TC45 maintenance questions

   / TC45 maintenance questions #1  

itsmatt

Member
Joined
Apr 11, 2005
Messages
30
Location
Spotsylvania, VA
Tractor
New Holland TC 45, John Deere 420W
Hi all,

I'm getting ready to do my (overdue) 300 hour service on my TC45 Tuesday morning and I have some questions that might be dumb, but I'm a bit unfamiliar with much of the maintenance I'll be doing and I don't want to mess anything up.

First question: I've never taken the loader off the TC45. I understand that you can do this but I don't know if this is necessary to do during the maintenance or wise for me to attempt by myself. Is there any reason I'd need to do this?

Second question: I'm a newbie about hydraulics. Don't the loader cylinders have fluid in them when they are extended? Would that matter during a hydraulic change? I got the specifications for the number of gallons I need to use for the change and was concerned that those cylinders might throw things off a bit.

Third question: Other than the emergency brake (I guess it is called that) being sometimes difficult to lock into place - sometimes I have to really push it down to feel that little pop that I think tells me it is actually set, I am not sure if there is anything else to be concerned with on this tractor. Are there any tips/hints that folks do at the 300 hour mark that aren't mentioned in the maintenance manual?

Last question (I hope): I've tried to keep up with the greasing of the tractor and its implements religiously as my wife's dad seemed to constantly be greasing something here on the farm (he died just about a year ago and that is how this desk-driving newbie got dropped into the seat of a tractor). I tend to just walk around the tractor ever so often and use the grease gun to put some grease on/in those little fittings and then wipe off the excess that sometimes oozes out around the joints and off the fitting itself. Is there any real harm in keeping it greased up pretty regularly or any hints anyone has about this? As much as these things cost, I'm hoping to not have to replace it anytime soon. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Okay, one last question that is maybe not exactly related to my particular tractor: I have a top link (think that is what it is called) on the three point hitch that is a threaded thing that you can manually change the length of it and I also have one that is a hydraulic cylinder that (of course) I can change the length of remotely from the lever. I like the hydraulic one for making tiny adjustments when doing some mowing on my less that flat yard. But I seem to do a lot of running back and forth from the cab of the tractor to the back of the tractor to make minor adjustments to get it long/short enough to hook up to an implement. That part is frustrating sometimes. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif My lower two three point arms have these cool adjustable-length pieces on them that make it really fairly easy to hook them up - assuming they are at the right height. Does anyone know if someone makes such a connector for the top one? Something that would allow me to make adjustments manually while still getting the advantages of the hydraulic cylinder?

Thanks for your time and in advance for you responses,

Matt
 
   / TC45 maintenance questions #2  
Matt, if you are planning on doing the 300 hr service, I'd say you should definitely take the loader off. Why? Because if you haven't done it yet, you really need to find out just how easy it is to do so you won't be afraid to do it in the future. /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif If you follow the procedure in the loader manual or one of the pictorals here, you will have no trouble. Also there is one grease fitting on each arm of the loader that you can't get to without removing it. The fitting is on the bottom-back side of the loader upright that fits into the tractor's bracket.

The other issue is the approximately 9-1/2 gallons of hydraulic oil you will drain. I used two five gallon buckets and then poured the old oil back into the containers after I added fresh oil to the reservoir. If you line the buckets with garbage bags, you can pour off the old oil and then discard the bags, leaving you with two clean buckets. Also, don't forget that there are two drain plugs for the transmission reservoir.

Those are the major points I can think of. Making sure you have all the correct filters and enough oil before you start is probably something you've already done.

Also, I don't know about any adapter that would be adjustable on a hydraulic toplink. My only suggestion would be to run it all the way out before trying to attach. Put the toplink on top of the implement's adapter and return to the cab. Slowly shorten the toplink until it gets to the right length, then return to the rear of the tractor to finish the hookup. On my tractor, I just reach over the fender to the levers, but you can't do that with a cab. As you say, it would be nice to have the ability to adjust the hydraulic toplink as much as an inch. That would surely cure your problem.
 
   / TC45 maintenance questions #3  
somewhere in these forums is a post about a fella that attached a handle from the hyd lever to the back ... under the seat .. so he could reach it just for what you're talking about. You could try searching for it ....
 
   / TC45 maintenance questions
  • Thread Starter
#4  
Thanks - I'll do a little searching and see if I can find it. Would certainly make life easier.

Matt
 
   / TC45 maintenance questions #5  
Hi Matt,

Welcome to TBN.

Your father-in-law was wise to keep things greased regularly. It makes a huge difference in how long the tractor will stay like new. When joints begin to get sloppy, it takes all the fun out of your tractor and implements. They say "the squeaky wheel gets the grease". Don't wait until they squeak. By then, it's already too late.

Tractors run on grease, oil, and diesel... in that order. Or, as my neighbort says, tractors run on money.
 
 
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