Starting a tractor that has been sitting dormant.

When an engine is turned off, all of the liquid will flow to its lowest point and all suspended particles with-in the liquid will start to settle in the bottom.

As time goes on the liquids evaporate and the particles form bigger pieces. Gasoline turns to shellac. Parts stick. Gaskets shrink and start to deteriorate. Insects, dirt and dust enter the system. Condensation forms and internal metal starts to rust and scale forms.

When it comes time to start a tractor that has been sitting for a couple of years or even less, and you attempt to start it without proper preparation, you are going to pump all of that gunk, scale, sludge, dirt, whatever, throughout your lubricating, cooling and fuel systems plugging up oil passages, fuel lines and radiator cores, leaving grit on your bearings and in general make a mess out of what could have been a decent engine to work with. If you have to pull the tractor to try to start it, you really muck up the works. (If you have to pull the tractor to start it, it's not ready to start.)

Just changing the oil creates some problems. When you drain the oil it causes the oil pick-up screen to be lowered right into the sludge at the bottom of the tank. Then when you pour the new oil in, it stirs up the sludge. Changing the oil filter is good, but normally the oil isn't filtered until it travels through the system and is returning to the crankcase, and even then only a small percentage of the oil is filtered.

This is just a suggestionon my part. And granted I'm not the smartest bulb in the box when it comes to tractors, but I am pretty familiar with engines.

Prior to making any attempt to start an engine that has been sitting for awhile I would, at the very least, drain the oil, gas and water. After all, nature has spent years letting all of the crud in the system settle to the bottom for you, so take advantage of it.

Oil - Drain the pan, then take the oil pan off and scrape and wash out all the sludge out of it. Be sure to wash out the oil pick-up screen. This is a good time to look for pieces of metal in the pan and look over the lower end. Pour some oil over those bearings. Remember they have been dry for a while. Replace the oil pan gasket with a new one.

Fuel - Drain all of the fuel and properly dispose of it. Flush the fuel tank. It is supposed to be clean, and for a reason. Take the sediment bowl apart. Clean it. Make sure it has a screen and that it is in good shape. New gaskets are cheap. I would pull the carburetor, soak it in carburetor cleaner and put a kit in it. A worn needle valve can give you fits trying to figure out a fuel problem later on. The kits are fairly cheap and worth the effort. Flush and blow out the fuel line.

Water - Drain both the radiator and the block. Flush the system with clean water. It's best to use a garden house for the flushing if one is available. Once the engine is running I'd put a radiator flush through it the system.

I know I'm getting windy here, but that is the minimum I would do prior to starting an engine that has been sitting. Other things to think about, which are fairly easy to do. Pull the cover off of the governor. Is it dry? Oil it. Is it full of sludge? Clean it. Pull the valve cover and side covers. Are they full of sludge? Clean them. Pour kerosene over the rocker arms, let it flush down through the return lines back into the oil pan. You can then pour oil over the rocker arms and let it flow back into the oil pan. Pour kerosene through the oil fill point. It's probably full off gunk also. Drain the oil pan again, and now put in your new oil.

So there you have it. You can just start the tractor, sending sludge and dirt everywhere, and then chase down all of the problems you created like, plugged radiator, poor idle, stalls, oil pressure not right, etc, etc. Or take a couple of hours in proper preparation and eliminate a lot of the problems. Remember, some of that dirt and crap may take awhile before it lodges in the wrong place, but it probably will.

Fred KS

Anyway, if someone knows the tractor they purchased and what type of fluids are in it and when they were changed, then the pre work could be reduced.

I was addressing the tractors that are bought out of town, at auctions, or elswhere, and the tractor's history is not known. I just read somewhere where a tree had to be cut apart before the tractor could be removed.

It's with these tractors that I was trying to prevent future problems.

I may be just a little too carefull due to my childhood. I grew up in a place called Gasoline Alley where they built racecars and engines. One of the first lessons I learned, which was drilled into me, was not to stir up any dust. Everything was kept clean. I also learned that if I had a pair of pliers in one hand, I better by God have a piece of wire in the other hand. Coming near a nut or bolt with a pair of pliers was a big taboo.

Guess I'm just a little too cautious for tractor repair. But some things just stick with you.

Fred KS

Thanks,
Fred KS