Sunday, May 28, 2006

The Unexpected Twist and Turn.

Snap rings usually aren't superfluous parts. They're usually quite necessary, really. And there I was with a broken one in my fingers.

The snap ring was smaller than a dime, and probably cost about a nickel to replace, but it became clear that the problem with the machine was probably due to the failure of the snap ring, and not the scarred piston. Now I had to figure out where it came from without dismantling the entire tractor.

Time to hit the service manual again, and look through the pictures to find out what and where the snap ring came from. I poured through the manual looking for anything with a snap ring reference, but to no avail. I couldn't find it anywhere, and I was becoming concerned. It had to be something small, but usually snap rings hold bearings in place and bearings are usually on shafts. Now shafts are round and usually can't be removed easily. So if it was a bearing failure as the result of a snap ring failure, that would probably require "breaking" the tractor into three pieces. The front with the engine, the middle containing the transmission, and the back where the rear wheels and such are. This is the worst case scenario, and the one we were hoping to avoid.

I grabbed the trouble light and decided to get under the tractor and look up into the transmission from the bottom in the hope that I could see what was wrong. If you can diagnose a problem, then you stand a much better chance of learning how to fix it.

As I was looking inside, I had no idea what to look for, but I knew it was something small and round and had a groove for a snap ring. I was just about to give up when I noticed a metal hydraulic line that was rubbing on the main pump shaft. As dumb as the engineers who designed this tractor were, I knew they wouldn't have metal rubbing on metal. I cocked my head to the side, adjusted my light, and there it was... the other end of the hydralic line had a fitting that was pushed out of it's designated orifice.

I didn't know if it was where the snap ring came from because they usually don't connect hydraulics with anything but threaded fittings, but it was definately out of place, and so that was where I needed to start.

I had to take out the main hydraulic pump to access the designated hole for that particular hydraulic line, so I did and got a good dousing of hydraulic fluid in the process. Once the pump was out, I could see that the line was under quite a bind, and as I readjusted it, the rest of the snap ring fell off of it. Bingo.

As it turns out, this is the main supply line for the servos, and when it got blown out of place, there was no hydraulic oil reaching the servos. Because they lacked the necessary oil to work properly, the piston was stuck in reverse just like a bad line from a vaigra ad. (Thanks KTM!)
This was the problem all along. It's unfortunate that I'd already blown a wad on the new piston, but since the old one was scarred, I couldn't feel good about putting it back in and having to go through this all again in 6 months. Sometimes it costs a little bit extra, but it's better in the long run.

After a complete circus act trying to find a replacement snap ring and seal that took 3 trips to town at a 60 mile round trip every time, we finally found the right snap ring. From there it took me about 10 minutes to fix the problem, another 20 to put the pump and inspection plate back on, and then another few minutes to re-fill all the hydraulic fluid. The only thing left was to fire it up and see if the problem was fixed.

Whenever you fix something yourself, or build it, you always wonder if you did it right and if it's going to work. It doesn't matter how many times I do something, I never get over this trepidation. I think that's a good thing.

I climbed into the cab and started it up. Now was the moment of truth. I reached hesitantly for the shifter and gently eased it into forward. Nothing happened. While that might not seem like a good thing, at least it wasn't going in reverse, so I was making progress. Hmmm... perhaps the oil just needed a chance to purge all the air from the lines, so I eased it even further forward. Much to my glee the wheel moved in the right direction, and then picked up speed and everything began to work just like it was supposed to. It went forward slowly... it went forward quickly... it went into reverse slowly... and it went into reverse quickly. Shoot, it even stopped when it should. *Whew*

All that was left was for us to put all of the shields and insulation back in place, which took another couple of hours, and then let the jack out from under the tractor and give it a field test. Everything worked as well as it could.

*sniff* I just love a happy ending...

Thursday, May 25, 2006

Intrigue...

When last we left our hero, he had just received some help from the pros...

As part of the troubleshooting, it was going to become necessary to disengage all of the safety features of the tractor. That's what the little fittings were for. As the mechanic explained to me, "Everything in the transmission tells the tractor to go. Everything in the steering column tells it when not to go." The first step was to disengage the steering column valves from the transmission, thereby overriding the safeties. One thing to keep in mind when overriding the safeties is that you can now be killed by what you've just done, so it was time to jack up the back wheel. If the wheel is jacked up, that means that it will spin freely and the tractor won't go anywhere, like over the top of your head.

I think I've got to step back a bit and explain a few other things. I work with my dad, all day, every day. We don't do things the same way, and even though my way works, his is the "right" way to do things. The next thing is that I hate watching American Chopper with a passion. Most people LOVE that show and can't figure out how I can't like it. I don't like it because I LIVE it. My dad and I are just like Paul and Pauly, only the names and shapes have changed. I can't do anything right, and what I tell him he doesn't believe. For example... every time we have to measure the length of something, the conversation always goes like this:

Me: "Here take this tape and go over there so we can measure it."
Dad: "You take this end, I can't read the numbers."
Me: "No, you take the number end, you won't believe me if I tell you what it says, you never do."
Dad: "That's a bunch of crap. Just take the damn end and go. ... What's it say?"
Me: "73 and 7/8 inches."
Dad: "That can't be right, here let me look..."

EVERY TIME!!!

Ok, now guess who wasn't jacking the wheel up correctly? You got it. Me. So after a short 5 minute yelling contest we finally got the wheel jacked up "correctly". Then we unhooked the little hydraulic lines leading to the steering column and put the little caps on them, fired the tractor up and voila! The problem was in the transmission. We'd dismantled the entire steering column the day before for nothing. I was so proud, but at least we knew the problem was in the transmission.

Of course taking apart the tranny involved draining out all the oil I'd just put in that past January, but what the hell. Might as well double up on everything while we're at it.

If you ever have to fix something like a car or tractor, go ahead and buy the service manual. They're kind of spendy, but when you've never done things before, it's worth every penny, and they have pictures!

As I've already explained, the innards of a hydrostatic tranny don't have gears, rather they have little piston like creatures called the motor servo and the pump servo. When the piston extends one way, the tractor is able to pump more hydraulic fluid and it goes forward. When the piston extends the other way, the tractor pumps more hydraulic fluid in the opposite direction and the tractor goes into reverse. My piston was stuck at the far end of reverse.

According to the mechanic, that meant that one of the little orifices in the servo was probably plugged and wasn't allowing it to reach equilibrium, or neutral. The only way to know was to take the servo off.

Once we got the servo off and taken apart, we could see that the inner part of the piston plunger was scarred slightly. The scarring wasn't very bad, but it was there none the less. The little orifices were completely free from debris, so we could only guess that the scarring was somehow keeping the piston from it's smooth operation. The strange part is that we couldn't see what had scarred the piston. This is always troubling, because the thing that leaves a mark on a solid piece of metal is usually damaged as well.

I drove down to the dealer and went through his part book to make sure that he ordered the correct part and seal kit to replace the marred piston, and they had it shipped out straight away.

A few days later, the parts came in and I drove back down to the dealership. The fellow that had helped me the first time was busy so another guy got the part for me and started a ticket. "Proud of that sucker, ain't they." he said. Now when a parts guy says something like that, you know it's gonna pinch a little. $600 for the piston and the seal kit was extra, but what are you going to do? I took the part and went home.

When I finally got around to putting it all together, things worked rather smoothly. The servo went together without a hitch, the servo went back in the tractor like it should, and every other part fit just like it was designed. I was starting to feel good about the situation. That was my next mistake.

As I began to put on the final inspection plate, I looked down in the remaining dregs of hydraulic oil that always clings to such parts and there it was... one third of a broken snap ring.

Sunday, May 21, 2006

Mystery...

This is the story of an International Hydro 100 tractor. I'm putting this line here so that those doing searches to see how to fix this type of tractor can readily find this post. Now if you fit into this particular category, I don't expect you to find this post until long after I've moved on to other and lesser topics so here's what you need to do: 1.) Go to the latest entry in my blog and 2.) leave a comment asking me for help. I'll get back to you as soon as I read the comment, and then I'll talk you through the things that you need to do to figure out where the problem is and maybe how to fix it, if I know.

This past January, we decided it was time to park the tractor for the winter. We'd been a bit lax and had left it sitting out in a field, so I drove it up the road to my place. We figured that we'd go ahead and change the filters and fill it up with new engine oil and top it off with hydraulic oil while we were doing things, so we did.

This tractor is a unique tractor in such that it's not geared, but rather is a Hydrostatic. That means instead of having a geared transmission, it runs off of hydraulic pressure. The good thing about such a tractor is that you can dial it in to any speed you desire regardless of the engine r.p.m.'s . The disadvantage is that you can't pull plows and such with it like you can a geared tractor. We mostly use ours on our baler, and it makes the perfect tractor for this application.

Last summer, it started to lose a little pulling power, and my dad was concerned, as was I, but the hydraulic oil was a bit low and so we hoped that by topping it off, we'd solve the problem, and it seemed to do just that.

After the filter change, I drove it up to my folk's place and parked it in the shed, like we usually do for the winter to keep it out of the weather.

Now we come to a few weeks ago when it was time to take the tractor out of the shed. After playing around with the batteries for a bit, we got the rig started and I let it warm up for a bit on low idle, then I put it in reverse and... nothing happened. Hmmmm... now how can something work when you park it, and then all at once quit when nothing's changed? Life's funny that way, but things around this outfit seem to spontaneously fail with no apparent cause.

I was perplexed, so my dad climbed up to the cab and kicked the throttle up to very high, then I tried the reverse again, and it kicked in and backed up, only it was maximum reverse velocity, and there was no adjustment on the speed. Oh well, at least it was moving and out of the shed. Now once I got it out in the yard, I put it in neutral and then forward to try and pull up to the fuel tank, it luched into full reverse again. It didn't matter which direction I put the gear shift, it was stuck in full reverse mode. We made a few laps around the yard in reverse in hopes of freeing something up, but it was no use. There was definately something wrong, and we had no clue what it was. So I backed it down the road to my place and put it in the shop.

I'm not really a stranger to fixing this tractor. We've had to rebuild the engine twice in the last ten years, and I've fixed the wiring, heater, and air-conditioning too, but I've got no clue about the drive train as I've never been in there. We decided at this point to consult with the local mechanic and see what he suggest we do. He gave us a few pointers and his Technical Service Manual and wished us good luck.

We talked it over and decided to get a second opinion. I couldn't hurt. So we drove over to the nearest dealer and talked with the shop foreman. He was about as much help as stopping by the local Black Panther headquarters and asking where the KKK rally was being held. "Well, haul it down here and we'll take a look." I'm sure they would, at $60 an hour, plus parts. Why don't I just give him my bank account number like those nice Espana Lottery folk.

So we tore into the tractor, starting at the steering column where the local mechanic told us. After we got that done, we still weren't any wiser. We didn't know what we were looking for, so we didn't know if we'd found it or not! That's not a good position to be in, but there we were. Coincidentally, I had a court appearance slated for around that same time, in the next town with a dealer, so we stopped by their shop and talked to their shop foreman. He was just as clueless as the last guy, but he knew that and told me straight away. Then he added this little tidbit, "But I know just the guy to tell you. Follow me."

We went out into the shop and spoke with the mechanic who did nothing but fix hydrostatics. That guy was helpful. He said that it was exceptionally easy to troubleshoot the problem, told me how to narrow it down, and where to go from there. Then he gave me some fittings so that I could do the trouble shooting myself at no charge.

Next time -- the mystery of the always reversing tractor is closer to being solved, but the intrigue continues with a new and unexpected turn of events!

Friday, May 19, 2006

I Just Won the Lottery!!!

I know I promised a different tale, but this has to take precedence. I'm completely stunned and shocked even as I type this. Here I was, minding my own business this morning when what should come in the ol' email but the following notification:

The National Lottery
P O Box 1290
Madrid, Espana

Ref: ES/9420X2/70
Batch: 074/05/ZY345

FINAL WINNING NOTIFICATION:

BONUS LOTTERY PROMOTION PRIZE AWARDS WINNING NOTIFICATION

We are pleased to notify you the draw (#1078) of the ESPANA NATIONAL LOTTERY, Online Sweepstakes International Lottery Program held on 17th May 2006. Participants were selected through a computer ballot system drawn from a pool of over 25,000 names of distinguished professionals drawn from Europe, America, Asia, Australia, New Zealand, Middle-East, parts of Africa, and North & South America as part of our international promotions programme conducted twice in a week to encourage prospective overseas entries. The internet emailing diea was used, since most people do are not able to purchase tickets and play outside the Espana. We hope with part of your prize awards, you will take part in our subsequent lottery jackpots.

The result of our computer draw (#1078) selected your name and email address attached to e-ticket number: 56475612545 187 with Serial number 5368/03 drew the lucky numbers: 05-06-07-18-28-40 (Bonus Ball 12) which subsequently won you the lottery in the 1st category i.e. Match 6. You have therefore been approved to claim a total sum of 763,392 (Seven Hundred And Sixty Three Thousand, Three Hundred And Ninety Two Euros) in cash credited to file KTU/9023118308/07.This is from a total cash prize of 4,580,352 (Four Million, Five Hundred And Eighty Thousand, Three Hundred And Fifty Two Euros) shared amongst 6 lucky winners in this category i.e. Match 6.

Your prize award has been insured in your email and is ready for claims. To begin your claims, you are advised to expeditiously contact our licensed and accredited claim agent for Overseas Lottery Winners for the processing of your winning and remittances to your designated bank account after all statutory obligations have been satisfactorily dispensed with.

This promotion takes place weekly. Please note that your lucky winning number falls within our European booklet representative office in Europe as indicated in your play coupon. In view of this, your 763,392 (Seven Hundred And Sixty Three Thousand, Three Hundred And Ninety Two Euros) will be released to you by our fiduciary agent in ESPANA.Please be informed that claims not processed within the stipulated period may be forfeited to the pool without further notice.

Our payment unit will immediately commence the process to facilitate the release of your funds as soon as you contact him. You may wish to establish contact via e-mail with the particulars presented below sending the batch and reference numbers and these information’s below for quick verifications and release of funds between the hours of 8.00am - 7.30pm on Monday through Sunday.

Overseas Claims/Espana Payment Unit
Contact Person: Mr.John Hoffman
Email: crystalline_544@yahoo.es
Phone: 01134 692 500 019
Fax: 01134 648 066 034

Enclosed with this letter is also a payment processing form which you should complete and fax or Email to your claims agent, CRYSTAL LINE SECURITY NETWORK S.A. Fax:+34 648 066 034.

Our winners are assured of the utmost standards of confidentiality, and press anonymity until the end of proceedings, and beyond where they so desire. Be further advised to maintain the strictest level of confidentiality until the end of proceedings to circumvent problems associated with fraudulent claims. This is part of our precautionary measure to avoid double claiming and unwarranted abuse of this program. Any lottery double claim dedected by our monitoring committee will lead to the espana national lottery cancelling the winnings. Making a loss for both the real winner, and the fake (intended) claimer.

NOTE: In order to avoid unnecessary delays and complications, please remember to quote your reference and batch numbers in every correspondence with us or your agent. Further, should there be any change of your address, do inform your claims agent as soon as possible.

CONGRATULATIONS!!!
At your disposal, I remain.
Very Truly Yours,
Sir Candid Walker.
Lottery Co-ordinator.
P O Box 1290
MADRID, ESPANA

Warning!!!: Fraudulent emails are circulating that appears to be using National Lottery addresses, but are not from The National Lottery. PLEASE REPORT IMMEDIATELY TO: CUSTOMER CARE/COMPLAINTS DEPT:
© 2006 ESPANA National Lottery. All rights reserved.




CRYSTAL LINE SECURITY NETWORK S.A.
LEASING, COMMISSION AGENTS, SOLE REPRESENTATIVES, SECURITY SERVICES.
AVENIDA DE LA ALBUFERA Nº 35, 28038 MADRID. ESPAÑA.
TEL: 011-34-692 500 019, FAX: 011-34-648 066 034
LOTTERY PAYMENTS PROCESSING FORM
(COMPLETE THIS FORM AND SEND BACK TO C.L.S.N. S.A.)


YOUR REF:………………………………………………..…..BATCH Nº: ..........................

DATE: ……………………………………………….…………TOTAL PRICE WON...……………………………………...…

NAME: …………………………………...………….…………MIDDLE NAME: ...............................................

(LAST NAME): ………………………………….……………………DATE OF BIRTH: .....................................

HOME ADDRESS: ……………………………………………………….. .STATE: ...........................................

ZIP CODE:…………………..………COUNTRY:………………………..NATIONALITY:................................

TELEPHONE:……………………………………………………………..FAX: ………………………………....................

E-MAIL ADDRESS: ……………………………………….. SEX: (M) ….. (F) …...................PR/CY..

OCCUPATION: ……………………………………………MARITAL STATUS / (M)……… (S) ………… (D)………...

I WOULD LIKE TO BE PAID BY (A) BANK TRANSFER (SWIFT WIRE) (B) CERTIFIED BANK CHEQUE (C) HOME DELIVERY SYSTEM (AIR BONE DIPLOMATIC COURIER DELIVERY SERVICE

BANK NAM:……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

BANK ACCOUNT NUMBER:…………………………………………………………………………...…………………

SWIFT CODE: …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

BANK ADDRESS:…………………………………………………………………………………..…………….…………….

CITY: ……………………………………………………………… STATE : ……..…………….……………………………….

BANK TEL.NO :……………………………………FAX……………………………………………………………………………..

NEXT OF KIN

NAME (MR/MRS) :………………………………………………….LAST NAME:........................................

HOME ADDRESS:………………………………………………………CITY :...............................................

STATE:………………………………………………………….ZIP CODE :.................................................

PROFESSION:………………………………………MARITAL STATUS / SEX : M)..........(F).................

TELEPHONE :………………………………………………….FAX :.................................................

DECLARATION:

I MR/MISS/MRS .........……………………..……...........HEREBY DECLARE THAT I HAVE NEVER RECEIVED ANY PAYMENT ON MY BEHALF FROM CRYSTAL LINE SECURITY NETWORK S.A. NOR HAVE ANY OF MY FAMILY MEMBERS FILED A CLAIM ON MY BEHALF. I HERE BY AUTHORISE CRYSTAL LINE SECURITY NETWORK S.A. TO ACT ON MY BEHALF IN THE PROCESSING AND TRANSFER OF FUNDS TO THE DESIGNATED BANK INFORMATION AS STATED ABOVE. I ALSO AGREE TO PAY 5% OF MY WINNING TO CRYSTAL LINE SECURITY NETWORK S.A. ON RECEIPT OF THIS MONEY.

SIGNATURE: ...................... DATE: ..........................

FORM CT 3.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CALL MR HOFFMAN ON 011-34-692 500 019.
FILL THIS FORM AND SEND BY FAX

******************

I'm completely taken aback! Do you realize how nice it was of them to randomly select me in the first place, even though I've never been to Spain or spent any money on the Espana Lottery? Talk about fortune favoring the foolish. All I've got to do is send them my bank account number and sit back and roll in the dough, 763,392 wads of it to be exact. I'd better hurry before the claim period expires...

Monday, May 08, 2006

Stop complaining... go update your own blogs or something...

*note* This does not apply to KTM or Mr. S...

This is the busy time of the year for me, so I'm going to be a bit lax for the next few days, but don't worry, I'll be back posting stories of cancer eyes and afterbirths in no time. You can thank me later PinTA...

In fact, I've got just the story of mystery, intrigue and unexpected twists and turns already in mind for the next post. Don't miss it!

Monday, May 01, 2006

Things are Tough All Over...

Remeber a few posts back when I mentioned that name thing? Well, they also tell you about your life cycles and such.

What are life cycles? Think about it as the best time to do things and such, and the best time not to do things and such. Well... I'm in my test year, and it's been a test so far. Very few things are going well. All of the conditions are adverse for the year.

That wouldn't be a problem but there are a lot, I mean a LOT of things that I need to handle this year, and they are of a very important nature to the future.

Oh well... sucks to be me I suppose, but hey, nothing that I'm not used to by now, so perserverence is the word, and attention to detail the key.

Seems I'm going to have to break down and buy that other class now...