During the wintertime , it ’s alluring to put off most tractor and go through maintenance tasks until you’re able to take care of them in above - freezing temperatures . arrogate the engine starts , a quick check of the gauges assure you that the oil pressure is OK . you may see if the alternator is put to work and ( hopefully ) that there is enough fuel in the tank to do the task at deal .
Sure , the fluid mechanics are a mo inert , but they ’ll warm up soon enough .
You might have fuck off through the winter all right . But with warm conditions come haying , fence edifice , tilling , planting , new livestock to care for , log to convey in from the back 40 , road and trail haunt , and peradventure set about around to some new building projects .
Whatever horsepower or time of origin your tractor is , leap is a good metre to do introductory upkeep so it will be up to the task at hand . To celebrateHobby Farms ’ 20thanniversary , we ’ve created a checklist of 20 maintenance tips so your tractor will be ready whenever you are .
Basic Beginnings
Because it ’s the start of a new season , allow ’s startle at the very beginning .
Record Your Tractor Maintenance
Keep a logbook showing the date , engine hours ( assuming your tractor has a function tach ) and the maintenance perform . This helps you keep running . And if you deal or deal in your tractor at some tip , it ’ll assure the possible emptor that the machine has been well maintained .
The logbook should include the following .
Keep a Special Toolbox
If you have everything handy , you ’ll be more potential to take forethought of the equipment . Some tractors , for example , require a special instrument for checking / adding gear oil to the front gear box or even use a compounding of metric and SAE nuts and bolts .
Do n’t leave to throw in tools for your implements , too . Here are a few suggestion .
Safety Advice
You should think safety when performing tractor sustentation .
Wear Mechanic’s Gloves
You are almost sealed to get grease , oil and fuel on your mitt , all of which areknown carcinogen . In plus , hold out baseball glove aid avoid get oil on the direction wheels and doorhandle and eliminate the temptation to pass over your hands on whatever item of clothing is handy ( as long as you remember to remove the glovesfirst ) .
Latex gloves are cheaper , but nitrile gloves are more chemical - resistant . Both provide unspoilt feel and dexterity .
Wear Safety Glasses
Even if you unremarkably have on prescription medicine drinking glass , oil and clay have a way of find their way onto your eyeballs while you ’re working under a machine .
Diesel fuel or hydraulic oil under press in your oculus will be an agonizing and expensive ticket to the emergency room .
take more : Check out this video illustrate some basic tractor preventative maintenance job .
BCS
Remove the Ground Cable to the Battery First
When remove the battery or performing tractor maintenance that ask the fuel or electric system , polish off the negative ( earth ) battery terminal first .
This will avoid sparks if you unexpectedly short a positive wire against the frame of the tractor . You ’ll also ensure that the fuel pump does n’t supercharge the lines while you ’re working on them or vary a filter .
Secure the Equipment
If pull a rack , verify the tractor is in gear mechanism , brake are do and wheels are chocked . If possible , use a jack stand to support the tractor .
check that you have a architectural plan for dealing with the tire when it comes off . This may take ask a neighbor who has a loader adequate to of lifting the tire to assist .
If there is any doubt — particularly with a fluid - filled tire — call a professional table service .
BCS
When you get barbed telegram snarled under the lawn mower , dress the brakes , chock the wheels and put unchanging , unanimous blocks under the mower . Then set the mower down on the auction block and the rear face lift to the full up position so that the tractor and the blocks are holding it .
Have a Safety Person
At the very least , let someone know where you are , what you’redoing and when you anticipate to return . A mobile phone or ham radio is handy to allow that person know you ’re o.k. if you ’re retard . But do n’t count on being capable to use it if you ’re pinned under the brush hog .
Have a person who is capable of operating the tractor and calling for help solve with you . David Boyt
Daily Tractor Maintenance Check
It ’s almost as though imp come into the b at night . Before put your tractor to work , give it a good once - over to make certain it ’s ready .
Inventory Your Tractor Toolbox
These may well keep you from having to walk in from the back 40 . stand the enticement to borrow shaft from it . Otherwise , that pair of pair of pliers wo n’t be there when you require them .
Check Your Gauges
This should bedone when you start the tractor and periodically when running it . While it sounds like a no - brainer , it ’s sluttish to forget to look at the caliber , especially when your thinker is on the task at hand .
The temperature , oil pressing and alternator / battery gage will alert you to any problem before there is equipment casualty to the tractor .
record more : Compact ? Subcompact ? utility program ? Here ’s what dissimilar tractor type have in mind ( and which you might need ) .
David Boyt
Check the Hand Brake
Get in the habit of reach down to check that the hand brake is disengaged before moving the tractor . If the tractor does n’t seem to cast as easily as it should , control the bridge player pasture brake again !
With the tractor rolling tardily down a fragile ramp , put the tractor in impersonal . Engage the paw brake to verify it is work .
Check the Foot Brakes
A tractor that wo n’t run is a pain in the neck . One that wo n’t block off , or only stops on one side , can kill you .
If your tractor is equipped with separate leftover and right-hand Pteridium aquilinum , screen them individually to make certain they both work and have about the same braking effect . Then put the metal bar across that interlock them together .
Check the Four-wheel Drive & Differential Lock
You might have used one or both controls to bring in the tractor into a muddy barnyard . Driving with either one engaged , particularly on a hard airfoil , put undue emphasis and fag out on the drive gearing .
Periodic Chores
Keep your heart on these tractor maintenance chore .
Consider the Tractor Dealer for Periodic Maintenance
While most rural area hoi polloi tend to be main in tone . But the time saved and the peace treaty of creative thinker that comes of knowing that the tractor has been properly serviced is well worth the price of having a monger grease monkey give it a once - over every twelvemonth .
In gain to hold all the right prick , the mechanic might fleck a problem that you would have missed .
If you take your tractor to the monger for service , schedule the service for off - time of year maintenance .
David Boyt
“ You ’re much better off putting out extra hay for the cattle and bringing the tractor in for service in the winter when you are n’t using the tractor so much than waiting until you are ready to bail hay , ” tell Don Hines , service coach for Tatum Motor Co. of Anderson , Missouri .
Use a Battery Terminal Puller
Similar to a tiny geared wheel puller , this makes removing bombardment terminal easier and is less probable to damage the bombardment than prying with a screwdriver .
When reconnecting , replace the irrefutable pole first . Rotate the terminal back and forth to get good impinging as you tighten them down .
Read more : fit the terminals first if your tractor does n’t desire to start .
Clean Those Terminals
erosion and greenish residue on the battery terminal can reduce — or even block — the flow of electricity from the alternator to the assault and battery , as well as from the battery to the starter .
Farm and self-propelling stores deal aerosol compounds that break up this residue and improve contact between the barrage position and wiring terminals . Or you may just utilize a paste of baking soda and weewee , let it sit for15 moment , then strip it off with a telegram brushor stream of weewee .
To keep corrosion in the hereafter , spray on a corroding blocking agent orsmear some stain over the top of the terminals . If you distrust a poor barrage fire connection , bump off the negative terminus , then the incontrovertible pole .
Use a telegram terminal brush to clean house the terminus and barrage fire posts .
Clean Caps
If the battery has obliterable hood , neat around them , then remove the caps to crack the electrolyte level . If the liquid in any cadre is below the filling ring ( about1⁄4 - inch from the top ) , tot up enough distilled water to bring it up to the filling ring .
A flashlight can be a material avail in date into the battery cell .
Clean & Change Fuel Filters Once a Year
Do yourself a favour , and start the line by turn off the fuel valve disconnect the negative battery terminal . On older gas tractors , the filter is a fine engagement screen mounted above the settling stadium that pin sediment and water .
Remove the stadium and wipe the privileged clean . Carefully remove the fine mesh filter , and clean it or blow it out with compressed air .
supplant the filter and settling bowl , using a new type O - ring , if potential . constrain it just enough so it does n’t leak out when you get to the fuel close - off valve .
When supersede in - line filters , keep in mind that the arrow on the filter indicates the direction the fuel flow through it . So check that it points toward the locomotive , or the filter will block the fuel flow .
diesel motor fuel filter are cannister , like to oil colour filter . When you dispatch them , dump the fuel into a used oil colour container to avoid put polluted fuel back into the storage tank . Diesel fuel lines typically have a elemental filter to separate out any water and remove large dust , and a junior-grade filter for o.k. particle .
They may have different part numeral , so make certain you get the right-hand ones .
When installing , reduce the filter down by hand . open up up the fuel valve , then fasten them just enough to stop the fuel from leaking . Fill the filter with fuel by removing the bolt on the top until fuel add up out or by pump the primer .
Change the Oil at the Recommended Interval
For representative , if the manual says every 300 minute or once a yr , change it every yr , even if you have n’t put 300 hours on the engine .
“ Even if someone only use a tractor a mates hundred hours a yr , that oil color will give out down , ” Hines says . “ Being in the engine , it gets contaminated and need to be changed once a year . ”
Proper dick for remove the waste pipe plug and filter saves frustration , bruised knuckles and a rounded thunderbolt pass . habituate the white pigment pen or disgraceful Sharpie to write the date and engine hours on the filter . Record the change in the logbook . David Boyt
Also , use the OEM ( factory stigma ) vegetable oil filter urge in the owner ’s manual . Hines underscore that name brand filter not design for the highpressure of modern Diesel engine can die and cause a blown engine .
When change hydraulic / transmission oil , lower the front - destruction loader & rear lift . Check the manual for oil capacity to make certain you have enough empty 5 - gallon buckets to hold all the used oil . lay out the 5 - Imperial gallon container of fresh oil on a buffer ( or a political program higher than the filler hole ) and use a siphon hose ( 5⁄8or3⁄4 - inch light vinyl ) to channel the oil .
It will take 10 minute of arc or so . But you’re able to do other tasks while you wait .
As a last note , dispose of waste fluids responsibly . Check with your dealer , who should have resources for recycling fuel and oil .
Sidebar: Do a Daily Walk-around
A couple of instant each sidereal day can save you hours of defeat and possibly G of dollars in repair . ascertain these things each day before you get on your tractor .
This clause originally appeared in the May / June 2021 issuance ofHobby Farmsmagazine .
