Noob questions 186d

[lectric80]

Forgive me if these questions have been answered, I did try searching but couldn't find anything specific about these. I am hoping you guys can help while I am waiting on operations and service manuals from Hoye.

My Dad just purchased a 186d with loader and tiller. It runs great, has a few leaks we are dealing with, but when unloading it he bumped the lever and lowered the tiller a bit on the 3 point. Not a big deal, so we attempted to raise it and it squeeled. Not wanting to damage it, but needing it up a bit to get it off the trailer, I lifted the tiller while he moved the lever. We were able to get it up a few inches and get off the trailer. After that I opened the cap under the seat and could see no fluid at all, it was wet but no visible level. How full should that be, and is it just standard hydraulic? Is this the proper place for adding fluid to the 3 point system?

Edit: just to be clear, the loader works perfect all the way up and bucket throughout the range without a sound. The screech is only when attempting to lift the 3 point.

Next question is that when applying the clutch, it acts as if the brakes are stuck. Basically as soon as you press the clutch pedal in the tractor stops moving. No roll, no coast. Is this normal? Is there a lever we are missing for a brake lock? I can see one lever next to the brake pedal that appears to be a tilt up when the pedal is depressed and that holds the pedal, but that is fully unlocked.

I have ordered a few parts, and will be ordering more, but he needs to get his garden done, and I really want to get my parking area graded and remove as many of the goat heads as possible. Any help you guys can provide is greatly appreciated while we wait on the manuals and a new fuel/water separator bowl. Once these projects are done we can work on my brothers 1 acre lot so grass can be laid down, then take the little thing up to work on the 2.5 acre camp area.

 

[winston1]

You should have a dipstick under the seat for checking transmission fluid. The proper fluid is combination hydraulic/transmission fluid such as JD303. Doesn't have to be the jd303, just a combination fluid. Evidently your level is not the problem if your loader is functioning. Assuming your loader uses the same hydraulic system and doesn't have it's own pump. How large is that tiller? Sounds like your relief valve going off. I believe the 186 lift is rated a t 551lbs at 24" behind the pins. Any idea what the tiller weighs? Did the former owner not have any information about this problem?
On to the brakes. These tractors will not roll quite as free as an automobile. The lower range and gear the tractor is in can cause it to be a little harder to push. However, there should be a little roll upon pushing the clutch in. Follow your brake linkage from the pedal back to the brake drum. Actuate the brake and make sure the arm going in the brake housing is moving.

 

[lectric80]

Thanks for the information winston, I will check out the dipstick.

According to the previous owner that tiller came with the tractor, and he hasn't had any issues with it. Now, at $4600 he might not have been completely honest, or it could be that the leak at the loader control valve just had the level too low. I will double check after I get the kids out to school and see what the level is. Maybe it was just being off kilter on the trailer causing some binding. I don't know if Dad tried it after we got off the trailer and onto semi-level ground. The whole tractor was tilted on the trailer because of a center hump on the trailer, and the trailer being more designed for car hauling and not a small tractor. If I can't see anything on the tiller I will get some pics up to see what you think.

As for brakes, I will check the linkage and talk to Dad to see what he thinks. Maybe it was just the lack of any real momentum on fairly level ground. Even the ramps off the trailer were close to level when we unloaded it, so maybe there isn't an issue.

 

[284 International]

Winston covered most of it. My 186D's hydraulics are extremely powerful and fast. It has no problem rocketing a heavy 4 foot rotary cutter up and down. If your tiller is 5 feet or less, from any manufacturer, it should be banging it off the ground.

A tiller mounted with a loader seems, to me, a slightly odd combination if that's all he had for the tractor. I'd have expected some sort of blade or box scraper or ballast box or something. If he didn't normally use the tiller very much, it's possible that the top link isn't properly matched to the implement and machine.

I have a couple (probably non-standard dimensions) implements that, on my 186D and other small tractors, I've had to use a different top link than I normally would. Otherwise, because of the geometry of the hitch and implement, the top link makes the system act more like a triangle (a rigid shape) rather than a parallelogram (a flexible shape). Basically the wrong sized top link meant the tractor had to pivot the implement up, rather than lifting it, and the forces involved there are much greater.

I guess what I'm rambling about is that if the combination of implements wasn't regularly used that way by the previous owner, it might be mismatched, and the geometry of the thing is fouled up, and there is no problem with your tractor.

Winston covered the brakes, too, I think. The only brake lock is the one by the pedals, so if it's up and out of the way there isn't a parking brake or lock or anything like that. The easiest is to jack the thing up off the ground and spin the tires. You'll know pretty quickly if something is binding. Because there is so much gear reduction in these things, they spin with more resistance than a car would, but you should be able to move them freely, and it should be equal all the way around in a rotation.

Check and make sure there is some slack in the brakes, too. The pedals should have some free travel before they press the shoes onto the drum. Maybe, in prepping it to sell, the previous owner tightened them up a bit too much. If they give instant results when pressing softly, or marginal/little result, they're probably too tight.

The dipstick for the transmission was trickier than I expected for me to find, but it's there, on the left ("driver's") side of the housing, on top.

It sounds like you have some good projects for your new machine. The 186D will do a lot of work, and the transmission is a real productivity booster. Congratulations on your purchase.

 

[California]

The transmission dipstick is the tiny black knob at the center of this photo. It is under the left side of the seat.

Mine has that locked-brakes feel too. I adjusted the slack out of the brakes, but never before have I been left with this dragging feeling after doing a brake adjustment on anything else. I read that these are designed so various bands or clutches in the transmission stay engaged, like two gears at once, when the transmission's input shaft isn't driven. Also mine exhibits something else I saw as part of that comment - it will stop stationary due to this dragging but a few seconds later the braking relaxes and it will then roll unexpectedly if you stopped on a slight slope. Unlike other stick shifts, I *always* set the parking brake on my YM186D.

We just discussed a squeal like that in another thread. Check the two knobs under the seat.

 

[MJPetersen]

There are 2 valves under the seat on the transmission that control elements of the 3 pt. the one under the front of the seat is the stop valve--closing that will prohibit any 3 pt movement. ie the relief will squeal if it is closed and you try to raise the 3 pt. It is for keeping the implement up. the other valve is on the right side and is for regulating the rate of drop of the 3 point. With a tiller I slow it down so the tiller does not just drop, but rather eases into the soil. I think that your problem is that the first valve is closed.

Mike

 

[lectric80]

Thanks to all of you. Dad did say that he raised/lowered it several times when he went to check it out. It was working then, so I will run over and check the knobs you guys have mentioned, as well as fluid levels. He is currently running the grease gun to lube up all the points on it. Sure sounds like the knob under the seat could have gotten closed somewhat, especially with him getting on and off. He barely fits behind the wheel, and I think he could honestly drive it with his belly. I love my Dad, but he is a big boy.

The main reason he picked this up is for my little brothers property. Little brother bought he lot and house about 2 months ago, but it is in a HOA. He needs to get it landscaped, but found out he was going to be in Afghanistan until at least the end of July. I am happy to do the work, but reality is I am not as young as I once was and an acre is a bit more than I can do by hand.