Finally got my new to me 5610 today

[sawtooth]

It was dark when we finally arrived at Farm so will start checking it out tomorrow. More pics to follow.

 

[Rustyiron]

Sweet! New iron in the yard is always exciting :thumbsup:

 

[sawtooth]

We changed the oil and coolant but after running it less than a hour the oil is already pitch black and coolant looks like mud. Not good. Apparently service has been neglected in the past and there is a lot of crud breaking free now with new fluids. Even steering fluid that we just replaced now looks weird. So another service will take place tomorrow. Engine purrs like a kitten though. I can believe how smooth it runs and quick it starts.

 

[RickB]

Black engine oil happens quickly, there's probably nothing wrong. The coolant may require a couple aggressive flushes to clean up. I've seen sludge piled up at the rear of the block where coolant flow is slow. Keep at that, a hot #4 cylinder is not a good thing.

 

[sawtooth]

Thanks RickB. Yes I agree. Only thing that i find different is when I change my other ford tractors the oil actually stays clear for several hours of use. This one went totally black like charcoal in under a hour. I have a feeling sludge is breaking loose inside the engine which is a sign of a poor service regiment from the previous owner "being my friend". Lol.
They run only Massey and Case tractors but bought this one used and used it only a few months in the winter for taking hay to their cattle. It was their smallest tractor and with MWFD did well in muddy conditions and tighter spaces. So it was just a old bastard to them with little monies in it. Overall though it runs fantastic. Just a lot of small details that need repair or TLC. Will deal with them one at a time till I slowly get them corrected. We even got the air conditioning back going which is very cool.
Today I'm headed to NH as the radiator cap broke when I tried to remove it last night. Changing oil again and will run some cleaner through the radiator and refill. Also the oil in the power steering looks horrible. How do I completely flush it out vs just draining the pump?

 

[Turbys_1700]

I would think that you could flush the power steering and refill several times after running the tractor for a while driving it and turning the steering wheel. I've never really ever done that to any of our tractors. Perhaps you can get a service manual to explain the procedure? Great find BTW sawtooth. Keep us Ford guys updated on the progress.

 

[RickB]

You can remove the return line from the back of the pump and direct the flow to a bucket. Jack up the front axle and turn the wheel lock to lock a couple times while keeping fresh oil in the reservoir. Change the filter first. All this with the tractor at a dead idle.

Some of those engines are just dirty. Running all winter at low operating temperature adds to soot buildup. Service it well and run it hard. It may clean up over time.

 

[sawtooth]

Ok great info. I spent all day yesterday flushing coolant, greasing, cleaning, changed oil again, hooked up and adjusted bush hog, turned muffle back correct direction after locating a new bracket. I do have some issues that I will post later to get advice. Here is a picture after moving its first fallen tree with me.

 

[Thomas]

BIG congrats :thumbsup: looks comfortable.

 

[sawtooth]

So two bigger issues I'm dealing with is the power steering and brakes. On the steering it's very slow and if your not moving it's extremely hard to turn the wheel. In 4x4 mode sitting still you can't turn the wheel. Also I hear a great deal of noise coming from the system when I try to turn wheel. So on a 1983 Ford 5610 tractor with Cab, MWFD, and loader how should the steering feel? Should it feel real weak and slow? It has a brand new pump too.

Regarding brakes the need adjusting bad and are jumpy and make noise. My other 10 series are not like this. I can adjust brakes on this 5610 but a little concerned with the jumpy ness and noise. Thoughts on these two items?