Colt Case Ingersoll Garden Tractors

After a little cleaning in the shop I pushed the 444 up on the lift and removed the tcv. There an oil leak somewhere under the tvc. No loose lines and it appeared the oil was under the spools. It took a while to remove hard hydraulic lines and adjusters. An oily mess was expected and it was. After cleaning the control valve I replaced the O-rings on the spools. This was the reason I removed it. To hard laying under the GT to removed the spools to replace O-rings. I noticed when unbolting the tcv one of the countersink bolts was loose. No nut on the bottom of the bolt. It a vintage 1975 444 so probably it’s never been apart before. I hope this fixes the leaking situation. Reassembly another day now that the tvc is back together. Harry

Brave man @Harry ! This is a task I've been procrastinating for months. My 444 needs it.

It's nice to be able to get a bit better access to the TVC - I learned quite a bit last night when quickly stripping down my salvage 220 frame - once the fenders, front and rear axles were off it was nice being able to roll the frame on its side and see what the underside looked like...

Like most things I know nothing about, I just jump in and figure it out and sometimes get help from knowledgeable members here. Putting it on the lift helps grandpa a lot. Getting up and down many times is a bit rough for me. Harry

I'm jealous of your lift!

Harry wrote: ↑Sat Jul 29, 2023 4:44 pm After a little cleaning in the shop I pushed the 444 up on the lift and removed the tcv. There an oil leak somewhere under the tvc. No loose lines and it appeared the oil was under the spools. It took a while to remove hard hydraulic lines and adjusters. An oily mess was expected and it was. After cleaning the control valve I replaced the O-rings on the spools. This was the reason I removed it. To hard laying under the GT to removed the spools to replace O-rings. I noticed when unbolting the tcv one of the countersink bolts was loose. No nut on the bottom of the bolt. It a vintage 1975 444 so probably it’s never been apart before. I hope this fixes the leaking situation. Reassembly another day now that the tvc is back together. Harry

The thing to keep in mind is the oil drips off the lowest point and may have come from a not-obvious place. I have only replaced o-rings on one TCV. It was old, the o-rings were old and worn. But, in the end, it leaked still after a short period of time. It must have been the wear of the spool and casting was too much.

The 4 nipple fittings that you have the hardlines for the drive motor connected to them and for the mid-lift also have o-rings for them. They have leaked and I have replaced those o-rings before. Also, I feel that all, including the newer 4-digit tractors, have mid-lift lines that are currently leaking or just a year or two from leaking. If your mid-lift hoses have any oil on them, they are leaking.

Some Case tractors are going to mark their territory no matter how hard you try to stop them.

It took me years to see how many mid-lift lines were leakers. Now, I just change them if the owner is looking for a solid rebuild.

I had little time today to install the travel lift control. I knew I couldn’t hold it under the tractor with one hand and then install the two countersink bolts with lock washers and nuts with the other hand. I used a hydraulic jack to lift the travel control in place. Then put a tapered drift through the floor plate and into the bolt hole in the travel control. Then I put a nut into a socket with the lock washer on top of it. Then put a piece of duct tape over the socket holding the nut and lock washer to the socket. Put a hole through the tape for the bolt to go into the nut. A eight inch extension on the socket and a ratchet. While lifting the socket unto the threaded end of the bolt with one hand and using a screw driver on the slotted bolt the nut was threaded on the bolt. It took some creativity to make a tough job easy. Harry

@Harry I like the way you think.

Your creativity shined here @Harry . That's the kind of idea making the difference between a half day of fumbling in frustration and a few minutes of careful planning and implementation.