MT160D

[Capricious]

Have been using a 1970's Sears 11 hp garden tractor with a 42 inch mower deck for "bush hogging" about 6 acres. Needed something bigger (obviously). Last night I drug home an old Mitsubishi MT160D. I know nothing about tractors. This thing seems to start up fairly easily. The crankcase oil looked dirty, antifreeze looked mostly green and did not seem to bubble when the engine was running. Each brake would lock-up the appropriate rear wheel, although the brake pedals are not aligned with each other- I would imagine the threaded adjustment rods are rusted immoble. All three speeds on the main tran. seem to work, the high-low seems to work, the 4WD lever moved, although I can't say for certain the 4WD "worked." The PTO shaft spins in all 3 speeds. The 3 point would lift and lower me, but there was nothing heavier to try on it. Did not observe anything leaking from the engine while it was running. The differential lock pedal does not seem to move. The clutch seemed to "grab" with the high/low set in high. The ignition key is broken off in the ignition switch. Overall, the thing looks dirty and probably had little maintenance. The adjustable "side links" on the 3 point are rusted immobile. If they don't loosen up with penetrating oil i will need to replace the.

Oh, and the tires are pretty much worn out.

Probably should not have bought it.

I am going to change the engine oil and hydraulic fluid. I have downloaded operator's and service manuals, and have noted comments to NOT use gear oil in the trans. as the manual states. Will also change the coolant.

Questions:

Anyone have parts numbers for oil, fuel & air filters?

Any other things to look at?

Thanks

 

[oliver28472]

NAPA numbers (I'm pretty sure) are: oil filter 1334; fuel 3264; air 6270. You most likely have a screen filter for the hydraulics. It is located on the bottom right side of the rear case and is held in by two bolts. After draining the fluid, remove the filter, clean it and put it back in. There is a fill level plug near where your left heel would be, sitting on the tractor. It should hold roughly 3.5 gallons. Buy a petcock for the engine block and screw it in while you have the engine oil filter off. That will help you do future complete coolant drains.

 

[Capricious]

NAPA numbers (I'm pretty sure) are: oil filter 1334; fuel 3264; air 6270. You most likely have a screen filter for the hydraulics. It is located on the bottom right side of the rear case and is held in by two bolts. After draining the fluid, remove the filter, clean it and put it back in. There is a fill level plug near where your left heel would be, sitting on the tractor. It should hold roughly 3.5 gallons. Buy a petcock for the engine block and screw it in while you have the engine oil filter off. That will help you do future complete coolant drains.

Thank you for the (very) quick response.

The NAPA 3264 fuel filter crosses to a Baldwin PF7545, which an internet search showed someone in Great Britain was selling for an MT160D, but I was not finding much on the oil or air filters.

A couple of places sell filter "kits" that contain all (3) items, but they don't list parts numbers (because one would go buy the stuff elsewhere, of course)

I try not to bother people with requests for information that is available with a bit of searching, but was not finding much on this matter.

Again, thank you.

 

[skylarkguy]

Welcome to the forum.

The numbers listed by Oliver seem like a good place to start. Your new tractor sounds like a good starting point. Mostly some sweat and elbow grease is all you'll need. You will know a lot by the time everything is working well.

 

[CowboyRon]

Have been using a 1970's Sears 11 hp garden tractor with a 42 inch mower deck for "bush hogging" about 6 acres. Needed something bigger (obviously). Last night I drug home an old Mitsubishi MT160D. I know nothing about tractors. This thing seems to start up fairly easily. The crankcase oil looked dirty, antifreeze looked mostly green and did not seem to bubble when the engine was running. Each brake would lock-up the appropriate rear wheel, although the brake pedals are not aligned with each other- I would imagine the threaded adjustment rods are rusted immoble. All three speeds on the main tran. seem to work, the high-low seems to work, the 4WD lever moved, although I can't say for certain the 4WD "worked." The PTO shaft spins in all 3 speeds. The 3 point would lift and lower me, but there was nothing heavier to try on it. Did not observe anything leaking from the engine while it was running. The differential lock pedal does not seem to move. The clutch seemed to "grab" with the high/low set in high. The ignition key is broken off in the ignition switch. Overall, the thing looks dirty and probably had little maintenance. The adjustable "side links" on the 3 point are rusted immobile. If they don't loosen up with penetrating oil i will need to replace the.

Oh, and the tires are pretty much worn out.

Probably should not have bought it.

I am going to change the engine oil and hydraulic fluid. I have downloaded operator's and service manuals, and have noted comments to NOT use gear oil in the trans. as the manual states. Will also change the coolant.

Questions:

Anyone have parts numbers for oil, fuel & air filters?

Any other things to look at?

Thanks

What oil does it specify to use in the transmission?

 

[Capricious]

The manual I downloaded says 85W-140 gear oil. Others on the internet say do NOT use gear oil in the trans, which also supplies the hydraulics on this model.

 

[CowboyRon]

The manual I downloaded says 85W-140 gear oil. Others on the internet say do NOT use gear oil in the trans, which also supplies the hydraulics on this model.

That's the reason I asked. I have a little hinomoto that is set up the same way. I have no manual, and I'm not sure what to put in there.

 

[Capricious]

A change in plans. The Mitsubishi is for sale. Located St. Louis, Missouri $900.00

After owning this thing a whole two days and crawling around it I have decided that it is a bigger project than i want to take
on at the present. As mentioned above, it runs at least enough to get it onto and off of the trailer, but it is in no condition to
go right to work.

The 1978 Sears garden tractor "ran" when i got it. I then had I it apart in the garage for (3) months, replacing belts and spindle bearings
and wiring, and fabricating parts for its variable ratio belt drive. Had to drill out and replace broken blade mounting studs, and welded up an
adapter so that i could use sleeve hitch impliments on its little 3-point hitch.

I can see that this Mitsubishi could easily turn into a much bigger project. I don't know of any major issues other than orignally noted. but there are signs of a lot of deferred maintenance, such as very rusty drain plugs that obviously have not been removed in a long time.

If someone has an interest, it is available @ $900.00 cash, which is less than i paid, but i probably paid too much.

 

[oliver28472]

It looks pretty good. What is wrong with it other than the switch?

 

[Capricious]

It looks pretty good. What is wrong with it other than the switch?

It looked pretty good in the photos I looked at. When I went to look at it, it looked a lot rougher in person. I shot the guy an offer well under his asking price, and he took it. Maybe a bad sign. Probably should have walked away, but that is water under the bridge.

The issue is that this thing has seen little maint. I mentioned the very rusty drain plugs, so I know the fluids have probably not been checked, much less changed. I started shooting penetrating oil to most of the plugs, but it'll be a job just getting them out.

Here and there a missing pin has been replaced by an outsized rusty bolt. The broken starter switch, which the previous owner claimed was broken when he bought the tractor years ago, but he never replaced it (I replaced the switch on the Sears).

No signs of grease on grease fittings. I travel 400 miles round-trip to mow my 6 acres, and after every trip I pull the deck off the Sears and grease the spindles, then grease the front wheel bearings (which i replaced), the spindles, the variable belt drive, and (3) Zerks in the steering. I have a Swisher walk-behind field & brush mower that came without a grease fitting on the spindle, and after a year & a half I took it apart and found the spindle bearings shot. I reassembled it with new bearings, but not before drilling & tapping the spindle housing for a Zerk. It gets greased after every use.

I cannot find any sign that this tractor has had that level of care, and being a complicated piece of machinery, that bothers me. I didn't think about it at the time, but the guy had (2) other pieces of lawn care machinery in the barn, both broken down. He probably did not maintain them either.

So, i can sell the thing and take a certain small loss now, or i can tear into it and maybe end up with a decent-running tractor without expending a whole lot of money or work on it, or I might end up with a real problem that is either very expensive to fix, or that results in my junking the tractor at a big loss.

Everyone who has messed with used machinery has dealt with this issue, of course, and every situation is different. I went ahead with the little Sears, but this Mitsubishi is much more complex. My gut is telling me to move along.

Would have been nice it it had told me to move along before buying it, but that's life.

 

[oliver28472]

Attached is a picture of my S-470D Buck. It is not pretty to look at, has been rolled on three separate occasions. It is still a beast! My Dad bought it new. I also have a Mitsubishi FD1450D which looks a lot better and does the mowing that my Z cannot get to. Does your 160 crank and run OK and does the 3 point hitch work?

 

[Capricious]

Attached is a picture of my S-470D Buck. It is not pretty to look at, has been rolled on three separate occasions. It is still a beast! My Dad bought it new. I also have a Mitsubishi FD1450D which looks a lot better and does the mowing that my Z cannot get to. Does your 160 crank and run OK and does the 3 point hitch work?

Knowing the history of a machine since new is an advantage- How it is run and maintained has a big effect on longevity. I don't know the history of the 160, so I have to deduce from the evidence, and the evidence seems to indicate that the owner(s) were not too concerned with maintence. It is probably a tribute to the machine that it does, in fact, run at all.

It cranked and started when I went to look at it (I intentially arrived earlier than I had said I would and checked to be sure it was a cold start).

The 3 point rose and fell with me standing on the arms, but there was nothing heavier around to check it with, so i don't know if it will raise a heavy load or hold it.

The only other thing I noticed is the differential lock pedal does not seem to move. Might be rust on the pedal linkage, or might be internal- don't know at the moment. A non-functioning differential lock would not be a big deal, in my opinion, since one can always brake the spinning wheel, but it's another sign that the machine has been ignored. As is the fact that the brake pedals are not lined up, and lining them up is a 10 minute job adjusting a few nuts. Except that the nuts and rods are badly rusted now from disuse.

Speaking of rolling, one thing that i liked about this one is it had wide turf tires on it. My ground is hard & rocky, so ag tires probably don't get that much more traction than turf tires, and the wider stance is nice since i have a few hills. The tires are not in that good of shape, however.

What is that steel angle thing behind the seat?

 

[oliver28472]

It is a sprayer that I made a 3ph frame and boom for.

 

[Kernopelli]

Here is a link to a free OEM owners manual. Might be of help or interest http://home.comcast.net/~tdepooter/Mitsubishi MT160-180 Instruction Book Optimized.pdf

 

[Capricious]

Here is a link to a free OEM owners manual. Might be of help or interest http://home.comcast.net/~tdepooter/Mitsubishi MT160-180 Instruction Book Optimized.pdf

I appreciate the link. However, I already have that, along with a service manual for the 160/180, which is available for download in (2) PDF's

I had a look at these before going to see the thing- in fact that was one reason for looking at this particular tractor; I could research it a bit ahead of time without having to buy the manuals.

I do appreciate you help.

I will spray some more penetrating oil on a bunch of the rusted plugs/nuts/bolts this afternoon before I start-up the Weed Eater. Put a wrench to them over the weekend. If the plugs will come out, and there is actually clean lube in the trans & front axle, that's obviously a plus, but if what drains out is watery/milky, and way less volume than should be in there, that's a strike against the thing.

 

[Firemanbuck]

I have to say, that machine looks a lot better than my 180D.

 

[PILOON]

Were you closer I would be a serious candidate to purchase.
I have owned a 180D for some 10-12 years and it never ceases to impress me with its ruggedness and ability.
I move lots of material with the FEL and blow lots of snow with my 60" blower.
Never let me down. Has about 1300 hrs total.

 

[Capricious]

Decided to try to "break loose" all of the plugs and so forth before actually draining anything or buying anything. Spent this morning working on the tractor, intersperced with bouts of weed eating. I have all of the plugs on the front axle loosened, crankcase drain loosened (it was remarkably tight- probably has not been off in years), the oil filter is loosened, the (2) drains on the diff/trans are loosened, the "check oil level" plug on the side of the trans is loosened, and the lower bolt on the hydr. filter is loosened. The upper bolt on that filter is a real problem. Both of the bolt heads were so badly rusted that a 12 mm wrench is loose on the heads, an 11 mm is too tight, as is a 7/16. I have applied heat from a propane torch several times, and lots of PB Blaster oil. I got the lower one loosened with a funky-looking wrench I bought probably 30 years agao that is supposed to tighten-down on any size bolt head as you turn it, and it worked pretty well on the lower bolt, but I put about all the torque I had in me on that upper bolt and it is holding tight still. I will try repeatedly heating it with the torch and spraying with oil, in hopes that the oil will be drawn into the threads by capilary action (like sweating a copper pipe).

The crankcase oil looks pretty sludgy; It would probably be best to drop the oil pan and clean it but I don't want to get into that. What about flushing the crankcase with #2 diesel fuel? I am not talking about starting the engine with diesel in the crankcase; rather just pouring it in at the valve cover and
letting it drain out the bottom?

A second oil change after it has run a very few hours on the first change is certainly in order.

Found a few issues with the 3-point set up. Nothing major, but according to all the photos I have seen on the internet, my adjustable sidelinks are upside down. Since they are rusted solid, they may need to be replaced anyway. Also, where the lower arms attach to a big steel rod under the diff, there is supposed to be a spacer on each side to keep the arms next to the diff and not allow them to migrate out to the ends of the rod. Both of my spacers are missing. I don't think the rod is bent but it certainlly could get bent if the arms are pulling on the ends of the rod. Not a big deal to cut a couple of spacers from a piece pipe, but its more evidence of the lack of concern & care that this tractor has endured.

 

[Capricious]

Changed the engine oil & filter yesterday. The fresh oil promptly turned black. Also put in a new air filter.

Today I flushed the cooling system with clear water, then refilled with 50% antifreeze mix. While the engine was hot, I drained out the crankcase oil I put in yesterday, and refilled with fresh oil. Did not change the filter again. After a short period of running I will change the engine oil & filter one more time. Hope that will flush the oil pan and oil galleries to some extent.

The old coolant tested to -15F, which is adequate for around here, so hopefully there has been no freeze damage.

The battery hold-downs are long-gone, and the battery has been sliding around it's tray in front of the
radiator. Noticed that it has been beating against the radiator fins. Will need to fasten the battery down in some fashion.

Have not attempted to remove the rusted bolt on the hydr. filter, but have been spraying it with penetrating oil. Am considering just changing the fluid and leaving the filter/strainer as-is and hoping it doesn't plug up, but i think it is pretty common for them to plug after something disturbs the fluid, like changing it.

According to the manual there is a drain for the fuel tank. Will plan on draining the tank and refilling with fresh diesel, then changing the fuel filter

 

[techwrtr2]

You may need a bigger tractor, but I never cease to be amazed what my little Beaver can do. Even though I've abused it for 30+ years and haven't always maintained it as I ought to...

Having a second tractor with some ability is always a plus. So buy that larger machine and keep the little Mitsubishi.