be a glow plug visual indicater, Top right was and probably still is the horn, Below that is the flasher light switch (missing knob). Looks like some major changes.:confused2:
 
   / New to tractors ford 1700 question.
  • Thread Starter
#7  
Anyone have a pic on what the dash or wiring should look like, as you can see mine is wacked?

Is there a foot pedal for the throtle for this model...looks like something was there on mine at one time?

All i see for the injector pump sight leve is a screw...is there somewhere else it might be or is this a diff model?

Got to the Hyd screen/filter today and was surprised it wasnt as bad as i thought it would be. How can i get the rest of it out if all i have is a shop vac? Thanks for the help to the newbie.
 

Attachments

  • clutch switch wiring.jpg
    clutch switch wiring.jpg
    519.3 KB · Views: 1,366
  • after hyd screen removed.JPG
    after hyd screen removed.JPG
    106.2 KB · Views: 454
  • fuel filter closeup.jpg
    fuel filter closeup.jpg
    773.9 KB · Views: 3,208
  • driver view.jpg
    driver view.jpg
    556.8 KB · Views: 1,270
   / New to tractors ford 1700 question.
  • Thread Starter
#8  
more pics to the questions above..... The clutch switch is stripped to bare wires and wrapped together. Like i said the wiring is a mess.
 

Attachments

  • hyd screen prior cleaning.JPG
    hyd screen prior cleaning.JPG
    79 KB · Views: 810
  • brake pedals.JPG
    brake pedals.JPG
    143.7 KB · Views: 716
  • clutch switch wiring.jpg
    clutch switch wiring.jpg
    519.3 KB · Views: 366
   / New to tractors ford 1700 question. #9  
Anyone have a pic on what the dash or wiring should look like, as you can see mine is wacked?

Is there a foot pedal for the throtle for this model...looks like something was there on mine at one time?

All i see for the injector pump sight leve is a screw...is there somewhere else it might be or is this a diff model?

Got to the Hyd screen/filter today and was surprised it wasnt as bad as i thought it would be. How can i get the rest of it out if all i have is a shop vac? Thanks for the help to the newbie.

No pics on the wiring.
You are missing the foot throttle.
The two phillips head screws are where I change the injector pump oil. I remove both screws and let it drain for a long time . replace bottom screw ans use a pump can to refill using engine oil. If the oil doesn't look clean then you might want change it again after a few hours.
I just use a hand wire brush and old kerosene, camp stove fuel etc to clean the screen.
Just as a note there should be a screen on the radiator.
Last thought, you might want to get coolant test strips to check the state of your coolant. My 1700 need more anti cavitation additive when I got it and my 1700 looked less creatively maintained then your tractor.
 
   / New to tractors ford 1700 question.
  • Thread Starter
#10  
thanks... i got the inj pump oil changed out, i was looking for a bubble or sight glass never thought it to be the screw...Hopefully tommorrow ill be able to get the hyd back together after a good cleaning today. UPS just came so that should be my parts from NH
 
 
Top