new (to me) MT 180, been sitting, trying to get running

[jhnpldng]

@ThomasH. Thanks for all your input/help. I'll see what comes out of it. Hopefully no silver dust or chunks. Probably/hopefully just a clogged screen and/or nasty oil. I do plan on buying a FEL soon and have my eye on a few on craigslist. It's what I need most. Will have to be adapted of course but I'm a fabricator. Running diesel as a flush sounds like a plan though I might mix a little oil of some kind in with it first. Made me cringe just a bit at first but the cost of the tractor oil as a flush makes me cringe more. LOL After the flush, I'll run the 303 in it for a while and then swap to something better/thicker for the summer.

@Piloon I've got pdf oper and service manual and also the paperback service manual so I'm good to go there. I really wanted 4x4 but this is what came available to me so this is what I have. I'll have to mount my winch on it asap to pull myself out when I get stuck here in the hilly woods. Not all beat up and it has 1960 hours on it. Was part of a landscape company for a while but I'm not sure what they did with it. No signs of a FEL ever being on it and the 3pt parts that are there, look original and are in decent shape. If I don't get the 3pt lift going, the winch may have to do that job. LOL There is one thing I need and that is a top link for the 3pt. Could I trouble you for a measurement on the length for that?

 

[ThomasH]

@ThomasH. Thanks for all your input/help. I'll see what comes out of it. Hopefully no silver dust or chunks. Probably/hopefully just a clogged screen and/or nasty oil. I do plan on buying a FEL soon and have my eye on a few on craigslist. It's what I need most. Will have to be adapted of course but I'm a fabricator. Running diesel as a flush sounds like a plan though I might mix a little oil of some kind in with it first. Made me cringe just a bit at first but the cost of the tractor oil as a flush makes me cringe more. LOL After the flush, I'll run the 303 in it for a while and then swap to something better/thicker for the summer.

Glad to help, it's stuff I have learned through experience. Those are pretty good little tractors. I think you will find that diesel fuel (or oil as it is sometimes called) will provide enough lube to be run for up to several hours without damaging any of the transmission and 3 point parts, etc. It does a pretty good job of cleaning out the yuck (that is a scientific term) and is less costly than using 2-3 flushes worth of 303 compatible fluid (which is another way of doing it).

The top link you need is for a CAT 1 type implement, and will be fairly short.