Ford 1715 Dripping Water?

[ssramage]

This may be a dumb question... but it's Day 1 of tractor ownership for me.

Picked up a low hours Ford 1715 yesterday. Unloaded it off the trailer this am and made a couple laps around the yard with the kids before parking it. My father in law stopped by this afternoon, and I cranked it to show it to him. He looked at me and said, "uhhh...is it normal for it to be leaking brown water?"...I got off and sourced the drip to a hole in the bottom of the starter.

So, help me understand what's going on... normal? Something to worry about? Definitely seems strange, but tractors are new for me.

 

[JC-jetro]

did you check the radiator, upper and lower hoses? Brown and bit reddish suggest rust and rust happens where there is moisture and metal to oxidize. Rain water can seep in the starter if the rig is kept outside and it could bring some of buildup dirt and rust from the the inside the rotor. Tractor new you was previously an old tractor so you have to look a bit deep. Not to worry too much , but need to find the cause. Just make sure you have plenty of water in the radiator, ample engine oil and do check the transmission oil level which is the same oil as your hydraulic fluid.

 

[ssramage]

Radiator hoses are all good. Tractor has 192 hours and is in pretty good shape for its age. Drip is coming from this hole in the bottom of the starter. Not sure if it matters, but after I bought it yesterday we hit some pretty heavy rain on the way home and it looked like it rained some overnight before I got it take off the trailer. Drip did not happen this am while we were running it from what I could tell, but only happened when running this afternoon. It would stop when I shut off the engine.

 

[JC-jetro]

That drain hole is also called a weep hole. It is a good thing to have. I think your issue was the rain, specially being on a trailer and driving at higher speed that the tractor drives. I would just keep and eye on it, put cardboard under the tractor and watch new drippage if any. Turning tractor off can't have any effect on the starter since it only runs to start the tractor and when starter solenoid gear disengages with the flywheel the starter is not turning. I don't believe you have a serious condition on your hand to worry too much about.

 

[billybobjimmyjoejack]

Just a side note there is a drain hole in the bell housing with a cotter pin head sticking out of it (called a jiggle drain) that you should check. If the drain gets plugged the bell housing will fill with water. You should also use a block to hold the clutch away from the flywheel if the tractor is not to be used for a while. The block should be about 1 1/2" thick and is placed between the bottom of the step and the clutch pedal arm when the clutch pedal is depressed.