Yeah it looks like you have resolved a lot of problems with it over the years. So I would like to have a first tractor. So this tractor has "two ranges", can someone send me a tutorial on what that means? Is it like high and low gear? I noticed it is not like the 1210 that you can put in high or low.
In general, you have forward and reverse in manual shift transmission. Mainly on older vintages gears are not synchronized meaning you have to come to full stop clutch and change. There is no mechanical synchronizers to avoid grinding meshing gears. Some might say they can feel the engine rpm, let go of accelerator pedal and shift on the fly which is doable but not at all recommended. If you have 2 ranges and 4 forward speed then you have 2x4=8 forward speed and reverse speed mainly corresponds with # of ranges. in essence range 1 , gear 1 affords you the slowest but most grunt or torque. Range 2 , gear 4 would afford you speed of 8, basically fastest for road travel but not suitable for bumpy farm land. Tractors are low geared so they have much torque. I like to do it nice and easy so range 2x gear 3 affords me a very comfortable and controllable speed. in HST transmission you can get more grunt with low range and low speed (turtle ) just the same. Below is the pic of non-synchronized transmission. On my Kubota 3rd and 4th gears are synchronized so on the fly I can clutch and up shift and downshift without damaging anything. I regulate my speed mainly just stetting the rpm to what I want , say 1200 and just play with gas pedal for the speed i feel comfortable. if I am brush hogging big field then I go 3x3 and go to town going forward in circles or square without changing my direction (direction hear means forward or reverse only), turning right of left is not direction change. Below is innards of my non synchronized Ford 1700 transmission.
That's about 1 year of full time use (40 hours / week). Pull the oil fill cap with the engine running and feel for air escaping. If it's low to non existent, buy it. Depending on the implements, you aren't paying much at all for the tractor.
lol I just guess to a gasoline guy like me that seems like a lot of hours. I was looking on Tractor House and could not find one over 3,000 hours. So I figured that was a lot of hours.
Cylinder blow-by which is compressed air-fuel mixture escaping past the piston rings will create pressure in the crankcase. Since the crankcase is a closed system it's gotta escape from somewhere which is your crankcase vent usually in your valve cover. When you open the oil fill cap you are creating a large opening for that pressure to escape. So you are looking to feel air blowing out of the oil fill cap hole. A small amount is normal, but if you're getting a steady breeze blowing out of there the rings are likely pretty worn and nearing rebuild time