cold L210

[Chuck52]

My first winter with my antique tractor. It's warming up now....about 25F so far...but it got down to maybe 10F last night. I'm having some additions put on my house and I wanted to move the growing pile of used bricks down to my barn for storage and cleaning. Gonna use 'em for something, just don't know what yet. Anyway, I've got my carryall on the L210 with a box on it, and I figured to pile the bricks in it and haul them. Got the L210 going without major problems. Glow plugs work! However, the steering is basically frozen, as are the hydraulics. I've got the old beastie idling now and will see if things loosen up as it warms up, but I thought I'd better ask the group about this stuff. The steering is so stiff I can't move it, and the hydraulics just barely move the empty carryall. Normal for low temps, or do I have problems?

Chuck

 

[kubmech]

Chuck, you may be still running 90 weight in the trans. You can replace it with UDT. The only problem you may notice is your gears may grind a little when first choosing a gear being that the lower visc. of the UDT does'nt slow the rotating main shaft as much as the 90wt does. If you count to 3 after disengaging the clutch it should (at idle) stop enough to get a smooth engagement. May also want to check your fluid condition if it looks milky it has water in it.

Sorry a little late, I'm catching up on 2 weeks worth of posts.

 

[ric]

Kubmech,

Sounds just like 90 wt in the Winter to me too. Isn't that UTD, Universal Tractordraulic?

ric

ric

 

[kubmech]

Ric, your right, I get so used to the UDT anymore that's all I recommend. But we used to use UTF (universal tractor fluid) in everything, till JD came out with Hygaurd then low viscosity Hygaurd and Kubota followed suit with UDT then Super UDT. I don't know if it's a marketing scam or what, and I really don't have a choice when it comes to warranty machines. But I can't think of a single reason not to use the UTF in an old 210. Thanks for bringing me back to reality, ...Geeze, It's easy to get brainwashed sometimes.

 

[ric]

Kubmech,

When you mentioned UDT I thought I had missed something. Your advice on the UTD is right on the money based on my experience with older L series tractors. The UTD works great, warms up faster and you need to idle down and hesitate when you shift gears. I set the idle with the hand control and control the speed with the foot control so when I shift I just let up on the foot control like a car the engine idle drops quick and my hands are free to do other things including shifting eventually. On the unexpected side it seems like a good idea to change transmission fluid and clean the filter every year and the 3pt hitch needs additonal rpm to lift implements. On an unrelated subject any idea why my tractor generates moisture in the bell housing? This is not antifreeze, there is no smell, it's not green and I'm not loosing any antifreeze from the radiator. Thanks. ric

 

[kubmech]

That's right, you do need a little more RPM for the hitch with the lighter fluid. Do you park your machines inside or outside?
Outside they tend to pick up moisture in the fluid more than inside in a temperature controlled environment. As far as your clutch housing picking up moisture, that's normal, as long as you have the "weep" plug in the botom of the housing it should drain out and not cause a problem. If you don't know about blocking the clutch in the disengaged position when the tractor is not in use for an extended period of time I'd recommend it to prevent the clutch disc from rusting to the fly-wheel. I imagine you've got that one figured out by now. As a side note when the L2500s first came out someone at Kubota dropped the ball and they installed a solid plug in the bottom of the clutch housing. Ended up doing some premature clutch work on those machines due to moisture builup and no place to escape. Once the new plug was installed it eliminated that problem.

 

[ric]

I have an L175F and a L245DT currently. Only the 245 gets water in the bell housing. Both tractors live in the garage. The 245 has the plug you are referring to. I have not seen one in the 175, but I'll check again. Do I operate the tractor with the plug in and take it out when it's sitting? I am not sure what you mean by blocking the clutch. Thanks. ric

 

[kubmech]

Ric, if it's going to be a few months between tractor use, depress the clutch and use a block of wood or something "creative" to keep the clutch depressed. That way you'll have an air gap on both sides of the clutch disc to keep it from freezing/rusting/seizing whatever word you want to use, to the flywheel. What I mean by the "weep" plug is you have a plug in the bottom of the clutch housing with a pin in the center that allows moisture to drain out but limits the amount of gunk getting in. I'm pretty sure the 175 has it. If not I'll bet it's the same size as the 245. If not, drill a hole in the center of the existing plug and install a cotter pin in it, bend the ends of the cotter pin and re-install. Same concept. If you're noticing the moisture in the 245 and not the 175 this could be the reason why.

 

[ric]

Kubmech,

Thanks for the tips I'll check these out today.

ric

 

[Chuck52]

Kubmech,

Thanks for the reply. So I should replace the 90# gear oil in both the sterring gear box and the main gear case with UTF? I'm also using Ford 134 for the hydraulic fluid. Is that OK? It's what the dealer I bought from put in and recommended.

Chuck

 

[kubmech]

Chuck, you'll definitely see an improvement by changing the 90w to a lighter oil in cold weather. 90w turns to molasses at those temps. You're using 134 in the hyd. tank. I'm pretty sure that's what ford/NH is using in thier stuff, however I don't have any personal experience with it. I'd imagine it's very similar to what JD and Kubota uses in their machines.
Did your hydraulics improve to your satisfaction once the fluid
warmed up? As long as the hyd's worked good once they warmed up, I don't think you're having a mechanical problem.
Not knowing that much about the 134, I know the low viscosity
hygaurd (by JD) and the super udt (by Kubota) are formulated specifically for low temperature operation. So maybe try either of those in the hyd tank and use the utf or utd in the gear boxes and see if that improves your cold temperature performance. Then again you could spend a few days/w3tcompact/icons/eyes.gif searching through oil fuel and lubricants to learn more about the synthetic oils, seems I've read where some guys claim better cold weather performance from the synthetics. The only real info I have from experience with synthetics is from Jet engines, and there good pretty much down to - 35 derees F for engine starting, allowing the engine to warm up to 40 C (about 104 F) before moving the throttles.
But that mostly applies to turbo-prop engines due to the variable pitch hydraulically actuated prop piston that's prone to leakage at colder fluid temps, which by the way uses a synthetic hyd fluid......O.K. I think I'm getting into the way too much information category here, so give those ideas a shot and see how you make out.

 

[Chuck52]

Kubmech,

Thanks again. I'll try one of the suggested fluids. The hydraulics worked OK after warming up, so I may just stick with what I have there. I'll probably not be doing all that much during cold weather anyway. I guess the UTF is good for summer use too?

Chuck

 

[kubmech]

Yes Chuck, UTF is fine in the summer.....