Case 680E

[Eugen]

You know how it goes, when you get something fixed and it's out of your mind, then the mind starts wondering about the next problem. I should say problems though, as there are many little things that would be good to take care off. One of them would be the coolant temperature gauge and sending unit; I've been keeping an eye on the coolant temp the good old way, stop the tractor, touch the radiator. I find it kinda strange that it doesn't get very hot, even after using it for 20-30 minutes. Is the water pump busted? the coolant flow blocked somewhere inside the radiator? More investigation needed.

The major item remains the piston with a hole. This repair involves draining the coolant and engine oil, removing the intake and exhaust manifolds, and everything else that's connected to them, and the oil pan. It's very tempting to replace the sleeves, pistons, and rings on the other cylinders too, but I haven't come to terms with that expense, amounting to almost $2000 CAD, for the parts. Just more stuff to sleep on, I guess.

[JSinMO]

I certainly know what you mean. The list never ends.

You may have covered this already, but I’ll throw it out there. On your cooling system with a cold engine you could take the radiator cap off and see if the water is flowing. That would give you an idea if something is blocked. If the water pump was broken you’d know it. With the other things you have found on this thing I’m betting it’s either missing the thermostat or it’s stuck partially open. That would explain why it’s slow to warm up.

I guess you’ll know when you go to fix the piston. At least you’ve been able to use is to get some projects done.

I’m looking forward to your finding.

[DavidBarkey]

Old equipment is a lot like your . The more $$$$ you spend on them the happier you are .

[Eugen]

I haven't done any troubleshooting on this @JSinMO , thank you for these good ideas, I will do that next.

@DavidBarkey isn't that true? But then again, when you get married, it is said the two become one, so basically when you spend money on the you are spending on yourself really. Well, joking aside, I've been blessed this time, my wife isn't fond of yelling, pointing out faults, and that type of thing. She usually encourages me to buy quality tools instead of trying to cheap out on things as I seem to be inclined to do Here's an example, when I told her I want to get this 644 that's all parts on account that I'll sell the running 644 and in the end we save about $2k, she said "sounds good, but let's not sell the running 644 before you make this new one all functional". She humbles me many times by how she looks out for me. She says, I'd rather have less money but see you don't break your back.

Hehe, ramble ramble..

[propane1]

I haven't done any troubleshooting on this @JSinMO , thank you for these good ideas, I will do that next.

@DavidBarkey isn't that true? But then again, when you get married, it is said the two become one, so basically when you spend money on the you are spending on yourself really. Well, joking aside, I've been blessed this time, my wife isn't fond of yelling, pointing out faults, and that type of thing. She usually encourages me to buy quality tools instead of trying to cheap out on things as I seem to be inclined to do Here's an example, when I told her I want to get this 644 that's all parts on account that I'll sell the running 644 and in the end we save about $2k, she said "sounds good, but let's not sell the running 644 before you make this new one all functional". She humbles me many times by how she looks out for me. She says, I'd rather have less money but see you don't break your back.

Hehe, ramble ramble..

Sounds like you got one of the good ones Eugen.

Noel

[Timj]

I haven't done any troubleshooting on this @JSinMO , thank you for these good ideas, I will do that next.

@DavidBarkey isn't that true? But then again, when you get married, it is said the two become one, so basically when you spend money on the you are spending on yourself really. Well, joking aside, I've been blessed this time, my wife isn't fond of yelling, pointing out faults, and that type of thing. She usually encourages me to buy quality tools instead of trying to cheap out on things as I seem to be inclined to do Here's an example, when I told her I want to get this 644 that's all parts on account that I'll sell the running 644 and in the end we save about $2k, she said "sounds good, but let's not sell the running 644 before you make this new one all functional". She humbles me many times by how she looks out for me. She says, I'd rather have less money but see you don't break your back.

Hehe, ramble ramble..

Sounds like you got one of the good ones Eugen.

Noel

Sounds to me like she wants a 644 for herself.

[Eugen]

Sounds like you got one of the good ones Eugen.

Noel

Sounds to me like she wants a 644 for herself.

Haha, maybe. She doesn't seem interested in riding any of the tractors. Yet she loves driving and when we first met she impressed me how she worked the clutch and shifter on that little Audi A3 Turbo she had . Maybe if I win the lottery and buy her a new Massey Ferguson. The only motorized tools she touches now are the truck and the leaf blower, she likes that machine.

@Propane57

Looking forward to the 644 ikea tractor that's hopefully coming on Monday. "Some assembly required."

[Eugen]

Had some adventures today with the backhoe.There's a handyman in our village who helped me with stuff, very nice guy. He calls me about a week ago, can I help with one of my tractors? Sure, I say. What needs to be done? A 4 feet deep trench about 100 feet long. One of his customers needs that done, and he's got a friend with tractors so. Got the big girl as ready as I could for today, and after my regular job I get to start it and go help the buddy. The left brake pedal was hissing like an alligator in heat and the brakes, of course, wouldn't disengage. Argh! - I thought. Just when you say to a buddy you'll be there, something suddenly brakes. Feel my way under the pedal and find one of the fittings of a hose going in the pedal was where the air leak happened. Piece of cake, right? Get the monkey wrench and tighten it, they say, it'll be fine, they say. As I tighten it a little, either I have Chuck Norris strength and am not aware of it, or the fitting was already tired and old like Larry King, because it just snapped. Oh yeah, now the fun starts. Sent text to buddy in Predator style "shit just happened" I'll be late, sorry! He comes over and we ponder what to do. Well, somehow my memory got juggled a bit and remembered I had such old hose with that same fitting, but it was cut in the middle. Well, that should be fine, let's plug both sides, on the original hose side where the fitting broke, by bending it over and tying it with a ring brace. Cut a piece from the other hose I found, plugged it the same way, with a ring, and screwed the fitting on the brake pedal. The idea is that if pressure builds in the system, the air brakes disengage, and I can drive the tractor to that guy place, we get the work done, presto. One pedal not functional, should be fine on the way home coming downhill, it's only a 16000 lbs beast. Worst case I put the bucket down and it'll stop.

What do you know, the fix worked and I was able to go and dig about 75 feet of the trench. Was in a great hurry to get home and didn't take any pictures. But I'm going there tomorrow most likely, and will take some pictures.

[thebuildist]

Who doesn't love some "Field expedient engineering"?

Nice job!

One minor point: 20 linear feet of 1 foot deep trench is a "favor". 100 linear feet of 4 foot deep trench is a "contract".



Bob

[Eugen]

One minor point: 20 linear feet of 1 foot deep trench is a "favor". 100 linear feet of 4 foot deep trench is a "contract".



Bob

You bring up an interesting point Bob. How do you equitably exchange help between friends? Do you go by dollar value for a job? Or the time spent? But then, time is money, they say. Another aspect is, does the friend also help you when you need it? Help also comes with all kinds of qualitative aspects. Some people help you half heartedly, and with strings attached, even when they don't say it, you feel it.

It's a little funny how I met this buddy of mine. We were looking for someone to put some drywall and finish it, paint it, and finish set half the bathroom tiles; the kids were small and I had other priorities, could not finish what I started. A guy came by, and hardly gave me an estimate after two weeks and I had to ask twice. Another guy sounded drunk on the phone. Others never returned my call. So this guy came, he gave me an estimate after he took a good look at what needed to be done, and the estimate was reasonable (cheap). He worked very conscientiously and did even more than I asked. He saw our situation and probably took mercy on us. Anyway, after that he helped me with some moving stuff when I needed, and was very willing to do that. In my books he's a good guy, and I'll help him no matter what, within my capabilities.

What can I say, I'm no Donald Trump when it comes to the art of the deal. I would suck at business!