Opening hood on Foton 404

Wa11banger · Nov 8, 2013

Acky sorry to hear its going to be so cold it does suck to work on things in cold weather and so much more so when you arent exactly sure what your up against or how long it will take. Mine is a 2004 so I am pretty sure it will be close.

As for bleeding I didnt find or know of anyway to bleed it so I just exercised everything over and over, the front bucket didnt lift all the way for a few cycles and kinda bounced coming down but it seems to have worked out all the bubbles/air since then.

As for the hood mine also only opens about 45-60 degrees. I couldnt add oil to the top of it if I had to so good thing the lower fill is on the left hand side but I was able to replace the power steering fluids with a pump on a 5 gallon bucket.. I bought one of those cheap clamp in the pour spout pumps for 5 gallon buckets.. I then set the bucket on the front tire and ran the fill tube up into the resevoir. I have a post on how I did that fluid replacement for the power steering here at post #10 http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/chinese-tractors/294650-foton-404-steering-hard-impossible.html It worked a charm and I didnt waste a lot of materials or have to rinse out large amounts of incorrect fluids used to wash it out.

The hood + the FEL make it a real charm to get to anything under there and I am getting up there in age enough that my ability to contort into the proper positions is getting harder and harder.

Hickory Creek · Nov 8, 2013

Ours is just like both of yours. It is an hour from me or I would go look at it for you. As I remember, when I took the "bonnet" off all I had to do was remove struts at hood connection point and then pull two large pins on frame and the whole hood will lift off. I grabbed it by the fuel filler door and the front grill and rolled it over on the FEL arms, then let it slide some before getting a good grip on it. Not sure as it has been awhile.

Ordered a new solenoid, but it is the wrong size for starter, so I have to ask the boss if she wants to buy a starter as I was told it would be about 3 months if part is available before it would come in.

Will look for that filter the next time I go to tractor.

Thanks for all the great tips.

As far as LSU and Alabama, well I'll go with Ala. as this year LSU isn't what it should be. Bama by 20.

Acky · Nov 13, 2013

Guys,

Thanks so much for all the tips and advice on the Foton. I was at my daughter's the other day and her machine has the hydraulic filter in the same location as yours. But, since it was below freezing, all I did was pull the dipstick and add a bit. All was well. Did change the engine oil and filter (pretty simple).
When the nice weather rolls around again (likely next August), I'll tackle the hydraulic filter, which, of course, was caked with grime. It won't be pretty !!
Hickory, good call on the Bama game !!

Once again, guys, thanks for sharing all your knowledge. Be back at you in the spring (God willing). Enjoy the winter.

Acky