2020 Motor to hydraulic pump coupling

DogT · Jun 16, 2020

I'm driving the 2020 to the south field to mow and bang, a puff of dust from the front and I hear the fan blades hitting on the shroud. Immediately shut it off. Get off, take a look and stuff is pouring out of the radiator. Well, I can't leave the tractor in the middle of the field, so I start it, and high tail it back to the barn, luckily only maybe 200 yds. Put a bucked under it to catch the stuff running out. I can see fluid coming right out of the radiator fins. Pull the radiator, along with the oil cooler and there's a big whack in the bottom part of the fins. I can see that the coupling from the motor to the hydraulic pump is half missing along with the rubbers. The thing must have come apart and it flew up into the fan, whacking it into the radiator. Went back out where the tractor stopped and found the other half of the coupling. One bolt is missing, the other is broken and it appears that the coupling has been loose for a while. I remember putting this thing on maybe back in 88-90 and I never could find any instructions on how to install it, much less the torque settings. Apparently I didn't do it right.

So can someone tell me how to torque that coupling?

Looks like a new radiator in the works, along with new coupling and a few new hoses. I found a radiator on ebay for $230. This one has been leaking forever anyhow, since I got the tractor in maybe '85. I had to keep those seal beads in it to keep anti-freeze in it. I did try having it repaired once at a radiator shop we had locally back then, but it didn't work great. So it was needing a new radiator anyhow. It looked pretty beat up before this happened.

Tx Jim · Jun 16, 2020

Pump drive coupler bolts & nuts torque spec's are 35 NM/25 ft #s These spec's came from 2040 tech manual so they should be correct

DogT · Jun 16, 2020

Thank you.

Zebrafive · Jun 17, 2020

2030 tech manual specs 20lb-ft for the special bolts and says to use Loctite. All other bolts/nut are 30lb-ft.

May I also suggest you replace the fan belt while the coupler is off, or at least inspect it?

DogT · Jun 17, 2020

Got all the parts ordered. New radiator, upper, lower hoses, 2 coupling half's, rubbers. The rubber parts were gone and the pins had made some fairly deep gouges in the 2 coupling half's. I think it explains that vague 'clicking' noise I was hearing in the front end for a while now. I might need to straighten out one of the fan blades. The old radiator looks like it had gotten pushed back into the fan (or the bent blade hit it) as I can see where the blades were hitting it near the top, and there was a big gash near the bottom where the one half coupling must have flown off and gotten between a fan blade and the radiator. I touched the half coupling that was still in position and it just fell off. Don't know what kept it from falling off also, at least it got me back to the barn, if the hydraulics go out, the front end loader won't let me go anywhere.

One bolt was gone and the other broken in half. I figure I'm lucky. It could have happened when I was in the other field mowing across the stream and it would be difficult to get back, and the damage was fairly contained. I replaced that fan belt not long ago when I was having trouble with the alternator that actually turned out to be connector issues with the regulator.

The wife was outside walking the new puppy and actually heard the bang when it happened. She was up the hill about a quarter mile away. At least now maybe I'll be able not to use that radiator seal crap. It always ran a bit low, but I never had trouble with the cooling.

DogT · Jun 23, 2020

Not going as smoothly as I hoped. Thought I had all the parts, but the bolts for the coupling are full thread, need to get a couple of them, on order. The studs on the 'aftermarket' radiator were M8 instead of 5/16 UNC, so I had to drive into town to get those today, 40 miles round trip, the closest town doesn't even have anyplace with metric nuts. Anyhow I got some of the oil cleaned up and the radiator/oil cooler back together. I cleaned the oil cooler with the power washer and air gun. The old radiator is lots heavier than the new one, but it was time for a new one anyhow. The radiator cap is real tight getting off the radiator cap, it looks like the flanges on the cap need a bit if 'fettling'. At least it came with a new cap. The old radiator is a lost cause at this point. At least also the bottom mounting bolts still work in the new radiator, but one of them is on the oil cooler.

I found it may be easier just to take the fan off to get things installed and then put it back on when all the other stuff is back together. I was hoping to get it going a bit sooner, we've had some heavy rain and I have a steep drive, so a lot of the gravel is now down at the bottom and it's washing across the road in one place. I'm constantly working on that area to get it to flow right. I had it right there for a while, but this year has been bad with a couple gully washers

Thing is too, at my age, I just can't stand on my feet very long until they start hurting like 7 of 10 and I just have to quit and sit down for a while. What a bummer, otherwise I could keep going. I tend to try to work on thing sitting a lot, this has been going on since about 73 or 74. Been to plenty of dr's and no one can explain or help it. Wine helps a bit. Jamesons is too strong any more.

Zebrafive · Jun 24, 2020

If I can wait, I have used Amazon with free prime two day delivery.
The metric locking nuts "disappeared" from my chainsaw muffler studs. I Got a bunch from Amazon.
My truck needed heater hose. Local auto parts store want to order and have it 5 days later. For $0.70 more Amazon delivered in 2 days.

I find I can't work as many hours as in my younger days. I work only about 1/2 as many hours, then quit for the day.

DogT · Jun 25, 2020

I get a lot of stuff from ebay. Those 3/8x2.5" full thread cap screws were available on ebay and walmart of all places from the same place, same price. I got them on ebay. Amazon has lately been taking a week or more to get stuff here since the virus, even with 'prime'. I've kinda given up on them. If I'd have had a 3/8" UNC die, I'd have just run the threads on enough to fit with the ones I got from the local tractor supply. Anyhow, according to usps tracking they're out for delivery today, I just ordered them Monday or Tuesday I think and it's just Thursday now, they came from Ohio. Price was outrageous on them at almost $8 each, but it was cheaper and quicker than messing around. At least I got free shipping. They should be here by noon or so.

DogT · Jun 25, 2020

Got the cap screws today. But I had to finish painting some patio furniture so that took some time. Then when I got started on the coupling, I'm sure the 30ft lbs is lots more than I used before. That's pretty tight on those rubbers. I torqued the locknuts the same and even put some 'sleeve retainer' on the lock nuts. It was what I had, but 30# is pretty tight. Then it was 4pm and it was fairly humid, not that hot, but I decided to quit and I'd been on my feet for quite a while. Hopefully tomorrow I'll get to work on getting the new hoses situated and the radiator in. After that is should be easy. Ha, ha, nothing is easy on this old machine.

radios1 · Jun 25, 2020

DogT said:
Not going as smoothly as I hoped. Thought I had all the parts, but the bolts for the coupling are full thread, need to get a couple of them, on order. The studs on the 'aftermarket' radiator were M8 instead of 5/16 UNC, so I had to drive into town to get those today, 40 miles round trip, the closest town doesn't even have anyplace with metric nuts. Anyhow I got some of the oil cleaned up and the radiator/oil cooler back together. I cleaned the oil cooler with the power washer and air gun. The old radiator is lots heavier than the new one, but it was time for a new one anyhow. The radiator cap is real tight getting off the radiator cap, it looks like the flanges on the cap need a bit if 'fettling'. At least it came with a new cap. The old radiator is a lost cause at this point. At least also the bottom mounting bolts still work in the new radiator, but one of them is on the oil cooler.

I found it may be easier just to take the fan off to get things installed and then put it back on when all the other stuff is back together. I was hoping to get it going a bit sooner, we've had some heavy rain and I have a steep drive, so a lot of the gravel is now down at the bottom and it's washing across the road in one place. I'm constantly working on that area to get it to flow right. I had it right there for a while, but this year has been bad with a couple gully washers

Thing is too, at my age, I just can't stand on my feet very long until they start hurting like 7 of 10 and I just have to quit and sit down for a while. What a bummer, otherwise I could keep going. I tend to try to work on thing sitting a lot, this has been going on since about 73 or 74. Been to plenty of dr's and no one can explain or help it. Wine helps a bit. Jamesons is too strong any more.

I never did understand why older people or those with health problems would move to a remote place and be far away from a hospital, which is usually only in a large town!..