NEW 1700 Ford Tractor owner...

[Red State]

Red,


read temp when your 1700 steaming , that's the number yo need to know. get and IR thermometer, HF got them cheap and they work well. Check your radiator cap, that might be leaking. If the cap can't keep the 7 psi pressure then water will boil earlier and steam off without being as hot.

JC,

Thanks JC-jetro,

Sorry I haven't gotten around to anything much yet. It's been terrible timing lately with my Anniversary and my son's 20th birthday. In fact, I had to smooth over dad's drive-way for the ole boy to put down two loads of gravel before winter sets in. I also mowed the yard with it for what I hope is my last time to mow this year (we'll see). HA!!

JC, I'll have to replace my temp gauge before I can do what you suggested....it has NEVER worked but I still say it may be the cap as you suggested. It just makes good sense and will be a blessing if it is the most simple problem I have to solve. It's a good tractor...I can see why ya'll are so thrilled with your 1700. I was so afraid that I may have a VERY small breach in my gasket or head but if it is a leak somewhere, it is so small that it isn't registering within the oil, coolant or noticeable loss of such fluids. The only loss is when it steams and that never happens when using a box blade on it. Good clean, green coolant.....good BLACK, shiny oil. Lift works GREAT (better than any tractor I've ever had) and it starts on a dime, stops on a dime.

Well, I'm still enjoying this forum (from guys building their own bridges to their own, homemade backhoe attachment). There are a lot of smart and talented people here and I'm glad to have made new friends because everyone has proven to be quality folks who are more than helpful. I especially appreciate JC-jetro...THANKS! Hope you have an exceptional deer season! I plan to do the same considering the mild summer my part of the Nation has had.

Keep in touch, All,

~Red

 

[JC-jetro]

Red, You're welcome. Take one step at a time and work the issues. Let us know the outcome and if we'd be glad to help. I think we'll have a difficult season and as I hear there were many deer perished in summer due to heat, water and blue tongue disease. I Had my camera by the creek for 2 weeks and did not see a deer although they left their calling card on my garden spot.

JC,

 

[Red State]

Red, You're welcome. Take one step at a time and work the issues. Let us know the outcome and if we'd be glad to help. I think we'll have a difficult season and as I hear there were many deer perished in summer due to heat, water and blue tongue disease. I Had my camera by the creek for 2 weeks and did not see a deer although they left their calling card on my garden spot.

JC,

We'll do. used it for five hours today with NO problems (until I was disconnecting one attachment for another). I was standing by the tractor and was giving it some gas and I gave it too much (way too much by accident) and the radiator started to really flow. HA!!! I quickly put it back to the correct level (after sitting my butt down in the seat) and after changing over, I had no trouble for the hour or two I used that attachment.

As for the deer....we are different from you guys and actually had an unseasonably cool summer and more rain (small rains) whereas we've not had those traditional summer showers that I recall as a boy. It is just not getting dry (very dry) and my pond is just now getting low. My son took his friend fishing at our small lake the other day and three nice bucks were in one of the fields I had cut up (when all my troubles were first noticed). I have yet to plant anything but it seems that something they liked has come up from the remaining fertilizer/lime from last year. Sorry to hear about your problems in the woods....we had that problem after over population and the cattle giving our deer blue tongue. In fact, I killed a very nice buck that year with some very ugly feet. ha!!!! Nice rack though and he made for find dinner fair as well. If the deer survives the summer....it'll be OK (meet and all). At the time, we had a lot of dog running and many of the deer who had blue tongue the summer before literally ran their hooves off. I truly don't like dog running for deer and I'm glad they finally quit. However, I do miss hearing a dog when you've sat with your bow in your lap and haven't seen a blame thing! I can't tell you the times that has happened and a dog (out of the blue) ran a buck right past me. Still, I'll take NO DOGS at all over such mishaps in seeing a deer cuz more times than not, i've just about got to my stand or blind and a bunch of dogs jump the very big boy I so carefully slipped in to hunt. It is bad when you've planned all day at work and get off early enough to actually go and a dog mess the entire plan up. HA!!!

Maybe I can put you on a good-un someday.....we're not as big antlered as what you guys have but we do have some whoppers. Attached are a few I've taken...

 

[JC-jetro]

Red,

Like the picture you posted. It's real nice. as the engine rev up so does the pump rotation and so does flow and pressure in a centrifugal pump. I don't reckon you hot a big problem, may be a bad radiator cap.

JC,

 

[Red State]

Good....that was probably the best way we could have corresponded about the problem since it has recently been going on. Sorry that I never thought to test it out in such a way but I truly never have been the type to rev up an engine as was the case today when I accidentally did just that while standing off-balance. In fact, I never stand by the tractor to crank a tractor either so I must really be getting careless in my older age *(45 as of this last May 30). HA!!! I am nowhere near as savvy as most of you guys when it comes to mechanics but I knew that (IF) I did have a gasket or cracked head problem....it was on the microscopic level and just enough to cause me problems. I am the third owner of this 1700. A doctor bought it new and then gave it to a friend (or someone who had kept up his place for him). He then sold it because he too was becoming too old to operate such things. So....I probably did get a hold of a real good deal (at 1100 or so hours) and will try to do a step by step when things quite down a bit.

Hopefully, I'll get my 600 back soon so that it can take up where it left off and so that I can tinker around with the 1700 as I had planned. I have a factory blue seat to order for it, all kinds of lights (including a much needed FLOOD light in the rear and I may eventually customize a few things (such as a large shelf/cage at the front of it for my battery, drinking water, extra diesel and tool box) cuz I really don't like the battery blocking 60% of the radiator anyway. I also (today) thought that I'd build my own hire cuz my old one is too large and cumbersome. I believe I can build a smaller one with better adjustments and will be able to participate with you guys. It is also my hope to post another bridge building thread and even a log cabin (either hunter rustic or nice) depending on money and time. I'm just glad that I found this site (even though I'm not gifted mechanically as most of you obviously are).

Anyway, THANKS a bunch!

 

[Red State]

Red,

Like the picture you posted. It's real nice. as the engine rev up so does the pump rotation and so does flow and pressure in a centrifugal pump. I don't reckon you hot a big problem, may be a bad radiator cap.

JC,

My son and his friend saw three really nice bucks in our first field while going over to the place to fish last week. Then, my son saw one of the nicer bucks again while cleaning up the roads (I was busy cutting the ground). Got my prime food plot planted today and had no issues till I hooked up to my dad's old HEAVY cutting disks. Yep, it started to steam and boil over again. I have a radiator cap ordered from EBAY but the guy asked me if my thermostat was working properly for some reason. I told him that it seemed to be as I've checked a few times to see it click the water pump on. I'm going back to do a bit more bushhogging and then I'll try to beat the coming rains on getting my fescue, wheat and rye grass planted. I got my special blends and clover planted in field #1 (aka the first field) but have three main fields to go and one minor one. I'll probably miss all the the good rain coming (as I missed a VERY good rain last Friday at lunch all the way into Sat morning)!!! Honey do's kept me out of the woods but I did (somehow) manage to get her winter grass, mums and other stuff planted!!!! HA!!!

Anyway, I thought it was odd that the guy selling me the cap (which fits other tractors too) was concerned if my thermostat was working properly. I suppose it could be sticking but after it did what it did today, I carefully took the cap off and a lot of water overflowed.....I looked down and saw water flowing like a river inside the radiator so I KNOW it wasn't stuck or anything then. We'll see how it does tomorrow. My son isn't going back to college till next semester and we're both taking time to prepare the place for Bow Season. I've finished up with a few clients and am trying to use my free time wisely (if the MRS's will stop getting ideas for around the house). HA!!!

Just out of curiosity, what do you plant for your deer and turkey?

 

[JC-jetro]

Just out of curiosity, what do you plant for your deer and turkey?

Red,

T-stat can be taken off and dunked in ice water and then in boiling water to see if it fully opens or closes visually. Need the gasket to put it back or have a new t-stat on hand if needing one. Feel hoses for sign of blockage. 30 years ago in college my Buick Skylark had an issue running hot for a while. I checked t-stat, pump and water level and all were okay. No spewing water from the radiator cap. I kept investigating and I could not believe my eyes when I found out the reason. Some radiator hoses have a spring coil same as Id of the hose for stiffness. In my case the spring collapsed due to rust and collected bunch of sediment in my lower hose. I had pretty much a piece of rock formed in lower hose blocking adequate flow.

I don't do turkey as tag is too expensive for couple of pounds of stringy meat, do better with Butter ball. I do like to get one buck as I 'm allowed but am strictly a meat hunter. I know one baits a hook to fish but do not like to bait deer and shoot them. There is natural forage, a small creek and my little place acts as a corridor between neighbors bean filed and another neighbor that provides them cover and sanctuary. I have harvested over 40 deer from the same shack in the last 10 years.

JC,

 

[Red State]

Red,

T-stat can be taken off and dunked in ice water and then in boiling water to see if it fully opens or closes visually. Need the gasket to put it back or have a new t-stat on hand if needing one. Feel hoses for sign of blockage. 30 years ago in college my Buick Skylark had an issue running hot for a while. I checked t-stat, pump and water level and all were okay. No spewing water from the radiator cap. I kept investigating and I could not believe my eyes when I found out the reason. Some radiator hoses have a spring coil same as Id of the hose for stiffness. In my case the spring collapsed due to rust and collected bunch of sediment in my lower hose. I had pretty much a piece of rock formed in lower hose blocking adequate flow.

I don't do turkey as tag is too expensive for couple of pounds of stringy meat, do better with Butter ball. I do like to get one buck as I 'm allowed but am strictly a meat hunter. I know one baits a hook to fish but do not like to bait deer and shoot them. There is natural forage, a small creek and my little place acts as a corridor between neighbors bean filed and another neighbor that provides them cover and sanctuary. I have harvested over 40 deer from the same shack in the last 10 years.

JC,

THANKS!!! I had a friend in TEXAS tell me to keep an eye on the hoses as well. He said that they sometimes suck closed when certain pressure is there. I haven't seen this happen but am certain that the radiator cap is OK. A guy would not sell me one when I told him what the tractor was doing. He said the cap was OK and that it sounded like the t-stat was sticking. Well, I got all of my food plots planted (not that I would prefer to hunt them right now or COULD hunt them before they come up) but I had NO trouble with the tractor (except for a few times that I really dug deep and caught roots). Still, I had to give it a break twice and while doing so, did a little redneck engineering. Photos to come. I simply wanted to get through without breaking because the rains were coming so I made me a make-shift over-flow. This actually worked!!! I had no more trouble after I made the overflow. And you know.....I read that the 1700 was a heavy diesel drinker BUT I've managed to do all that I did on less than a tank of gas *(and this was in letting it idle for long periods of time after working it really hard). I have never had a diesel of any kind and read that you should allow the engine to idle and cool before shutting it down). Anyway, it doesn't drink at ALL!!!! I really love this tractor now and will probably take the radiator completely off and replace the t-stat (whether it needs it or not). I truly believe that the radiator is filthy (although there's no sign of that). I'd buy a new radiator BUT the cheapest I've found is $425.oo. Most go fro around $550-$600 buckS!!!!! YIKES!!

Hey, I loved the photos.....the one with the wood piled under it made me think of some ANTI-hunting poster (as if they were about to burn the hunter and his hut to the stake). HA!!!! I hear ya no hunting naturally; I've not had food plots for over 5 years now. I do most of my hunting around thick honeysuckle where pine and hardwood meets. Early on (as with this coming Sat.) You'll find me where the green Whiteoak acorns are. Our deer love them and we seem to have plenty here.

Again, I appreciate the head's up on the t-stat but when going through the trouble to take it off....I'm darn sure gonna put a new one back on. If the old one is good, I'll save it for when I'm flat broke or can't find them anymore. To be honest, we should ALL go ahead and order extra parts. That bad stuff in Japan didn't help things and I heard that many parts were destroyed and that they were no longer gonna keep parts that most folks don't need or want. That's bad for us if other parts places do the same thing. When that happens, radiators will be $1,000.oo and up!!!

Well, good talking to you and I apologize for the late response but I've been busy at work and the huntin' place......and have visitation to go to tonight now that one of my favorite uncles passed away. I'm head casket bearer tomorrow and am not looking forward to it.

So, you keep in touch and have a really good hunting season...I'll have to send some photos of my shooting houses. I don't use or need them but I've made a few for my dad who can't hunt in ladder stands as he once did.

~Michael
j.m.l.68@hotmail.com

Maroon and Grey (ALL THE WAY)!!!

 

[Red State]

Once my food plots are up, I'll take photos of them as well. Hopefully, I can have a photo of a nice buck for ya as well. HA!!!

Here's the photo of my "REDNECK engineering".....Don't worry, this was just a temporary thing that seemed to help get me through. The tractor ran well and I never had a problem as the coolant re-circulated and never again steamed out of the little rubber hose. It would go into the jug and when off, the water that had gone into the jug went right back into the radiator. The only problem I had was that I now have to weld a part on my bushog that broke. That happened after lunch day before yesterday and after I was texted the bad news about my uncle. My fear was that my 'overflow' would burst but it didn't and it seemed to regulate everything better. Only once did it even "gurgle" and that was after a long haul up the our mountain to my 4th and last food plot. I had my plow and all my seed, fertilizer and lime loaded on the tractor....up hill most of the way. It was hotter yesterday too so I believe it did quite well. I've noticed that I need to keep the tractor at 1500 RPMs or less and it'll do the same amount of work with less wear and tear. What RPMs do you operate?

I know that the manufacturers/engineers probably wanted you to see the steam (just in case of a problem) but I truly feel that they should have built an over-flow tank. Anyway, it helped, I'm done and the tractor has never been better or performed better. Now, all I need is lots and lots of rain.

 

[JC-jetro]

Nice:thumbsup: I like it , I wrote the book on red neck engineering, give me some bailing wire and duct tape and I'm good to go

JC,


Ps. It is the vacuum after a cooling off that suck the anti freeze back. Below is my version made out of peanut butter jar. There is plenty more jars where that came from.