FEL Rehab Project...

Well life is full of compromises and as I noted in the hunt for an FEL thread I picked up a Deere 430 garden tractor with a loader and other implements - rear blade, rake, deck, vac system, snow blade. The most important accessory it came with was a tech service manual! While it is smaller than I wanted I think I can make it work short term at least and the price was right.
I had a chance to check it out last week and noticed a few things that need attention. Started by changing out the soft low pressure hydro lines that go to the front ports. They were cracked and spitting oil real bad. Simple pair of short sections of fuel line to run between the hard lines and no more leaks there. Next was to replace the worst of the hydro lines on the loader set up. A few were seeping real bad, and most are cracked badly on the outer cover. Found out the local NAPA builds hose / fittings had them make up 4 to see how competent they are. Replaced those 4 and no more seepage there. Will run these a little while before deciding whether to get the rest done there also.

Next it got interesting. I noticed a steady drip around the hydro filter and took off the fender pan to get a better look. The seal around the input shaft of the charge pump was leaking pretty steady. Started reading the manual on what is involved with replacing that... Thought there may be a better / easier way and read quite a few JD forums. But all had a common theme....pull the rear back to get access to the shaft & seal.

I don't get in this deep often but apparently I have even less sense than fear of failure so I started taking a lot of pics and got on with the dis-assembly. After a couple evenings of carefully reading / re-reading and taking pics and figuring out a few things the manuals and forums didn't cover some progress was made.
I was finally able to roll out the rear assembly and get to the input shaft.

While taking the machine apart I noticed a couple simple hardware fixes that were needed and some things that needed to be straightened and cleaned up. So it was good to go through the process because I probably wouldn't have noticed those until they caused bigger issues.

Today I got the seal and O-Ring replaced and the charge pump back on. The actual replacement only took about 15 minutes compared to the hours and hours spent getting to that part! I will start putting it back together today in stages and see if I find any other seepage back there to address while it is easier to get to.

Got some fuel line to replace as it goes back together. Probably new radiator hoses sometime as they are dried and cracked real bad too - Not leaking yet so its not next on the list.

Any updates?

Got the rear installed last Friday and ran it a little to make sure it was operational and the seal wasn't dripping any more. Degreased the engine and transmission and ran it a bit more to look for other leaks. Looked good so I put the rear pto back on and the 3pt. Made sure it wasn't missing any of the nuts and bolts hardware and put the fender pan on to run the implements a little. Had some other stuff going on so I didn't get back to it until last night when I used the rear rake to scratch up the front yard a bit where it was caked from the basement wall project. The engine ran fine, loader and rake worked well, no other seepage has showed up yet. It is real awkward using the dash lever speed control rather than a foot pedal while operating the hydraulics and trying to steer, that will take some getting used to.

Next up is to put an oil pressure gauge on it, the idiot light is blinky and that has me concerned about the oil pump. I need to see if it is a sensor issue or the pump. Also the battery isn't holding a charge...maybe just a real old battery or maybe charging voltage is too low I need to look at that but using a battery tender has allowed it to start with no issues in the mean time.

Couple other miscellaneous hoses to swap out and also I want to get tubes for the turf tires and fill them for weight. Wheel weights will be good to get or make and I need to make a form for concrete sleeve that can go into the weight bracket. The weight of the loader on this thing really makes it off balance, even with an empty bucket so I need to load up the rear.

Hopefully the oil pressure light is just a balky sensor and then I can move on to the other minor things. If it is the pump then the other stuff will wait until I get that replaced. Once I get the weight on the back i'd like to use it to put a few scoops into the bin by the basement.

T, you get all that done & I'm bettin you'll be surprised what that lil lady can do!!

If you put Rim Guard (beet jiuce) in the tires, you don't need tubes as it will not rust the rims out. All you need is metal valve stems with the rubber seals on them.

Rim Guard is almost the same weight as calcium. It is non toxic and biodegradeable and if you get a hole in your tire, you can plug the tire without draining the liquid. Here is a link to a dealer locator if you are interested: http://www.rimguard.biz/contact/

You can also put windshield washer fluid or even motor home antifreeze in the tires yourself if you so desire. Both are non toxic and non corrosive, but weigh a lot less than rimguard or calcium. Extra weight on those small tires will benefit you a lot though.

freetown fred wrote:T, you get all that done & I'm bettin you'll be surprised what that lil lady can do!!

+1. I was reading up on that little tractor last night. It will lift 500lbs. to full height with the FEL. 4 trips will have 1 ton of coal in the bin.

I am a happy camper today! The oil pressure gauge & adapter got here today and I hooked it up temporarily and was I glad to see 58 psi! So the sensor or the wire to the idiot light is bad and its not the oil pump. Good thing as I was looking at the tech manual to see how bad the pump replacement would be and it didn't look too easy.

I do need a different adapter as the one I got is too long for the sending unit and sensor to fit between the block and the exhaust pipe. I just need to get a 90 or a 45 to angle it right. Since I know I have pressure I'll stuff the sensor back in there and work on some of the other stuff.

Good to hear that the oil pressure is fine.

Been swamped with work lately and finally got a chance to swap out the fuel lines and a couple more of the hydro hoses today. It was killing me the parts were in the shop and I didn't have time to put them in.

I put the seat pan back on and ran it for a while today dragging the stone in the driveway. Then with the rake on the 3 point as counterweight I put a couple scoops of coal in the bin. It went verrrrry slowly because I still don't have the turfs filled for extra weight so it was front heavy. I also need a little better ramp than the boards I used today.

The diesel engine is very smooth , I really like it. Found some info on how to install foot pedals rather than the hand speed control so that is a possible upgrade.

Once you get those tires filled, it will be like an entirely different machine. I used the beet juice in mine.

Hadn't posted an update for a while but I have had some fun tinkering with the fel as I have time the last couple months.

Replaced a couple more hydro hoses, replaced all the fuel lines and in tank strainer, rear fender re-formed so it holds the replacement tail light. Cleaned up the switch contacts and there is actually voltage to tail and head lights.

I got the rims cleaned up and re-primed and painted, tubes are in and filled. Like a dummy I forgot to weigh them empty but filled they are about 115lbs each. Although you shoulda' seen what that scale said I weighed so that 115 might be a bit heavy! Between the tires and the cement slugs in the rear weight bracket it rides much better now when there is a full bucket.

I got the oil pressure gauge mounted better with a bracket on the backside of the dash and a rubber gasket between the gauge and dash.

And just for fun last evening since I was bored (and there was voltage at the connector) I put an led strip in the headlight assembly since the headlight harness was missing. I need to get the led strip fixated in there better, the tape that is there now won't last.

Two more slightly damp seals on the rear to address after it cools off a little and I get caught up on some dirt and coal moving.

Sounds like you are coming right along with the new toy.

It has been fun having a wheel barrow with an engine. Forgot to include in the to do list is a few snapped off fel grease fittings that need to be drilled out, tapped and replaced. I need to document the list here so I don't forget anything....

titleist1 wrote:It has been fun having a wheel barrow with an engine. Forgot to include in the to do list is a few snapped off fel grease fittings that need to be drilled out, tapped and replaced. I need to document the list here so I don't forget anything....

Yes, it makes life a whole lot easier. The best thing is that it's small enough to fit into some pretty tight areas.