New Rankin Rotary Cutter - no gear oil

[spindlewood]

So I fired up my new Ranking Rotary Cutter and as I finished using it (about an hour or so), it dawned on me that I didn't check to see if the dealer had put oil in the gear box. Sure enough it was dry. I've read the previous post on this Bush hog, no gear oil in box! and now my user's manual and of course it says "Check oil before each use." It also says its the "Dealer's Responsibility" to go through the checklist before delivery - which of course includes filling the gear box.

What's done is done, but is it likely there is any damage likely from running it for an hour or so without oil? Should I mention this lack of oil to the dealer as in, "Heads up, new customers (especially those you know to be totally green to owning a tractor) might be expecting equipment delivered ready to be used."

Or should I simply let it go, fill it, grease it, and move on?... Thanks.

 

[oosik]

You know, Spindlewood, I think you would know if there was any damage done - gear box got exceedingly hot, noise, gear box locked up, smoke etc. In the absence of any of those gut wrenching situations I would fill the gear box - run it up to temp - carefully check for any leaks - drain the gear oil & check for large chunks. If it all looks good - and it should - fill the gear box again and consider this a learning experience. If there are problems then contact the dealer and explain the situation to him. It is the dealers responsibility to fill the gear box prior to delivery. This situation is the same as taking delivery of a new auto.

 

[bullbreaker]

If it was me I'd tell dealer about it. Also depending on their response I would fill it to correct level run it for a while and drain and strain fluid looking for metal particles. Also if you can find a thin enough magnet stick tool retriever you could also stick fill hole and see if you fish particles.

I have seen this happen a couple times to people with PHD who never checked fluid level and ran their PHD dry. I once got a deal on a brand new one because of this.

Please no offence to anyone out there but remember lots of bush hog gear boxes and PHD gear boxes are made in China.

 

[grm61]

I'd do everything I could to get a new one.
Damage done, almost certainly.
Will you get full life out of it? I doubt it.

Dealer should have filled it, you should have checked it, unfortunate situation.
Start kicking and screaming and see what happens.

Good luck.

 

[spindlewood]

I'd do everything I could to get a new one.
Damage done, almost certainly.
Will you get full life out of it? I doubt it.

Dealer should have filled it, you should have checked it, unfortunate situation.
Start kicking and screaming and see what happens.

Good luck.

Dealer acknowledged that it was his responsibility to have filled it before delivery. He's checking with Rankin and mentioned the possibility of a swap. I prefer the offer comes from him as opposed to having to press as I need to keep on good terms with the dealer. We shall see.

 

[N80]

Get a replacement if you can.

If not, the top of my John Deere light duty rotary cutter gear box is easy to unbolt. If yours is the same, pull the top off and look in there for metal shavings. Inspect the alignment, seals, etc. If everything looks okay, put the appropriate amount of oil in it and run it. Listen to it. Look for leaks. Feel for any slop or backlash. If okay-mow on.

However, it should be the dealer's job to keep on good terms with you.

 

[john_bud]

I have a policy with dealers, I assume they normally hire idiots, but settle for less!

Then when I find loose bolts, empty oil sumps, missing plugs etc it's expected. On the rare times everything is perfect because the dealer accidentally hired a qualified person, I'm happily surprised.


sort of kidding...

 

[spindlewood]

Well, egg on face... sort of. Dealer called back and let me know that there is a tiny side plug- a view hole. The manual leaves much to be desired. You're supposed to open both holes (filler and side plug) and fill till it pours out the tiny plug. No way to easily check if it's got oil without adding some and watching it spill out... What a mess draining the extra oil through that tiny plug.

Good news is it probably had oil. Bad news, I guess I risked blowing the seals - but no leaks so all is good.

Get a replacement if you can.

Good thing I didn't press on this one and patiently waited for the dealer to respond appropriately - which he did on all accounts.

I have a policy with dealers, I assume they normally hire idiots, but settle for less!

Then when I find loose bolts, empty oil sumps, missing plugs etc it's expected. On the rare times everything is perfect because the dealer accidentally hired a qualified person, I'm happily surprised

So far so good with this one. The dealer did forget to fill my PHD with gear oil (I caught that one) so I presumed it was the case again with the Rankin Cutter. Glad I was wrong. Although my dealer is fairly new with tractors and still learning the ropes, he does his best to do right by the customer. But I hate finding bolts lying around and wondering where they came from...

 

[spindlewood]

What’s really crazy is that the manual says to check the oil before each use. How are you supposed to check the oil with a weep hole? All you can do is add oil and watch it spill out. Rather stupid if you ask me. There must be a better way to design these things.

 

[oosik]

I developed a sort of dip stick. I bent a piece of wire and insert it in the fill hole to check oil depth. The fill hole is on the side of the gear box. I think its a requirement for implement engineers - design stuff as difficult as possible. Easy would be a filler plug on the top with a dip stick attached to check oil level.