livemusic
Bronze Member
I pass along so it might help someone, seems kind of unusual.
I bought my Mahindra 5010 used. After using it awhile, I started noticing some kind of fluid on the ground after I moved the tractor from where it was parked in the pasture the night before. But it seemed to be under the wheels, not the main tractor. I surmised that the tires must have some kind of ballast and it was leaking out. I contacted the former owner and he said no. I finally deduced that this was hydraulic oil. I also could see that it seemed to be coming from around the wheel rims.
Long story short is that I stopped into a small tractor dealer shop to buy some maintenance supplies for the tractor and spoke to the owner and chief mechanic, told him about this leak. At that point, I was thinking that there are axle seals that must be leaking. And said, "What are the odds that both the left and right seals would start leaking at the exact same time on this ten year old tractor?" His reply was that he felt that the odds were pretty low and his advice was... he said there could be a vent tube somewhere around or atop the transmission and if such tube is clogged up, it could cause pressure to build and the oil could leak out around the rims.
Lo and behold, I finally found such a vent tube, about a 1 foot piece of rubber tubing atop the transmission. Took it off and it WAS plugged up. Whacked on it with my fist and dirt and 'stuff' started falling out. I surmise that a dirt dobber (mud dauber wasp) had built a nest in there and it was totally plugged. Cleaned the tube. I ran the tractor for ten hours recently and no problems.
I tell ya, dirt dobbers and ants and mud-building critters wreak havoc on me. I had this same thing happen last fall on an old outboard motor that was not not peeing water. I finally found that the water line exhaust tube was plugged up with dirt, hardened mud. Now, this tube is SMALL; I couldn't believe a critter had built a nest in such a small tube opening but that is my only explanation. A common dirt dobber wasp is too big to even get in there. Had to be a small one or ants or some other bug. Cleaned it out and the motor 'peed' just fine after that.
This is a hat tip to an honest dealer/mechanic. It's the second time he has given me a tip on something and he was spot on. The heck of it is, I am not a mechanic, I do maintenance and any repairs that I can figure out how to do and if I had not found that vent tube, I would have had to take the tractor to a dealer and been at their mercy. They could have charged me a LOT and we all hate to have to cough up hard-earned big bux on repairs. I don't know how much it costs to replace seals in both axles but I'm sure it wouldn't be pocket change. I might could have made such a repair, not sure but I am not really set up with heavy repair equipment to handle stuff like this and work alone a lot. It is nice to find an honest mechanic/dealer.
Crazy critters just doing their thing. Makes me wonder should I place some kind of cap over the end of such orifice openings on my equipment when not in use! Would have to remember to remove before running it!
I also wonder if such vent tubes are common on other makes of tractors. Manufacturers should plan on critter stuff!
I bought my Mahindra 5010 used. After using it awhile, I started noticing some kind of fluid on the ground after I moved the tractor from where it was parked in the pasture the night before. But it seemed to be under the wheels, not the main tractor. I surmised that the tires must have some kind of ballast and it was leaking out. I contacted the former owner and he said no. I finally deduced that this was hydraulic oil. I also could see that it seemed to be coming from around the wheel rims.
Long story short is that I stopped into a small tractor dealer shop to buy some maintenance supplies for the tractor and spoke to the owner and chief mechanic, told him about this leak. At that point, I was thinking that there are axle seals that must be leaking. And said, "What are the odds that both the left and right seals would start leaking at the exact same time on this ten year old tractor?" His reply was that he felt that the odds were pretty low and his advice was... he said there could be a vent tube somewhere around or atop the transmission and if such tube is clogged up, it could cause pressure to build and the oil could leak out around the rims.
Lo and behold, I finally found such a vent tube, about a 1 foot piece of rubber tubing atop the transmission. Took it off and it WAS plugged up. Whacked on it with my fist and dirt and 'stuff' started falling out. I surmise that a dirt dobber (mud dauber wasp) had built a nest in there and it was totally plugged. Cleaned the tube. I ran the tractor for ten hours recently and no problems.
I tell ya, dirt dobbers and ants and mud-building critters wreak havoc on me. I had this same thing happen last fall on an old outboard motor that was not not peeing water. I finally found that the water line exhaust tube was plugged up with dirt, hardened mud. Now, this tube is SMALL; I couldn't believe a critter had built a nest in such a small tube opening but that is my only explanation. A common dirt dobber wasp is too big to even get in there. Had to be a small one or ants or some other bug. Cleaned it out and the motor 'peed' just fine after that.
This is a hat tip to an honest dealer/mechanic. It's the second time he has given me a tip on something and he was spot on. The heck of it is, I am not a mechanic, I do maintenance and any repairs that I can figure out how to do and if I had not found that vent tube, I would have had to take the tractor to a dealer and been at their mercy. They could have charged me a LOT and we all hate to have to cough up hard-earned big bux on repairs. I don't know how much it costs to replace seals in both axles but I'm sure it wouldn't be pocket change. I might could have made such a repair, not sure but I am not really set up with heavy repair equipment to handle stuff like this and work alone a lot. It is nice to find an honest mechanic/dealer.
Crazy critters just doing their thing. Makes me wonder should I place some kind of cap over the end of such orifice openings on my equipment when not in use! Would have to remember to remove before running it!
I also wonder if such vent tubes are common on other makes of tractors. Manufacturers should plan on critter stuff!
