Brand new to Yanmar and this board. I've owned two 8n's and an old D-6 from the Alcan Highway, but still "new" to this 40 year old technology. This question may be a little pre-mature as I am waiting on my manuals and haven't any resources other than online to troubleshoot the problem myself.
(SNIP)
Hoping someone has simple answer, or can point me in detail where to look. Bought this 187D that has obviously been neglected. The dealer told me the brakes were dragging, hence the reason it just didn't seem to want to "go" when under power. They also said someone had added gear oil to tranny, which made it sluggish. T Can't wait to get my manuals, but any insight before then??
First of all, welcome to the forum. The YM187D is an excellent example of a vintage Yanmar.
I'll post some literature for you at the end of this message. Good on you for ordering the manuals. Yanmar printed several versions of workshop manuals. There is a bound version that is sort of a synopsis, and then the large OEM shop manual that is the heavy red plastic ring binder type. I see there is one of those on ebay right now for the YM336D. That's the one to get. Yes, they are expensive....but are argueably the best shop manuals ever printed. Very high quality paper and pictures. Lots of multicolored artist's exploded diagrams and technical discussion of how things work. Very impressive manuals. I used to collect shop manuals and those OEM Yanmars are among the best - right along with the JD technical manuals. Big heavy clunky manuals, but nice.
Regarding the brakes, they were deliberately made to be sealed against water. Yanmar advertised that this was because the tractors were developed in Japan for use half-submerged in rice paddys. Frankly I doubt that because if true the sealing would have been better. Anyway, for the USA use, those sealed brakes were horrid on every model. They always rusted. You will be better off to fix the brakes and then modify the brake covers so that they have lots of ventilation and drainage in the brake covers. Drill half a dozen quarter inch holes for drainage in the bottom of the cover and fabricate a rain shield, Thenput some air intakes in the top of the cover. For air intakes I use soft copper tubing. That way I can tap the cover neatly and then orient the air intake down so it does'nt collect rain water. To repair: Turn out the brake drums on a lathe - there's plenty of meat there which is good because of the way those drums rust pit. Next badly pitted ones that I do I'm going to look into industrial hard plating for the drums. Then have the shoes re-coated with friction material to match the new drum radius. Just about any set of soft brake springs will work if the pivot and pivot bushings aren't worn.
Put JD 303 trans-hydraulic fluid or equivalent in the tranny. Get ALL the heavy gear oil out. System will not work with that oil. This may require several flushings. Flush with your favorite oil/diesel mix or cheap trans-hydraulic fluid from some wholesale tractor shop. That will work fine.
The power shift has it's own internal hydraulic pump for both clutch pack pressure and forced lube pressure. They are 2 different internal circuits. The whole tranny is very, very clever. No, I've never had one apart...wish I had, though. They are nifty and I'd like to see one up close. Problem is that they are nearly bulletproof. You rarely ever hear of a power shift having a problem other than dirty filters. Although yours may require a disassembly and internal cleaning. But check the pressures first. The shop manual will give you complete instructions for testing the pressures of each circuit. In the manual, transmission mechanicals are in section 50, testing procedures in section 250.
Test the power shift pump pressure (1/8" NPT in top or side of regulator case, front plug is control pressure 200 psi, rear is lube oil pressure 6 psi).
From what I've heard over the years, if pressure is low or takes more than a half a second to build then it's either worn pump, restriction in the galley, clogged filter, or stuck relief valves.
Good luck....get all the manuals you can. That's a machine worth the hassle. BTW, there was an optional power steering cylinder available at one time.
rScotty