New to tractors ford 1700 question.

[JC-jetro]

JC- I ran into a small issue with the aftermarket coolant hoses (adv auto) and was wondering if you were aware of it. The top was easy and not an issue however the bottom one based on the SKU# came back to a 71303 hose. The dia on this hose is slightly larger and thinner and i dont believe it would seal well. (top hose in the dia comparison) I was able to have them look up the 71718 hose which they have as a D. That hose dia fits perfect and is more in line with the original. After a little trimming on both ends it fit fine. The funny part is the 71303 looks to be a much easier fit (shape wise) than the 71718 except for the dia issue. Any how, just wondering if they changed the sku on you after you had originally bought them.

BG,

it's been several years since I have done it. I had to trim the end a tad for good fit but dia was perfect and it never leaked in the last 4 years.

JC,

 

[BG4985]

Do you remember if it was that 71718 hose or not because that sku is #5371880 for the 71718 hose.

In your post you had hose 71718 sku #5191785 (which comes back to the 71303 hose with sku# 5191785). Believe me im not complaining...i just wanted to point it out because i know a lot of people use your tips about the aftermarket hoses. I had bought both and used the 71718 hose with a sku of #5371880 for the lower. Thanks again...i wouldnt of gotten close without your help on it.

 

[old1500]

I am not trying to hijack the 1700 thread, but a lot of the 1700 stuff looks a lot like the 1500 stuff...I am currently working on a 1500, but did use it a while to see what I had.

Mine is in landscape-dress like your 1700 I see here in the pics. I have had small hp "other tractor brands" and have came to the conclusion these 1500-1700's are built a lot like a tank in some respects as opposed to some of the other Japanese tractors. I am not knocking Kubota or Yanmar either....just making an observation about what I can see vs. what I have owned.

The parts are pricey like mentioned above, but I have found several items off e-bay and other sites along the way. I re-wired mine too and eliminated a lot of unnecessary (for me) junk. Like....why do I need a horn or flashers! I also removed the safety switch at the clutch-pedal, but that is a matter of your feel for personal safety. In my view....any possible link in the chain that could cause trouble, I remove it if possible. My wiring at the alternator looked about like yours does, so I re-worked all that. The harness is not that long and once you peel-off the old tape, most of the existing wiring can be used. When I first reconnected my burned-off lead to the alternator (was not charging when I bought it)...I blew all the headlights as the voltage shot up to around 16v. I replaced the mechanical regulator with one off e-bay for around $30 and solved that problem.

My main issue at the moment is steering slack. My cross-shaft actually moves a good bit when the wheel is turned, so I am in for a replacement load deck or bushing....if there is a bushing in there. This will be my next venture to get into. I might wind up at the machine shop as opposed to giving somebody $600 for a new load deck.

These other guys have done a lot more stuff to these little 15 and 1700's than I have, but I will be happy to help you solve anything I can. You are walking in my tracks! First thing I'd do is consider that battery tray. On mine...the battery had rubbed the radiator and I sprung for a new radiator and re-worked the battery tray with one from a Chevy pick-up that will not move.

 

[JC-jetro]

Do you remember if it was that 71718 hose or not because that sku is #5371880 for the 71718 hose.

Are you kiddin me? I can't rememberer what I had for supper last night. I went to my handy notes and the hose # was 71718CS rather than 71718.

When I changed my hoses, I drained the system first and took the hoses with me. I knew one of the guys at the counter and he suggested me to go to back of the store and eyeball, compare and contrast and pick the best matching one. SKU's don't always stay the same and it might have changed and obviously I don't keep up with that. I still have my old ones in a bucket for future reference if I need.

JC,

 

[JC-jetro]

My main issue at the moment is steering slack. My cross-shaft actually moves a good bit when the wheel is turned, so I am in for a replacement load deck or bushing....if there is a bushing in there. This will be my next venture to get into. I might wind up at the machine shop as opposed to giving somebody $600 for a new load deck.

old,

I have not disassembled my steering mechanism and only checked the oil in the mechanism. I did have a bit of slop, slack with mine too. Below you see the pic of my 1700 steering column. There is a nut and crew on the housing cover. I simply loosened the nut (the big nut in the middle) and using a screwdriver turned the screw clockwise and it corrected some of the slop but not all. That was good enough for me. I kept the screw in the same position with a screwdriver and tightened the nut with a box end wrench.

JC,

 

[old1500]

My 1500 looks the same as yours and I think the units for the 1300, 1500 and 1700 are the same. I also adjusted the screw and took out a little slack, but in my research, I discovered Ford/NH made a change in the 83 model years. 79-82 boxes had no bushing....they got smarter and installed a bushing in 83. The 83 and newer PN is SBA334292131. The earlier years are SBA334210051.

I have found replacements for the newer 1700 box for $596. However...I see no reason at all why a good machinist can't re-size the shaft opening and install a bushing in there for a LOT less. I am going to get by with mine the way it is and that fix will be a good winter project. That (and the battery tray arrangement) is the weakest part I see in this tractor and be sure not to overlook that battery tray. I think I see some "scars" on a radiator already in one of the pictures in this thread and the cheapest one of those you can find is a tad over $400. That is a bargain considering the dealership wants $1100 for one. I cut the legs off the rusted-out unit in mine and welded an auto tray with the hold-down grommet in there....it ain't moving short of a head-on collision with a freight train.

 

[BG4985]

So much for getting it together today..I made the mistake of reading one of JC's posts about how easy it was to remove the tank to get at the wires. So this morning, i took the fuel tank off and started tracing wires. Guess what? at least 7 wires not connected to anything. Including, glow plug, oil sensor, clutch safety, wires connected in a circle, idiot lights...need i say more. Frankly im amazed the thing started up like it did when i got it.:confused2: Broke out the wiring diagram found the colors didnt match up nor did they correspond to the order on the connectors. I started stripping everything at that point. I think i found out why the glow plug wasnt hooked up due to the aftermarket starter. No location for the Heat option, all the other prongs give continuous power, so i ran a wire to the switch above the headlights to use just for the glow plug. (moved the lights back to the orginal switch) I know its not pretty but at this point its going to have to work until i can get a diff ign switch. (rewired everything the best i could, oil sensor, clutch safety, idiot lights, fuse box) Lets hope since its sunday tomorrow that someone up above will be on my side and it will actually start. Oh 1500, i adjusted the steering box like JC and took about 5 inches of play out of it. Did you check the fluid level in the box, youll love this.. that steering box of mine is filled with grease instead of oil

 

[BWBrown]

In servicing your steering, make sure things are adjusted correctly.

Each wheel has a steering stop bolt. Mine were never adjusted correctly from new.

Hitting a ridge or rock put great stress on the linkage and box instead of hitting the steering stop bolts. Damaged steering components several times 'til I figured out the problem.
Bob

 

[old1500]

BG....that is a testimonial as to just how tuff these little buggers really are. They will run no matter what some idiot does to by-pass or "field-repair" the thing. The factory normally uses one wiring harness for a model and just leaves the wires not needed dangling in the harness. Some people just have to make it run right then one-way-or-another and will take whatever shortcut necessary to make that happen, like run a new wire and tie-wrap it to the harness as opposed to fixing the wire....etc. It's just the nature of purchasing a used machine.

A man could get carried away and start replacing everything with factory components, but you will soon have as much in the rebuild as you would a new tractor.
When you get right down to it, all you need is a momentary switch to turn on the heaters, a button to engage the solenoid, a good starter to make her crank and a little alternator/regulator to keep a trickle charge on the battery. All the rest of the electrical gadgetry is a convenience. You can screw an oil pressure and temperature gauge in the sender ports and look at them now-and-again if that is a concern.

First thing I did was strip out all the old wiring, go to the wiring diagram and just build-back what was necessary.
Shibaura took an alternate approach to the starter. They put a BIG one on as opposed to using a little starter and a compression release. That is likely why some guy put the wrong starter on, he refused to pay the extra bucks for the stock replacement that cost twice as much.

Unless you want it to, it doesn't have to look just like it did when it left the factory. Just "make it your own". I am even making my on grille as opposed to giving somebody else $400 for a piece of plastic. The junk yards are full of vehicles with a Ford emblem on them and a nice chrome Ford logo is going to look real good bolted onto my homemade grille.

 

[JC-jetro]

So much for getting it together today..I made the mistake of reading one of JC's posts about how easy it was to remove the tank to get at the wires. Oh 1500, i adjusted the steering box like JC and took about 5 inches of play out of it. Did you check the fluid level in the box, youll love this.. that steering box of mine is filled with grease instead of oil

BG,

I bet you taking the tank off did not take but 5 minutes, but I don't remember I claimed the same about fixing the wiring harness. All are exposed as soon as tank come off but making head or tails of the wiring is another issue. You should have Ford 134 in the steering box. Mine looked like grease as well due to not ever being changed and be such a small volume that caused it to dry out. If you do not want to disassemble further, I'd suggest you to take a funnel and top it off with ford 134, same hyd fluid used in the transmission and hyd lift.

JC,

 

[BG4985]

JC - You're taking me wrong if you think im digging on you...You are correct in the 5min it took to take off the tank.. I didnt mean in any way to imply that you are the cause of my evil, if it sounded that way. This forum has been a HUGE help to me..and im sure it will continue to be in the future. As always thanks for the advice, being my first tractor ever, it has been quite the experience so far. As far as the grease/dried up fluid goes Ill try to just get as much of it out as i can before putting the new fluid in the box.

 

[JC-jetro]

JC - You're taking me wrong if you think im digging on you...You are correct in the 5min it took to take off the tank.. I didnt mean in any way to imply that you are the cause of my evil, if it sounded that way. This forum has been a HUGE help to me..and im sure it will continue to be in the future. As always thanks for the advice, being my first tractor ever, it has been quite the experience so far. As far as the grease/dried up fluid goes Ill try to just get as much of it out as i can before putting the new fluid in the box.

Cool what I like about these tractors are as long as you keep the oil in the engine, dissipate the heat properly and not run the transmission dry you're good to go since many of the maintenance can be done simply without many specialized tools or hard to find parts. if you are a bit mechanical you can find different substitutes in parts from general automotive and still maintain same factory functionality in one form or another. I paid $3100 for my rig, with that price I could have maybe bought a throwaway mower that could not even do 1/10 of what my tractor is capable of. I have seen 1700 with 3000+ hrs that still operate and I know the way I take care of her she'll be there for me for a long time. Should she be struck by TSDC (Tractor Sudden Death Syndrome),then I already got money's worth and then some.

JC,

 

[rayikeo2]

JC, I bought my 1700 new in 1980 and now after 30 years I have 1020 hours on it so I figure to get to 3000 hours it will take till 2070. I don't think I will make that far. I would be 133. Ray I

 

[JC-jetro]

JC, I bought my 1700 new in 1980 and now after 30 years I have 1020 hours on it so I figure to get to 3000 hours it will take till 2070. I don't think I will make that far. I would be 133. Ray I

Me too Ray, I had mine for 5 years and put in about 100 hrs on, although I think I have used it in excess of that but hardly ever I need to run it @ 2500 rpm. I as well will be 7 foot under before my tractor sees 3000 hrs.

JC,

 

[BG4985]

Ok, got most of it back together today, GP is set, oil and charging lights set, original light switch high and low set (still no idea why it was bypassed), even the darn horn works, My temp gauge doesnt move however, the needle stays H the whole time with the key in the on pos, i have the one wire running directly to the sensor, and the other is coming off the other main post right to a hot lead or ground? not the little screw above it? From the wiring diagram it looked like the little screw was strictly for a cig light option? Any suggestions? everything else seems to be working except for this. I wish it was the horn that wasnt working cause id just go without it, id rather not go without this!

 

[rayikeo2]

Check the 4 fuses in the fuse box. Top one goes to the headlights. 1 of the other 3 should power the temp guage but I am not sure of the correct wireing process. The temp guage is always showing max hot when the power is off ( looks like your are not getting power), when the key is on it powers the temp guage and it drops to indicate actual teperature (cold until warmed up). Should drop to Cold for about 5 min and then work up to just under the center mark.
I see you tractor is cleaning up really nice fron the pictures posted.

Looking a wiring diagram for a early 1710 it looks like the second fuse down has a r/w {red/ white stripe}wire that goes to the temp guage (top right) then from temp (top left )a b/w {blue/white stripe}wire goes to the sensor. Bottom left on temp guage looks to be Black (not sure if pos or neg but that wire goes to both the cig lighter option and also to the oil pressure/charge dash light group). The diagram for 1700 doesn't show a temp guage in it. Look uo early 1710 diagram (prior to July 1985)for confirmation if needed. I can take a picture and post diagram if you need it. As for foot throttle, I have never used mine in 30 years. Hand throttle does everything needed.

 

[old1500]

Ray has you covered there BG. Just for the sake of simplicity to "get it in your mind"....the sender is a resistive element that varies with heat. One lead should connect right there on the end of the sending unit....then to the meter and the other side of the meter (gauge) goes to a switched hot lead.
As the coolant temperature rises, the resistance in the sender changes varying the voltage drop across the sensor and causing the gauge (meter) needle to move one-way-or-another.

GOOD looking paint job!

 

[JC-jetro]

Ok, got most of it back together today, GP is set, oil and charging lights set, original light switch high and low set (still no idea why it was bypassed), even the darn horn works, My temp gauge doesnt move however, the needle stays H the whole time with the key in the on pos, i have the one wire running directly to the sensor, and the other is coming off the other main post right to a hot lead or ground? not the little screw above it? From the wiring diagram it looked like the little screw was strictly for a cig light option? Any suggestions? everything else seems to be working except for this. I wish it was the horn that wasnt working cause id just go without it, id rather not go without this!

BG,

The pics below show the yellow colored wire going to your temp gage. Do a continuity test either with a test light or ohm meter to see if you have a open in the line all the way to the temp gage. At cold condition, the resistive sender has zero resistance and at full operating temperature it has about 180 ohms. Check the sender resistance against the block. As Ray indicated fuse box could be a good possibility as well. The second pic shows where the yellow (sender wire)is landed on the switch. Second post should provide power to the gage. do a test light check between that and the ground, it should light up with the key in on position.

JC,

 

[BG4985]

Fuses are good to go, they were part of the rewire, most were not even hooked up. However on the gauge...ive got the sensor lead on the right just like JC's pic, the small screw which is right above it is going to the tach light, (this was according to the diagram) and then the other is going to a fused hot lead. (fyi- ive tried just about every possible wire swap/test connection with this thing now) But today Now when i turn the key, the needle moves from sitting on the H to the far right (like pegged out H) Do you think that the gauge itself is just bad? Needle stuck? gremlins? Everything else seems to be working fine on it, i did the meter test to the sensor and its wires are good, power is getting to the gauge itself, its throwing about 6-7 volts to the tach light via the small screw. Im about to just go by a el cheapo gauge from advance and be done with it.

 

[JC-jetro]

. Im about to just go by a el cheapo gauge from advance and be done with it.

BG,

did you actually check the sending unit like I suggested? it should register 180 ohm at normal engine operating temp, needle in the middle with the engine running. If the sending unit passes the test then I'd go after the temp gage. Harbor Freight sells them for about $15.

JC,