New to me 240D

[California]

Looking through my old YM240 posts for anything relevant to your questions...

Hydraulic hoses looked shabby in these 2007 photos, they look the same today. (I have since replaced the loader's control, this is the AICO that was on there).

Describing my ROPS install. As you can see, my tractor looks like heck. I wish prior owners hadn't left it outdoors for its whole life. Oh well, I was better looking 40 years ago too.

 

[RalphVa]

Hi folks - New to the forum (Hello!) and just recently picked up a 1980 YM240D.

So -- I'd been looking at 4wd compact tractors for a month or two and I was really trying to find a good conditioned Ford 1520. I found one locally, however it was not especially well cared for and the seller was just asking to much. I then came across a excellent condition Massey Ferguson 1250, however the seller backed out of the deal. Which then led me to this 240D and I must say, I really liked the different green/lime color versus the red/blue/white of the others. From what I've gathered so far, some seem to like it and some hate it . In any case, the gentleman was asking a fairly high price, but after reviewing a number of issues with him, he ended up negotiating down to a price that I felt was reasonable. So, here she is!

With alot of tractors this age, it's got cobbled together fixes all over the place. So, I've been cataloging them as I spend more time looking over the tractor and will be fixing them/replacing parts over the coming weeks. Just ordered a group 4 R.O.P.S from Fredericks, I'm hoping that bolts on without issue. A few other things- from the picture you can see I need to straighten the top of the bucket. Apparently the previous owner used it for pushing down trees on his property. Addtionally, there are several hydraulic hoses to replace, need to replace the front bucket hinge pin where a bolt was used, other missing bolts, there are wiring issues, grease fittings stripped out, warning lights not working, etc. But, overall the engine and transmission are in good shape so hopefully all the rest will just be little fixes here and there.

I look forward to learning from others on the forum and getting this tractor back into shape! Oh and if anyone has a lead on the manual for the FEL, that would be awesome. I've been searching around, but have been unable to find anything on it so far.

Thanks,
Zach

Hope your 240D is as reliable and as good as our 240D was to us for 25 years.

 

[dirttoys]

I was thinking about welding something to it, but it's approximately a 1/2 to 3/4 inch recessed into the frame + mounts. I wasn't sure I could get another bolt/nut into the hole and still be able to weld to it. Hopefully the pictures below will help show it.
View attachment 706112View attachment 706114

Really appreciate the responses and suggestion on the left hand drill bit, I'll check out my local HF to see if I can find an appropriately sized bit. Also hindsight, I wish I would have noticed all the newish bolts around the tractor. The light was a bit funny out when I checked out the tractor, I clearly missed them. Hopefully that doesn't lead to more surprises down the road.

Thanks!

My eyes aren't what they used to be, but, it is a good size bolt. If the lefties don't get it from either side, see if you can find a piece of pipe that will both; fit in the hole, and have room in the center for a small stick rod to fit through. If you can, push the pipe in to the broken bolt, then gouge it right down the middle with 6011 for 3 seconds, put a pipe wrench on and remove. One of the most innovative things I ever witnessed, and it held pulling out 2 inch bolts on an overhead crane. Sorry to be repetitive.

Best,

ed

 

[supermansv]

Looking through my old YM240 posts for anything relevant to your questions...

Hydraulic hoses looked shabby in these 2007 photos, they look the same today. (I have since replaced the loader's control, this is the AICO that was on there).

Describing my ROPS install. As you can see, my tractor looks like heck. I wish prior owners hadn't left it outdoors for its whole life. Oh well, I was better looking 40 years ago too.

Thanks! For the hydraulic hoses, when I purchased the tractor, they were caked in oil. I wasn't sure how bad they were, just because ita appeared they were leaking everywhere. However, after taking a bit of simple green (love that stuff!) and spraying them down, I'm not so sure they are actually leaking.

I was curious since you have the same hydraulic control levers. Did you ever do anything to take some of the slop/play out of them? I was noodling on that the other day wondering what combination of pins/bolts/nuts I could use to tighten them up a bit.

 

[supermansv]

My eyes aren't what they used to be, but, it is a good size bolt. If the lefties don't get it from either side, see if you can find a piece of pipe that will both; fit in the hole, and have room in the center for a small stick rod to fit through. If you can, push the pipe in to the broken bolt, then gouge it right down the middle with 6011 for 3 seconds, put a pipe wrench on and remove. One of the most innovative things I ever witnessed, and it held pulling out 2 inch bolts on an overhead crane. Sorry to be repetitive.

Best,

ed

Thanks Ed, the pipe idea is brillant. I didn't have time to get the HF set today, but plan to do that tomorrow and give the extractor set a try. If that for whatever reason doesn't work, I'll go the pipe route. I believe I do have some 6011 left over for the ole lincoln buzz box too.

 

[dirttoys]

Thanks Ed, the pipe idea is brillant. I didn't have time to get the HF set today, but plan to do that tomorrow and give the extractor set a try. If that for whatever reason doesn't work, I'll go the pipe route. I believe I do have some 6011 left over for the ole lincoln buzz box too.

Cool, do let us know

 

[California]

I was curious since you have the same hydraulic control levers. Did you ever do anything to take some of the slop/play out of them? I was noodling on that the other day wondering what combination of pins/bolts/nuts I could use to tighten them up a bit.

No advice. I put up with the sloppy AICO control levers for a long time because I didn't see a remedy. Maybe washers as shims could reduce some of the slack.

When I unloaded this 650 lb tank (photo) the original AICO control dribbled on my shoe. Enough of that! I asked all the dumb beginner questions (link) in the hydraulics thread and the pros steered me in the right direction. I bought a Prince loader control from Amazon and installed it (photos), this time with the hoses pointed down. This is better for my orchard use. There's less chance of snagging a branch.

Bonus pic and long-winded story: As I looked for those photos I found my thread describing use of a left-handed bit and screw extractor, to get a broken stud out of my prior YM186D. (link).

 

[supermansv]

Thanks @California. Question, do you recall how hard you had to turn when removing the broken stud? I'm putting a fair amount of force on the extractor and it's not budgin the bolt. Just don't want to snap the extractor off, been there and done that before.. In all my years, I've actually never been successful in using an extractor, getting worried I might make the situation worse.

On a side note, I ended up drilling straight through the remaining bolt, apparently it was not screwed all the way in. Since there is a hole, I sprayed a bunch of PB blaster in there and I'll let it sit over night and try again tomorrow. I guess if this doesn't work I'll try the pipe and weld trick.

I do have a maintenance question. I ended up draining the Trans/Hydr fluid and I was pleasantly surprised that it and the filter/screen were in excellent shape. However, I did notice a bit of small metal shavings in the old fluid and on the screen. I wasn't sure if that was normal to see a small amount in the fluid? Obviously I would prefer to see nothing but clean oil .

Thanks again to everyone for all the tips and support.

-Zach

 

[dirttoys]

Thanks @California. Question, do you recall how hard you had to turn when removing the broken stud? I'm putting a fair amount of force on the extractor and it's not budgin the bolt. Just don't want to snap the extractor off, been there and done that before.. In all my years, I've actually never been successful in using an extractor, getting worried I might make the situation worse.

On a side note, I ended up drilling straight through the remaining bolt, apparently it was not screwed all the way in. Since there is a hole, I sprayed a bunch of PB blaster in there and I'll let it sit over night and try again tomorrow. I guess if this doesn't work I'll try the pipe and weld trick.

I do have a maintenance question. I ended up draining the Trans/Hydr fluid and I was pleasantly surprised that it and the filter/screen were in excellent shape. However, I did notice a bit of small metal shavings in the old fluid and on the screen. I wasn't sure if that was normal to see a small amount in the fluid? Obviously I would prefer to see nothing but clean oil .

Thanks again to everyone for all the tips and support.

-Zach

Well done getting drilled through, and PB is the best. Dumb question, how well did you center the hole? If you can just keep going up in bit size without dorking up the treads it will get easier. Keep in mind the hole goes all the way through, if you wallow out the threads, you use a bolt and nut instead, not the end of the world

Extractors are some hard stuff, I have had to use a high speed drill and high priced bits when I break one.

If it was me I would just keep drilling until it comes out, or use a bolt and nut.

Thanks for the update, headed the right direction, break the extractor, two steps back

Best,

ed

 

[supermansv]

Well done getting drilled through, and PB is the best. Dumb question, how well did you center the hole? If you can just keep going up in bit size without dorking up the treads it will get easier. Keep in mind the hole goes all the way through, if you wallow out the threads, you use a bolt and nut instead, not the end of the world

Extractors are some hard stuff, I have had to use a high speed drill and high priced bits when I break one.

If it was me I would just keep drilling until it comes out, or use a bolt and nut.

Thanks for the update, headed the right direction, break the extractor, two steps back

Best,

ed

Thanks, it was kind of an accident drilling through as I didn't know how much bolt was in there. I guess it's a good thing though because now I can spray PB behind the bolt and hopefully loosen it up.

Certainly not a dumb question on how centering . I think I got it pretty centered, but it is off just slightly. From the HF kit, I do have the next size up, but that will drill out most of the bolt. My concern there was I wouldn't have much left for the extractor to grab onto..

I pulled one of the other bolts on the FEL frame, it was stripped to all heck and back. I'm guessing the others will be the same. Looks like I need to get all new bolts and a tap to chase the threads on all of these.. The fun continues .

Thanks for the tips Ed!