little update here... Went back this AM and put in a few more hours and after cycles of shock and heating, the plug for the pressure line finally broke free. I made some common sense adjustments to the clutch lever to assure the prescribed amount of free play then started it up in neutral to finish the tuning. what follows are my notes:
*all pressures in psi
Started at Hi Idle HLR in Neutral, adjusted per procedure to initial max pressure 220 then a bit more to 210 , adjustment nut screwed in one more full turn per procedure reduced pressure to 190. Noted at this time that aprox. **LEAK (see below)** 1/8 petal travel reduces pressure to 100, release recovers to 190shift to reverse shows pressure drop to 25-30, no recovery in pressure. shift to neutral shows a pressure of 60 which falls over time to 25-30. no recovery to pressure after a shutdown and restart in neutral shows a pretty steady 30. any shift to H or R shows instant drop to 20psi but no recovery.
Important note... it was clear up to the beginning of this post by palpating the line, that I was getting little to no flow through the trans cooler hose that splits off the radiator...so my common sense free play adjustment clearly had some effect as we were clearly now building pressure.... HOWEVER! at the point where I placed the asterisks in the above notes was the time i noted a SIGNIFICANT leak in the metal return line just forward of the starter for the trans cooler return. At the end of the test the milky slurry was just hanging on to the veru bottom of the dipstick, so i assume the errant pressure readings toward the end were due to low fluid level
My assessment is that while this certainly doesn't condemn the project based on the HLR being faulty, it seems that every time I get a promising result with this machine, I get knocked two steps back by a busted line (at least this one helped drain most of the crap out of the trans case.) I am certainly capable of fixing this line, but at what cost and how many hours baking in the sun. The 100 in hy-guard is the least of my concerns, but until that line is fixed its just going to piss on the ground just as fast. I came into this project fully understanding I was going to have to replace nearly every soft hose on the machine to the tune of thousands, I was ok with that....unfortunately the harder to replace and more expensive metal pre-formed lines are the ones that have hampered me this far, the first being one of the 4 main loader curved feeds that traverse the front of the battery box before coupling to soft hoses. AT least that one had a clear plan... it would hold enough to get it across the yard and I could address it later in the comfort of my shop when i really started restoring... This tyranny line would have to be done before I've even gotten any movement and I'm getting discouraged...there is what amounted to compost from all the leaves twigs and such that have piled into all the cracks and crevices and have apparently eroded the metal lines quite a bit.... I'm on the fence and I think a smart man might cut his loses, yet I find myself looking for reasons to continue.
I though I might be able to cheat for now and cut the soft cooler lines as they come out of the tranns and just loop them for testing and loading, but even that wont really be simple or easy to get to..
when i saw the initial pressures I was encouraged and I thought to myself, could it be now that both drive clutches are spinning hoplessly? according to my friends widow, they were both recently done and I noted the relatively fresh sealant around the top covers... There is some question as to whether this machine has dry or wet clutches... is there an inspection cover or an easy way to find out and/or observe if the clutches are slipping? I know the dry clutch B had a drain hole at the least... where is that located, I'd like to pull it and see what I see....
Lavoy, I had considered your advice, but i think you would agree that having seen the pressures and initial responses, its unlikely I'm seeing any clutch slippage, PS the Engine clutch on a 450B is the last 1/4 travel of the clutch petal and as I understand only used for shifting gears 1-4... but if my assumption is wrong please let me know.
77ford... Like i though to myself above before i even read your post, I'm wondering if this is possible... my father was operating the tractor during the pressure tests and i was taking notes on what where and when pressure wise and the initial shift to reverse (before any significant fluid loss) i would have though would have been sufficient pressure to lock the clutch, however my father said it is possible that at that time the 1-4 shift was in the neutral between 3-4 so I guess its inconclusive... I just guessed that if anything, assuming dry clutches, I would have expected them to be locked up tight, not spinning hopelessly, so again, not sure. this is what drives my questions about how to tell the difference between wet and dry and how to observe/drain them.
Shinnery, thanks for the re-post. I don't do a lot of social networking stuff and haven't posted pics to a forum in years... I am quite computer savvy, I just have little use for Facebook, flicker and the lot, mostly because I know to much about internet in-security to want my stuff out there...I think I may be the only 34y/o I know that has NEVER had a myspace, facebook or any other social networking account. Almost a badge of honor
![Wink :wink:](./images/smilies/icon_wink.gif)
... just out of curiosity,<<site admin>> any idea why they didn't post?
So folks, that's where I'm at...discouraged and defeated (almost)... What would you do here? Its a machine with a lot of potential to do work I NEED done to my property, and I've always liked a mechanical challenge (first car I had was a Triumph TR-7 w/lucas electronics, for those who know), but this has been a constant 1 step forward two steps and 5 gal of fluid back...and frankly its wearing on me. Pretty sure my father thinks I'm nuts, but he's been a good sport up to this point, and If I can find some promise for being able to drive it onto a trailer, I'm sure i can twist his arm a bit more...
Let me have it...