My tractors are giving me trouble in the cold

Bruce from Can. · Jan 22, 2014

My CaseIh 5140 loader started well after being pluged in of course. But the throttle cable was frozen. took some extra fooling to get that free, and working. We have a Quarter mile lane at the heifer farm were my son lives. The lane has a north facing slope , and the wind just fills this lane some days about as quick as you can clear it. We have the snow blower on the 5140, and have been trying to get this lane cleaned out good enough for the heating oil truck to climb the hill and fill the house tank.
Back home at the dairy barn, our 5640 Ford has been having its share of trouble with fuel jelling. Quit on me again yesterday while feeding silage. Using winter fuel with Keen-flow anti-jell , but I am still fighting with fuel. I smell like a furnace repair man. Spring can't come quick enough for me. But at least the cattle are doing well, and the barn is warm , and the water is not freezing up. Any one got any "cold war" stories to tell? Bruce

farmerwithmutt · Jan 22, 2014

i can remember one winter it was so cold it took both hands to shift the d 15 not to mentioned that steel seat.

randallinMo · Jan 22, 2014

I feel your pain on the throttle cable freezing issue. I've got a Cat 252B skid steer that does the same thing. It won't thaw out for nothing when it's below freezing. I"ve tried evrything to get it unthawed, but, it's a ROYAL pain to do.

Anonymous-0 · Jan 22, 2014

Well I could repeat the story about my first boss's feed truck with the cast iron stove grate in the drivers seat to fill the hole. That made the driver willing to help unload and not just sit in the truck.

Bret4207 · Jan 22, 2014

7:01AM when I write this. Just spent 45 minutes getting my sons car started so he could get to work, took me 2.5 hours to get the Burb started yesterday to run my granddaughter to preschool, bus doesn't run if there's a school delay and they delayed 2hours. Chores only got done once yesterday at -15. This AM it's -22 to-18 depending on which gadget you look at. Going through firewood like crazy. Power bill is almost twice usual due to running water to keep it from freezing in the lines. Schools closed today.

We got soft during the "global warming" years.

Bob Bancroft · Jan 22, 2014

No story, but a thought. As one old enough to remember when every engine around had a carburetor w/choke to deal with, these modern car/truck engines amaze me. I reach in and turn the key, and they're running. Summer or winter. No distributor to maintain either!
The efficiency and longevity of such an engine in something like a dedicated feeding tractor would be interesting. Would it sell?

chevytaHOE5674 · Jan 22, 2014

Only trouble I've been having is with my plow truck. Spent Sunday at -5* outside tearing the pump and angling cylinders off to bring inside and tear down. Found out a snap ring broke in an angling cylinder and sent metal throughout the system.

So I tore all the valves and such out and cleaned them. Waiting on some new parts to arrive so I can put it all back together when its forecast to be -10.

Our waterlines are all buried 8+ feet deep and insulated or heated anyplace above ground so we never have any freezing issues with that thank goodness.

Bret it sounds like you need to get some new batteries or something. Vehicles should start up at -20 without too much trouble.

Harold Hubbard · Jan 22, 2014

Tried to split some wood yesterday. I took almost an hour to start the IH 404, and then another hour before the hydraulic fluid in the splitter warmed up enough for it to work right. I figured that hydraulic tastee-freeze just wasn't being sucked into the pump very fast.

When I got finished I pulled the plug out of the reservoir and drained about ten gallons of milky oil, used my hi-lift jack to cycle the cylinder and get as much as possible out of that. This morning the tractor gets a new battery, and the splitter gets ten gallons of fresh oil and a filter.

Now I have to figure out what sort of maintenance I can do for the operator, to convince him to work outdoors today. I will probably decide to get out my newer Carhart bibs, the arctic ones that are still stiff as a board, even after multiple washings. My knees are stiff enough, without putting splints on them.

J.Wondergem · Jan 22, 2014

If you can get at the parts the freeze up, squirt some rubbing alcohol on them to drive the water out.

RayP(MI) · Jan 22, 2014

Had the water well freeze twice. Fortunately, the short stub pf pipe to pressure switch freezes first, and is easy thaw with a propane torch. Just a small air leak at the base of the well house, but enough if the wind is right. Got it insulated now with a couple feed bags full of baler twine, and a milk-room electric heater set on low, at 700 watts.

Had problems with diesel PU/plow truck gelling back in December. Running it now on practically straight kerosene. Man, that stuff ain't cheap! Fortunately, it only gets a few hours of plowing and errands a month in this weather.

Not needing tractor unless truck fails me, so it's just sitting there with battery maintainer on. (All my batteries have maintainers going 24/7 - even the PU truck.) Donno if I'll get in trouble with diesel in tractor.

Have a diesel zturn mower which has a snowblower, but have been unable to fit it with block heater - long story. Got the "right one" according to heater manufacturer - won't fit - no way. Engine manufacturer doesn't show any in stock country wide.

Nancy Howell · Jan 22, 2014

Back the first part of December when the deep freeze and ice hit Dallas, power went out. House was ok because of gas space heaters.

Problem was the Living quarters in the horse trailer. Had to drag out the generator. Every 2 hrs had to go crank it up and let it run for about 1/2 hr to warm the trailer up to keep the water lines from freezing. Thank God they got the power back on about 7 pm or it was going to be a very long night.

rrlund · Jan 22, 2014

Only one of my own doing. I broke the Cardinal Rule the day before yesterday and tampered with the status quo the day before I had to get done early to be somewhere. I put that electric fuel shutoff on the Oliver 77 that I feed silage with and changed the oil while I was at it. It was over full and thinned way out from gas leaking in to it.
Well,yesterday I had to be at the township hall by 9am. The temperature was zero. The 1600 and 1365 started alright,but I went to start the 77 and it rolled real slow with that new oil in it. It wasn't half flooded out so I didn't know quite what to do as far as choking it. I ended up having to jump it and ether it to get it going. I put the charger on it over night last night so I didn't have to jump it this morning. It was up to +9F but I still had to use ether because I couldn't get it choked just right. I'll get it figured out one of these days,but I should have known better than to tamper with it when I did.

Anonymous-0 · Jan 22, 2014

sure ,, they built them 50 yrs ago ,,it is a case 430 diesel

RickieBlue · Jan 22, 2014

Whenever I have a cable or lock cylinder that is frozen, I inject full strength antifreeze into it. I warm up the antifreeze and inject it with a needle that diabetics would use. Antifreeze makes a good lubricant too!! I have never had any luck with trying to get the water out of such things..it only takes a drop of water to screw things up..but antifreeze will readily mix with water and it won't freeze anymore!!

Bret4207 · Jan 22, 2014

(quoted from post at 05:39:23 01/22/14)
Bret it sounds like you need to get some new batteries or something. Vehicles should start up at -20 without too much trouble.

Yeah, the Burb is dead, dead, dead now. Batt must have been going. Good news is it's dated 7/11 and is a warranted 3 year batt, and my ex-SIL is the manager at the Tire/Lube at Wally World!

The sons car is a 98 Honda he just got, still learning the tricks to that one. Fuel filter maybe? Nothing like sub-zero to test a car.

Weird though that some folks say how well the new cars start. Ours don't do so well as a rule. But the old tractors start right up!

My tractors are giving me trouble in the cold

Bruce from Can.

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farmerwithmutt

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randallinMo

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Anonymous-0

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Bret4207

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Bob Bancroft

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chevytaHOE5674

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Harold Hubbard

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J.Wondergem

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RayP(MI)

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Nancy Howell

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rrlund

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Anonymous-0

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RickieBlue

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Bret4207

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