Random obsevations from a 50 hour service

Chet · Jul 28, 2003

Well, I finally did the 50 hour service, dealer reccomended changing all filters, so I got both fuel, engine oil and hyd suction line filter and commenced to work on the 45004WD. Yes, the drive shaft sheild is definitely in the way of the oil drain plug, had to remove that first. Oil drain and filter changed ok. Then stuck a funnel in the breather opening on top of the valve cover, grabbed a gallon of oil and started to pour. WHAT THE... oil backed up and ran all down the sides of the engine before I could blink! Seems there is a splash plate in the hole that barely lets oil through. So I filled through the dipstick hole, much easier. Next came the hyd filter. Better have the new one ready, as soon as you undo the old one you start draining the hyd fluid. Lost about a gallon. Fortunately I did have the drip pan under it, so I did not make a huge mess on the floor. I could not get a clear answer from the dealership on what hyd oil to buy, so I bought what they provided, Texaco RANDO@ 5GAL/$32.00. Funny, but I think r&o oil would be the same thing. Next up was the fuel filters, Oh Joy. The FEL mounting structure is most definitly in the way! Had to take the fuel line off the feed pump and slide it up out of the way to get a hand in the area to work a wrench. Almost dropped the copper washer in the drip pan full of engine and hyd oil. The forward filter center bolt is fairly easy to get to with a socket, but the aft one is just far enough under the starter that no socket will get on it. I would have paid good money for a 13mm crowsfoot at the time. A standard 13 mm wrench was too long, but I did manage to just be able to turn the center bolt with an S shaped obstruction wrench, about 1/8 inch at a time. I did not notice any drastic contamination nor any water in either of the filter bowls or the pump strainer assembly. Likewise the mag plug for the engine oil was clean. Time for the grease gun. The chart on page 41 does not mention the grease fittings on each end of the rear axle, don't forget those. On page 53 there is a list of things to grease. Two items are not on this model tractor, the gearshift and the antifriction(clutch throwout) bearing. The dealer Mech said he has no idea why there is no provision for greasing the throwout bearing, but will inquire and let me know. All other fluids were OK and I spent Sat and Sun brushoging a neibhors pasture without any problems. Gotta love it!! Chet

BobG_in_VA · Jul 28, 2003

Chet, great post! I fully understand what you are saying about your 50 hour service. Quick note on oil change. I did the same thing with the splash plate on the valve cover, but only spilled a small amount. Seems the engine is so airtight you have to loosen the dipstick prior to pouring in the oil so the air can escape thru the dipstick hole. Then you can pour it in the top/valve cover entry point. Also noted that the front wheel drive cover is WAY in the way. I fought it and did it with it on but took about 10 minutes to get the plug back in (next time the cover comes off). Was wondering what your fuel filters looked like inside: Were they clean/dirty/ and water, etc.?? Again thanks for a most informative post. PS. I have the 6000 4WD with FEL so I read intently....BobG in VA

AzScott · Jul 28, 2003

Good Info Chet, how would you rate the difficulty of the 50 hrs service on the Mahindra to other tractors that you may have owned? Simplicity and ease of maintenance is one of the points the salesman kept re-stating. What are your thoughts?

Chet · Jul 29, 2003

BobG, I found no water anywhere, the only thing I noticed in the fuel strainer and the filter bowls were some black specks that did not seem to be dirt, maybe just from the fuel tank? I have filled up at three different places, so that would be hard to isolate, Texaco truck stop, Wal-Mart and a local oil supply place that has off-road diesel. I will try to stick with the off-road source for a while ($1.03/Gal vs $1.40/gal) and pull the strainer again in a few hours and see if the stuff shows up again. The fuel filters were otherwise clean. I had not thought about the dipstick idea, thanks I will try that next time, although it was fairly easy to fill thru the dipstick hole and I did not have to climb around on the FEL to get to the top of the engine. The driveshaft cover comes off real quick, 19mm bolts at the front and 13mm nuts at the mid point. One furhter note, I could not get my hand in to the fuel tank water drain on the left side of the tank, I may have to engineer some kind of slotted device to put on an extension to turn it and see what comes out. Chet

Chet · Jul 29, 2003

AzScott, the only real difficulty was the access to the aft fuel filter center bolt. If the FEL was not on it would be quite accessible. I would have thought with a whole new tractor design that Mahindra would have gone with spin-on filters for these also. But overall it was not any harder to service than my Super C or IH 404. I turned wrenches on military aircraft for twenty years, so just about anything on a tractor is easier than changing the N2 tach generator on a TF-33 jet engine /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif Chet

BobG_in_VA · Jul 29, 2003

Cool! I'll "tap" the rear most fuel filter from the bottom screw next time to see if any water/sediment comes out. Will let you guys know the results. Not sure about the 4500 but the fuel filters on the 6000 seem to be accessable even with the FEL. Will also report on that as well. Slippy: How about you?? Done this stuff yet?? I've got about 27 hours on my 6000 and plan on changing the oil filiter again at 50 hours (first change at 21 hours--I'm a true believer in you can't change it too much-- used replacement Mahindra oil filter (about $6.50) and Chevron Delo 400). Later BobG in VA

bgott · Jul 30, 2003

http://www.matcotools.com/Catalog/toolcatalog.jsp?cattype=T&cat=2270&page=4&#38767

http://www.matcotools.com/Catalog/toolcatalog.jsp?cattype=T&cat=2270&page=3&#30809

Try these for that water drain.

Chet · Jul 30, 2003

Hey bgott, thanks,that first one looks like it might do the trick and we have a Matco truck here local. I'll pick one up and see how it does. Chet

Slippy · Jul 30, 2003

Bobg: I have read these posts very closely and will print them out and put with my manual for when I do my first service. I had my 50 hour service done by my dealer. I have also told him I will have him do the 100 hour service. Beyond that I will have to give it some thought. I have about 80 hours on my tractor now. I think I will ask my dealer about self service and whether it will effect my warranty. My dealer has been so good to me, and really don't think any of the dealers make much on the sale of the tractors. So, I was thinking I would just have him do the service. His prices are pretty reasonalble, he does a good job, I really don't have the time to learn all the little tricks (but thanks to these posts it sure will cut down the learning curve), and I guess I just feel like he has been so good to me I don't mind paying him to do it. If something goes wrong down the road, I don't have to worry that I could be blamed on a service issue. You guys might want to check with your dealers just to make sure your ok. I don't have the warranty in the house here or I would check it for you. May do that anyway just to see what it says.

BobG_in_VA · Jul 31, 2003

Slippy, I changed the oil/filter and will do that again at 50 hours. If my dealer can come to the tractor and do the service (except for the oil change), I'll have him do it as well. I asked him about it and he said "Wait till fall to do it" I'll probably have 65 hrs or so by then, but I guess he may be right. Based on what everyone else says about the fuel filters, etc., there ain't much to change as far as junk in them, etc. Just thinkin' I haven't yet checked the hydraulic fluid levels (haven't felt the need to), but will check it this weekend. BobG in VA