Newby GC2300

Damage Inc · Sep 8, 2018

Hello all.
Newby with newby questions here.

I'll start off with a short who am I....My name is Thom pronounced Tom, just dropped the as*. Or did I.....
I've been an auto tech since the 80's so I'm not a complete idiot just a sarcastic dumb as*. New to tractors but I have a decent understanding of how hydraulics work the rest is very similar to the automotive field. I moved from the city to the country a few years ago and with the house came a GC2300 to help maintain the property. It has about 950 hours on it and has worked OK for the past two years. I have done some maintenance, oil and hydo. changes etc. I found this site when researching some issues/parts for the tractor and found a lot of good info here so I joined up to hopefully with time be helpful to other like myself. Now onto the Q and A portion.

I have searched but can't find a owners/service manual for this machine... Are they available any where on line or strictly from MF? I did find something on Amazon but it had a publish date of 1975...? is that the right one? It had a picture of a full size tractor on the cover.....

The bucket controls have leaked since I got it. I did reseal the top valves but have yet to do the bottom, so it still leaks a bit. The bottom appears to have a pressure control valve in it?.

The main issue I have at this point is the hydo pump is having major issues. I had to leave the tractor outside for about a year and it started to get moisture in the hydro fluid. So the bucket would loose lifting power. The steering would get weak and the center PTO/mower would cut out. Because of the leak the fluid would go from low to high on occasion. When I noticed the contamination I drained a fill it with some Super S 303 fluid from TSC.. Now I can cut for about 30-40 minutes in 90+ degree weather and all goes to ****. Steering gets tight PTO cuts out and it has completely stopped moving on me twice. Let it sit for a few hour and it's good to go for a bit. One time the temp light did come on. I am going out to get some better fluid in an attempt to at least finish cutting the grass but I don't want to kill this thing. So I guess the questions are:

Does the hydro pump operate the trans?
How do I check the Hydro pump pressures?
Where do I find service manuals?
Other than Permatran, what is a GOOD fluid?
Other than the MF dealer what's a good source for parts/maintenance items either local chains or online suppliers?

I guess that's it for now. Thanks in advance.

DMW · Sep 8, 2018

The Super S 303 is a great fluid for a dump truck or woodsplitter, not so much a GC2300. The fluid I would recommend would be the Kubota Sudt2. Permatran may be good, but I know for sure the Kubota oil is. Massey has brought out the newer formulations or Permatran, but they are still trailing the pack. High hydro temps will cause the symptoms you describe. Check the condition of the cooling fan on the driveshaft.

GC series came out in 2003-04 IIRC.

The bottom of the loader valve has a detent attached for putting the loader arms in float. There are 2 different valves used on the GC2300, Nimco CV422 and CV112.

Damage Inc · Sep 8, 2018

DMW said:
The Super S 303 is a great fluid for a dump truck or woodsplitter, not so much a GC2300. The fluid I would recommend would be the Kubota Sudt2. Permatran may be good, but I know for sure the Kubota oil is. Massey has brought out the newer formulations or Permatran, but they are still trailing the pack. High hydro temps will cause the symptoms you describe. Check the condition of the cooling fan on the driveshaft.

GC series came out in 2003-04 IIRC.

The bottom of the loader valve has a detent attached for putting the loader arms in float.?? Things like this would be helpful to know. But with no operators manual I'm a bit lost. There are 2 different valves used on the GC2300, Nimco CV422 and CV112.

My concern is the extended cover... Is there a spring in there and if so how strong is it...?

The fan looks good but the trans is pretty coated with crud. I did another fluid change today to get all the moisture out, I used Shell Rotella fluid. It rained here today so I did not run it long but everything was good for the 15 mins that I did cut. Grass was to wet. We are expecting a lot more rain tomorrow so I'll hit it with the power washer to get all the stuff off the trans and what not. I'm sure it's not helping the operating temps any.

irvingj · Sep 9, 2018

Welcome to TBN!! These are fantastic little tractors and I'm sure you'll enjoy yours. I'll try to address some of your questions:

1) During the model run, there were a a number of changes/improvements made; you need to determine precisely which year yours is. The SECOND LETTER of the serial number indicates the year, beginning with 2004, which will be "N". Years following are "P" (05), "R" (06), "S" (07) and "T" (08).

2) Yes, all the engine does is power the hydraulic pump in the transmission. There's a small driveshaft that runs beneath the center of the floor that goes from the rear of the engine back to the HST (hydrostatic transmission); this is the shaft that has the plastic HST cooling fan mounted to it.

3) Unless you can find a used one on eBay, you'll have to go to MF directly (through a dealer) to order the manuals; they have both owner's and factory service manuals available. They're very useful to have.

4) Many of us live quite far away from the nearest dealer and order parts online. I use Jack's Small Engines as a source, and they seem pretty decent. Parts are relatively pricey, but it is what it is.

5) By all means clean all the mud & debris from the front side of the HST -- that will affect cooling ability. You should also thoroughly check the radiator -- there's a lot of stuff that can get crammed in there, much of which is pretty hard to see unless you really get down in there.

6) As far as the loader control "float" detent, do a search here; I know I posted some fairly good photos of the insides.

Good luck!

ray66v · Sep 9, 2018

There is no question Permatran is good fluid. There have been no reported issues with it.

Any actual brand name HST fluid, from whatever brand tractor dealer you have is close by, should be fine. None of the brand name fluids have been known to cause issues. They will generally all list Permatran on their label.

Generic fluids from parts stores, or farm stores, can be a crap shoot. They may have good additives, they may not. You only need a 5 gallon bucket, you can't save enough money to make it worth trying, if you have other options.

Amsoil ATH synthetic, is also good. Many of us use that. I have been running it for over a decade. Amsoil makes the synthetic HST oil, Kubota is trying to catch up to.

Damage Inc · Sep 9, 2018

Thanks again guy's.
Jack's is about 15 minutes from my house... They are not the most responsive to walk in customers, but other than that they seem as good as any other dealer. I've also been to Wertz Farm & power equipment. They are more friendly and very knowledgeable. One of the little balls broke on the bucket control and the youngster at Jack's was lost.. I called Wertz and had the part the next day. I've only been in Jack's twice so I'm not saying they are bad but my experience with them was not great. But they are on my way home from work so chances are are will be dealing with them a lot more.

I was told it was an '03...? I'll check the number later when I clean it. I imagine the manuals are year specific..?

Of subject ?? How do I add a signature? you know the info at the bottom of all your posts...? I did't see it in the profile, perhaps it's named something else?

DMW · Sep 9, 2018

Hey Thom , AGCO Parts Books is a great resource. Sign in as guest, upper left "Browse Books" to search for the loader, or search by model for tractor schematics. Get the tractor serial number and loader valve model from the attached plates to aid part look ups. The serial number is used for parts, not model year.

WranglerX · Sep 9, 2018

Damage Inc said:
Of subject ?? How do I add a signature? you know the info at the bottom of all your posts...? I did't see it in the profile, perhaps it's named something else?

Click on your "handle" in any post and it takes you to your "profile" and look for "view profile" clicks on that and look for "about me" go there and scroll down to place to add signature...

Dale

Damage Inc · Sep 9, 2018

Signature is not a big deal. But there is nothing that actually says "signature"...is it possible I'm still to new? Not enough post... I know some forums don't fully unlock things until you've been there a while or have xx number of posts. Possibly why I can't post a picture in a different thread I responded to..?