Newbie. Please help!

[Jolew0225]

Went 400+ miles yesterday to buy my first tractor. A Ford 1110 4x4 with an FEL and rear blade. Drove down and gave it a test drive. Looked a little rough but everything worked perfectly. I still wanted a second opinion. Loaded it on my trailer and drove an additional 20 miles the wrong way to the nearest NH dealer. They brought it in back, checked it over and said everything checked out and for $3400 it seemed like a reasonable deal.

I drive home. It takes 10+ hours as a blizzard moves into Central and Northern MN. We're talking 35mph on the freeway in 4wd, especially since this is my first time towing this much weight in a blizzard with my Tacoma. I get home at 5am, park and immediately go to bed. Wake up this morning (well noon) and am excited to play with my new scut. Immediately things go wrong. Front left tire is frozen in place. Won't budge. I hit the tire with a mallet, the end of the axleshaft, everything thinking it's frozen some how from being covered and blasted in snow and ice. Wont budge. Put the scut in four low to see if I can break it loose that way. Nope. That tire drags while the others are spinning in place trying to push it. Lift the front tires up with the loader and pull off the wheel and whack the end of the axle again. Axleshaft won't budge. Nothing. I am seriously upset/disappointed right now. The NH dealer even jacked the scut into the air to make sure all four tires were spinning in 4wd, and they were.

Any ideas? My new/old tractor is sitting in the middle of the driveway right now collecting snow because I can't even move it! Should I heat the axleshaft with a propane torch? Could it be frozen from the weather or is this a sign of something much more dire. I can't even get it back on the trailer in it's current state. I tried shifting in and out of 4wd and high/low to no avail. The right font tire works fine. Spins with full power in 4wd.


This is my first foray into tractors. I was just gonna use this little machine for clearing snow at my house and my rents place. Possibly some small scale skid-loading, firewood handling duties. Seriously bummed right now and hoping I didn't just buy a lemon.

Thanks in advance,
Jonah

 

[rimshot]

The poor thing is just froze to death. Try this first before doing anything drastic to what sounds like a nice Ford Tractor. Build a tarp tent over it and thaw it out with some heat. Sounds to me as though some linkage an bearings got attacked by the elements.

Good luck with that new tractor.

rim

 

[ljellio]

I'm thinking the same spray from the road got in there and froze up .ice in the right (well in this case wrong place) can be incredibly strong. I wouldn't put hear directly to the axel if it can be avoided.

 

[Jolew0225]

Well i just roasted it with the propane torch and got it moving. How can I prevent this? What caused it?

Thanks in advance.

Oh and sorry to soound whiny and desperate. I was just frazzled after my awful day yesterday and really pissed off when I couldn't even unload my new tractor.

Wish me luck. And any advice you guys have right off the bat is surely appreciated.

Jonah

 

[Jolew0225]

Hey I wrote my response without even seeing you guys had responded. Thanks fellas. Yeah after this it will be stored indoors (not heated) but at least out of the elements.

Thanks again. I'm learning!

Jonah

 

[jinman]

I have a torpedo heater that works great at times like this, but have only had to use it once in 10 years. If I were you, I'd check all my fluids in that front axle to see if they look cloudy. A fluid change could prevent this from ever happening again. My guess is it was condensation that collected in the fluid and froze. It may never be a problem again, but you want to have dry fluid in there anyway.

Congrats on the new-to-you tractor. Remember, pictures promote good karma.:thumbsup:

 

[JC-jetro]

give your tractor little it of hot chocolate, move your truck out of garage and move the tractor inside. Let it warm up to garage environment. Do all fluid changes (hyd and engine, antifreeze and such. FW reduction gear is separate from the rest of the hyd, so it needs to be separately drained and filled . Either you had previous condensation in the oil or driving in blizzard forced some water in and eventually froze. Give it some TLC before demanding it to work hard.

JC,


Oh , yep ...we do like pictures congrats on your purchase. price is good with a loader.

 

[flyingcow]

give your tractor little it of hot chocolate, move your truck out of garage and move the tractor inside. Let it warm up to garage environment. Do all fluid changes (hyd and engine, antifreeze and such. FW reduction gear is separate from the rest of the hyd, so it needs to be separately drained and filled . Either you had previous condensation in the oil or driving in blizzard forced some water in and eventually froze. Give it some TLC before demanding it to work hard.

JC,


Oh , yep ...we do like pictures congrats on your purchase. price is good with a loader.

+1 drain everything, grease all fittings, push the moisture out. chances are, the trip, plus it had a little moisture in it already, froze everything solid.

Been there, done that, it's amazing how stuff can freeze up.

 

[Ezlivn]

This thread is absolutely useless without pics!!!

 

[wh22366]

I've had both 1210 and 1710 Fords and they really served me well. I kept both of them outside and learned to cover them with tarps to keep water from finding its way into the gear cases. During one winter rain storm the 1710 gear case absorbed enough water to freeze all hydraulic operation when the temp dropped. I was able to back it into the garage, bucket dragging, and onto my old four post lift. I ran a propane heater under the tractor for a couple of hours to thaw it out, changed the hydraulic oil the next day, and was back in business. I found the transmission top plate (factory) gasket was pinched and hanging into the case giving water a direct entrance. I also suspected some water got in by the tired shift lever boot and changed that too.

 

[Jolew0225]

Fluid replacement is on the to do list for the weekend. The axle froze again. That front oil definitely needs to be replaced. All right I got another question for everybody. Took my battery off to charge it and noticed how rusted/corroded some of the leads were. Decided while I was at it I would pull the ground strap, hot wire to the solenoid, and solenoid off to clean all the posts/surfaces of corrosion/surface rust etc. to get a better/cleaner current to my starter.

Well I may have bitten off more than I can chew with the solenoid. I've disassembled and replaced plenty of solenoids before (power sports) but this one was new to me. I made the ultimate mechanic sin of taking something apart and not remembering how it went back together. I am particularly baffled by the spring/plunger/actuator arm that goes down into the starter. Clearly I can see the plunger slot goes over the acuator arm but how does that dang spring go back in there? And which leads go to which post on the solenoid? Anybody got a diagram of exactly how they go back together? I wouldn't have pulled the solenoid knowing these internal parts would come out when I pulled it off the starter. I thought, like in power sports, it alone would come off as one easily replaceable unit and I would more easily be able to clean it's brass posts.


Thanks again to everybody, you guys have already been a big help!

Pics will be on the way. May take me a couple days but they will come!

Jonah

 

[JC-jetro]

let's start with the pic but at the same time post make and model of your starter off of your tractor. There might be some parts breakdown somewhere.I'll look at what I have for some clue.

JC,

 

[jinman]

Jonah, I think the attachment is an illustration of your starter. Maybe it will help.

 

[Jolew0225]

Yeah Jinman that's it! Thanks man. I searched around and eventually found that diagram as well.

I got it all back together and running again. My projects now are still to replace that front axle fluid and install a block heater.

My question now is, what fluid goes in the front axle? Is there a different weight fluid I should have for the routine sub-zero nights we get here in N. MN? Local NH dealer said hydro 134, what do you guys think? Thanks.

Jonah

 

[jinman]

Ambra Multi-G 134 Hydraulic/Transmission fluid is what you want. The same stuff as used in the transmission.

 

[Zork]

Sounds like moisture or water is in your oil. Heat it up and see if it breaks free and if it does change your oil.

 

[Jolew0225]

Gotcha. Thanks guys.

Jonah

 

[Hooked_on_HP]

I am not sure if your front axle is the same design as my 1900. If it is you need to drain the oil out of the final drives on each side of the front axle and replace it. If you didn't get one with the tractor get an operators manual. This will tell you what to lubricate and what type of fluid goes where. You can find them on the Internet. I would also consider a service manual if you plan on doing your own repairs. Good luck with the new tractor.
Bill

 

[Jolew0225]

Pleased but pissed! Remember I just bought this thing.

Got fluid, got in heated garage, got it completely heated up. Cleaned up and around fluid drain and fill w/ brake cleaner and found why my final drive was freezing. I thought all the oily gunk built up on and around that drive was suspicious. Upon cleaning I see my final drive housing is CRACKED!! Not only is it cracked but it appears someone pathetically attempted to grind it and weld it very, very poorly. Needless to say when I cracked the drain plug, and I'm not making this up, about a quart of WATER poured out!

I proceed as planned and fill it up. I notice oil seeps from the crack. Luckily it is very high, near the fill plug. This crack doesn't seem like it will threaten the drive-ability of my little 86 1110 any time soon. It doesn't seem to threaten the "structural" integrity of the housing at all, it just leaks a little. If that makes sense. It seems like something I will have to keep my eye on and probably fill and drain on a pretty regular basis, which ain't so bad cuz it couldn't have been easier!

My questions are as follows. Can I get away jb welding/constant checking, draining, filling this for the winter? It seems to me like jb would work fine to keep oil in and water out short term but does anyone find any reason why that is a horribly irresponsible decision? Please tell me. My buddy who was helping me today, who happens to be a welder, said the crack didn't seem like it would be that hard to correctly weld. It appears that the previous owner, or whoever, tried to grind and weld without removing the drive housing! He (my buddy) seemed to think he could correctly weld it once removed. I would rather wait till summer to do this. Sound all right? I only spent $3400 on the whole machine so dropping hundreds more to repair this is not something I really wanna do.

Anyhow, I'm pleased I have the freezing issue determined and remedied (in the short term), but a little pissed at it's cause.

Oh seesh....I gotta go to bed. Try to get pics tomorrow.

Thanks in advance

Jonah

 

[Hooked_on_HP]

I think it would be hard for that much water to get in through a crack. Could there be a bad seal that is allowing the water in. The proper thing to do would be to repair it wright. However in a pinch I would give the JB a try as a temporary repair.
Bill