Pics of my new (to me) 1700 and some questions

[pacerron]

Thanks for the link to McMaster-Carr. Looks like they have exactly what I need! The current pattern is diamond openings (as opposed to staggered holes). I suppose that has better air flow that the sheets with round holes in them, although I doubt is matters much.

Dealer did not stock the seal, but it will be in on Thursday. Total cost was $21, including shipping. Not bad.

The diamond 1/2" opening in a 24" x 24" sheet is $9.95 at home depot. It is 0.125 thick which is 3+ mm.
Since your broken frame is plastic have you considered putting a couple pins between the broken sides and doing a Stu bondo job on it?
You could even make a plaster of paris cast split with aluminum foil from the non broken part and do the final bondo shape from the mold.

 

[pclausen]

Thanks Ron. I'll check home depot when I head that way Thursday to pick up the seal for the lift cylinder. I'll bring the old one with me to make sure it is pretty close.

I have never been any good at bondo work, but maybe this could be an opportunity for me to give it a shot!

 

[pclausen]

I picked up the cylinder seal today and also tried to find some of that 1/2" diamond metal mesh at Home Depot. They never heard of such a think. All they had was gutter guard which was not wide enough or matching pattern wise. I spoke to 4 different people. Maybe it varies by region what the local Home Depot carries?

Anyway, here is the new seal. Note how the lip points into where the pressure is.

It was impossible to get it on at first, so I decided to drop it in boiling water for a few minutes

That did the trick when using a small screwdriver to work it around the top edge of the piston

Here's the old seal. It came apart when I took it out.

The final challenge was getting the piston into the cylinder, but by tilting it and slowly working it all the way around, it finally popped it.

Putting the whole assembly back into the gear case was pretty straight forward. I made sure to angle it down as much as possible to ensure the push rod was picked up and centered in the piston.

Fired up the tracker and once the cylinder has filled up, the implement raised right up. And no more bouncing! I shut the engine off, and the implement did not drop. Did a bunch of rake work and everything worked great. I left the rake in the raised position this afternoon. Will be interesting to see if it is still raised when I check it in the morning.

 

[JC-jetro]

Jim, thanks for the link to JC-jetro's thread. After reading that, I figured I might as well pop my lift cylinder out. I can't believe how easy it was. Less than 5 minutes.

Here's the tractor after removing it

Closeup showing the rod the piston pushes against to raise the lift arms

Sure enough, my piston seal is completely shot!

Hopefully the local New Holland dealer stocks this item.

I too struck out online trying to locate some similar metal mesh. I'll probably hit the stores tomorrow to see what's available. I went to tsc yesterday, and the only thing they had was this really heavy gauge diamond pattern that has holes large enough to stick your fingers through.

Howdy,

I was overseas for the past 10 days and had very little internet other than phone and communication. Peter, I'm glad my thread helped out. Have a hard time going on my little 7 inch tablet. I'm in Chicago at the airport and got another 2 hrs to get home.
Cheers'
JC

 

[pclausen]

I was wondering what happened to you JC.

When I went to start the 1700 this morning, I was very pleasantly surprised to see that the rake had not dropped even an inch. When I started the tractor, the rake barely rose. So the new seal was the all that I needed! I love it when a hydraulic fix is only $20!

 

[grainger12002]

awesome job PC, its great when you are able to fix things,not spend alot and learn along the way. awesome

 

[JC-jetro]

I was wondering what happened to you JC.

When I went to start the 1700 this morning, I was very pleasantly surprised to see that the rake had not dropped even an inch. When I started the tractor, the rake barely rose. So the new seal was the all that I needed! I love it when a hydraulic fix is only $20!

I was in "Gay Paree" to visit relatives. I realy like the robust and good design of hyd system for 1000 series Ford. On most you need to take the diffy top cover below the seat entirely off to have access to the hyd cylinder and piston. it is not that difficult but it takes a lot more work. I entirely overhauled the hyd system under $100 that included complete fluid change, seal replacement and pump overhaul, that ain't bad at all, I say

Your rig is looking better all the time. I'll do what you have done to your 1700 after we move to our acreage.

JC,

 

[pclausen]

Thanks! With all the "issues" resolved, I went ahead and ordered up a new seat and muffler from Ebay. I have also started to spray PB blaster on the steering wheel nut. It looks like it will be quite a challenge to get off. Once I do, I'll get me a fresh steering wheel as well. My current one is in pretty bad shape.

So the only maintenance issue I have been neglecting at this point is to change the oil in the fuel injector pump. There is even a big label on the side of the gas tank cautioning the need to change it every 200 hours. As discussed earlier, mine does not have the check or drain holes, just the fill one. I'm thinking of loosening the side cover to drain it, and then just add a pre-measured amount (8 oz I think?)

 

[murphy1244]

Get a vacuum oil sucker.

 

[pclausen]

Assuming the pick up tube will go all the way to the bottom, that sure makes a lot of sense! I actually got one, but I would need to adopt a smaller pick up tube to it. Will give that a shot as soon as I get a chance.