Ever feel like your tossing money down the drain?

[pennwalk]

$189.00

Thats nothing, if you really want to flush away some money take up boating

Chris

[daTeacha]

I don't pretend to understand how the sludge got there, it's just what the guy said he found in an older and non-maintained machine. I don't really see why the front diff and axle drives need Hytran Ultra instead of simple gear oil, either, but that's what the book says to use.

As a former boater, I agree wholeheartedly with the definition of a boat as a portable hole in the water into which you throw large sums of money.

[pitt_md]

Originally Posted by pennwalk

$189.00

Thats nothing, if you really want to flush away some money take up boating

Chris

I have a simple Lund 16.5' fishing boat with a 40hp Etec. I can run all day on a 6 gal tank of gas. Of course I'm not blasting across the surface with a boat load of scantily clad babes either...

[daTeacha]

Mine was a 14' fishing boat with a 9.9 Johnson that I used for puttering around pretending I was fishing. It was still a negative impact on the checkbook. It seemed like there was always something else to "improve" it in one way or another. I guess that's the way it is with any hobby, but I just never got enough use out of it to justify keeping it. I ended up selling the boat, motor, fishing gear, life jackets, and trailer to be able to afford a dental implant for my oldest daughter. That was long ago and she still has the tooth in her mouth. I see it every time she brings my grandson down to visit "her' tractor. It's hers because she is the Ford employee that enabled it to be bought on the A-plan, the savings of which more than paid back the hit I took in selling the boat.

[Superduper]

Originally Posted by daTeacha

I don't pretend to understand how the sludge got there, it's just what the guy said he found in an older and non-maintained machine.

If the system is ventilated and has a breather, perhaps it's not so far fetched. Air always contains moisture to some extent. At a certain temperature, that vapor will return to a liquid form. Google condensation and dew point and you'll get some good information. Unless your tractor is constantly stored in heated garage, cooler morning temperatures could cause the water vapor to return to fluid state and contaminate the oil. Water + oil turns to sludge, right? In the mornings, even on some summer mornings, my tractor has dew on all the metal parts when I go out to greet it. If this happened on the inside of the crankcase and tranny case, it might build up over time, especially if the tractor is not brought up to operating temperature. Just a thought.

[dqdave1]

Oil analysis is probably the best solution. It costs some money, but it would tell you if anything "bad" is going on and after the first test, you may be able to go more hours before the next test.

[orezok]

I saw an article in last months Speedway Illustrated that some of the professional teams are starting to use external oil filtration/recycling systems to recycle their own oil. As I remember, these systems took about 24 hours running to completely filter the oil and remove all impurities. The then reuse the oil in their racing engines. I know that oil in racing engines gets used under extreme conditions of heat and pressure but is only used for a couple of hours. They determined the the cost of the machine was amortized over one season in oil cost savings.

I wonder if this might be the future?

[daTeacha]

What about the additives breaking down over time? Can you buy a can of new additives, sort of like STP or Bardahl, to bring your tranny oil up to par? And how do you know it does what it claims?

[daBear]

Wow, I had no idea tractors held that much fluid.

[sandman2234]

Spring a leak and you will see just how much they do hold, and how expensive it is to replace it.
David from jax