I haven't been here lately because we 've been getting ready for the road trip!
The oil question seems to have been answered for me for now anyway.
I was taking out logs from the woods with the grapple (thank you Island Tractor) when all of a sudden, the grapple stopped working. I didn't know what was happening, but I knew I had to GET OUT OF THE WOODS, so I dropped everything and tried to back out.
Then I lost all stearing. All I could think of was HST, AND THEN I LOST ALL POWER FRONT AND REVERS, confirming my worst fears. With all the things running through my head, my greatest concern was "How am I ever going to explain this to TBN. I mean three now. I'll just have to move and change my name.
It had gotten too dark for any examination,so I just crawled home and went to bed.
In the morning we went out to try an pull the tractor out to do I don't know what and there was hydraulic oil all under the tractor. Yup, a return line had been savaged by the wretched sticks. I can't remember ever having such relief.
Since I have a new replacement shoulder and a new replacement knee, until they heal, I'm not crawling around under any tractor ,especially in the woods.
So my wife did. With all those sticks and blackberries and 5 gallons of hydraulic oil, and she GOT that hose off.
I spent the next few hours running around trying to find a replacement, but it has a formed right angle and nobody had one, at least on a Saturday.
Last hope- the Jonn Dealer gave me a used radiator hose that looked about right, and my wife fitted it on using 4 hose clamps instead of two.
The debate about which hydro oil to use is now over for me, as I used the 5 gallon pail of Super UDT2 that I already had. No leaks and it's working perfectly again.
But anyone know if the radiator hose will last till the next oil change?