Got me a tractor!

[GaryE]

Congratulations Mith!!

Mine belches white smoke on start up also. It helps keep the mosquitos down!!!! You can tell when the glow plugs are hot when the glow plug indicator is glowing a nice red.

As for the coolant, I would flush the system as bird recommended. Pull both the upper and lower radiator hoses and with a garden hose run water through the block and then the radiator until the water runs clear. Reconnect the hoses and refill with a good brand name antifreeze, one that is made for diesel application. Not sure how they rate them in the UK, When you restart the tractor don't be too concerned if some coolant comes out of the overflow. Recheck the level often(with the engine cold), if it drops more than an inch or so, then you may need to check for further problems. I think you will find you will be OK.

The B6000E has no water pump so it is important to make sure your coolant, radiator and fan are checked often. I have never overheated mine, but I seem to remember reading somewhere that a clogged radiator did one of these in.

Gary

 

[BigAl]

Mith ,
I use to own a Radiator Shop so that is why I mentioned the head gasket leak steam thing . The engine (white smoke/steam?) would clear up quickly once the pistons have cleared the cylinder a few times and the engine started .Shutting down the motor allows the antifreeze to slowly leak into the cylinder and then the next time you start it , it blows steam into the air for a few seconds .It would also make for hard starting too .A head leak will cause the radiator to not be able to keep the engine cool as it continues to run .Check and make sure you do not have a milky colored engine oil or clumps of a white colored crud on your oil dipstick .Also any oily flim in the radiator or a white oily paste stuck to the radiato cap is also bad .That is a "pretty sure sign" of a cracked head or failed head gasket leak . Depending on where the crack is at ,you might have steam coming out of the muffler at start up or antifreeze in the engine oil . I have seen it both ways .
It sounds about right on your glow plug use at 30 seconds . I never start my tractor with the thottle set above a idle . I don't like high RPM at "start up" on a cold motor because the oil has not had any time to get to all parts of the motor yet. Hope it turns out to be a simple fix for you . Good Luck,
Big Al

 

[Bird]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Bird ? May I add to your post ? )</font>

Anytime. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif Good point about the distilled water, too.

 

[Mith]

thanks all, i looked in the radiator with a torch, just to make sure, fortunately it appers to be clear with a slight blue tinge (antifreeze?) i may flush it out anyway, just to be safe, any ideas on how to get the coolant ratio right
i found starting it later that having the throttle set at minimum keeps the smoke down alot and on a few startups from warm there was no smake atall /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif, also it seems to be smoke, i started it in the shed where i keep it (big misake) and it lingered for a long time /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif
might go and give it a run in a min, ive just got in.
so far the only use i have found for it is digging paralell trenches, i guess its a bit over kill to have 3 tractors on 2/3 acre of garden, i can wait to get it down to a friends 12 acres
i think im becoming attached to this tractor, is that normal, when i drive it the grin on my face almost hurts its so big /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

also forgot to say i havent noticed it dripping anymore out of the tube and havent noticed any drips so i hope its all ok
also i have looked at the coolant level and it appears to stay steady at about an inch below the top, spot on Bird

thanks all

 

[Mith]

a question for someone, how do i know when its full of oil, and where do i fill it up
the pic is of a bowl on the LHS with oil level written on it, there is what seems to be oil about 1/4 inch below it, what is this and what does it mean, also in the shot is a cap which when undone reveals a case with a big gear inside it. the cap is to the left of the bowl in the picture
your advice is welcomed thanks all

sorry about the quality its a photo of a photo i had onscreen

 

[BigAl]

Just mix a gallon of pure antifreeze into a gallon of clean ,mineral free water using a empty 5 gallon bucket . That will give you a 50% mix.I had forgotten that European autos and trucks manufactures use to use Blue antifreeze from the factory , until you mentioned it in your post . That may have changed by now .The blue will work fine .
As far as your oil level ,that will need to be answered by a "Bota" man as I do not own that type of tractor .
Big Al

 

[Mith]

thanks again Al, ill probably get around to that when i goes above freezing (its -1oC right now, hoping for some snow /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif, its also a good sign that the coolant aint froze yet)
i took a look at some antifreeze i found in the garden and its blue, i think antifreeze here is blue generally, is it a different colour in the US then?
i found a dipstick clearly seen in the pic to the right of the big yellow lable and its topped right up proper, but that still leaves the question whats the deal with the bowl? and where do i fill it up?
also looked at the tranny oil, again topped right up proper and look clean and clear, looks like he took care of it afterall, this is not to be said for the little red mower i also bought off him, now that is a pile of..well...rubbish...yea rubbish....
also if anyone really cares by now i started it up from -1oC today without much smoke and even forgot to use the decomp lever. think i got the tecnique now, heat er up and throttle set low give her a whirl /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
thanks all aint this site great /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

 

[voodoo]

Mith,
Congratulations on the "new" tractor. Hope that grin doesn't wear off anytime soon. Here is some help from a former B6000 owner.

1) The cooling system is thermo syphon, (no water pump). It works very well. If I recall correctly it was not a good idea to mix too strong an anti-freeze as the circulation properties were affected. I ran mine at normal car mix, i.e specification from any garage forecourt antifreeze solution. It sat outside many a wintry night without trouble.
2) They always blow some coolant out the radiator tube if overfilled or after very heavy labour. Don't worry.
3) They always smoke white and/or grey on startup. Remember it is an old engine design. Pre-combustion chambers with low powered glow plugs are to blame.
4) The glow plugs are very slow to heat on a cold morning. Make sure you see a good glowing wire coil through the sight hole on the "dash" panel before attempting to turn the engine over.
5) In the picture, the dipstick for the oil is the small curved wire handle in the middle poking out of the engine block. Wipe clean and check just like a car engine. The knurled cap you describe to the right hand side is the fill point. The gears observed inside are for the valves and the diesel injection pump.
6) The oil bowl to the right is the air filter cleaner. It is an oil bath design. Remove and change with clean engine oil as required (depends on use). If it looks dirty it is dirty!!

Hope this is of some help. These little machines are pretty bulletproof. I think with reasonable maintenance it will probably outlast your love affair with it. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
Its a great starter for the CUT bug. Once you get one you want another and a bigger and more capable etc etc...

 

[Mith]

thanks for the info Voodoo
pretty good going, you answered all my questions in one go /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
looks like ill be changing the air filter oil, its black and nasty, im guessing its 30W or there abouts
</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Once you get one you want another and a bigger and more capable etc etc... )</font>
pity my bank account aint that big or i might have gone bigger the first time, maybe i need to work harder /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif

 

[Mith]

Voodoo, Gary
i dont understand how this air filter works, what do i do to clean it out.
i cleaned out the bowl on the bottom and filled it with fresh oil, but it says that you have to clean out the gauze in kerosene.
what gauze, how do i get it out, ect, ect
the manual is unclear on this, either that or i missed the bit about it, you attention wanders after 50 pages /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif
thanks

ps, what do ya all do about front weight? its a little light with the topper on (front wheels in the air, makes steering a tad tricky /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif)