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Washing and Cleaning a Tractor

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Craig
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1999-11-10          9586

I know this is probably a stupid question, but, I am doing the 50 hour service on my tractor. I noticed dirt/dust starting to build up under the hood, on the engine, etc. I was thinking as long as it was new, it would sure be nice to keep it looking that way!What is the best way to clean it(inside the engine compartment)? Will squirting it with a hose push water into somewhere that it should not be? Can you use a pressure washer? The manual does not warn against anything as far as cleaning, but does not direct anything either. Any suggestions are welcome since the last thing I want to do is to take it to the dealer because I did something stupid!

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Washing and Cleaning a Tractor

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ejb
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1999-11-10          9589

Craig, do what I did. Buy yourself a shop compressor and use air pressure to blow out the dirt...you would be suprised what a good job it does and how many uses you will find for a compressor once you have one. I bought a really good one and it was only about $400. You can get then for around $100 too...Works better than water, even removes grease and oil drippings and just about anything else.Good luck. ....

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Bird Senter
Join Date: Jun 1999
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1999-11-10          9592

Craig, I don't think you could ever hurt the tractor by washing under the hood with a nozzle on a garden hose, and while some may disagree, I don't think you could hurt it with a pressure washer (unless you have extremely high pressure; enough to knock a wire loose or bend some of the cooling fins on the radiator). Naturally you want to make sure the caps are on the battery good, oil filler cap is on good, dipstick in place, etc. so you don't get water inside the engine. I've been doing it to all my cars and pickups at coin operated car washes for years. And I've been doing it at home to a tractor for 4 years. I use a nozzle with two inlets; one for a garden hose and the other for my air hose to boost pressure. Then I blow off the excess water under the hood with air and run the engine long enough to get it hot enough to evaporate any moisture left, so I never have any rust. And as the other response to your post said, if it's just dusty, I just blow it off with air. I don't know how anyone can get by without an air compressor. If you don't have one and go shopping, the oil free compressors are all right for occasional use, but don't get one of them if you are going to use it a lot. If you want details as to why this recommendation, e-mail me (I also have a part time business repairing and rebuilding mechanics' air tools). ....

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Don
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1999-11-10          9596

I've been useing a high pressure washer to clean my 855 JD with no major problems. some areas to stay away from a direct hit are the gages and alternator. and to realy give it the show room look go get some ArmorAll tire spray it works great for all black painted items (tires too). ....

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bo
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1999-11-10          9597

Bird- Interesting about the nozzle with two inlets. Just what type of rig up is that- purchased or jury rigged. Would appretiate an explanation and if you built it, how? Thanks ....

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Bird Senter
Join Date: Jun 1999
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1999-11-10          9598

Bo, My rig is a "Hydro-Air Washer" from D&M Products, Inc., Santa Monica, CA. I use brass quick couplers on all my water and air lines. When the water is turned on, it runs continuously through the nozzle. Squeezing the trigger adds air. I like it because even though it has considerable pressure and cleans well, it's a fine spray that doesn't splash back on me. My "city" water normally has 80-85 psi and I'm running 90-115 psi on the air. I have two brothers who are Matco Tool distributors and one of them gave me the gun; not sure what the cost would have been. ....

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Bob Herman
Join Date: Jun 1999
Posts: 16
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1999-11-10          9599

I agree with the previous posts. Also, if I have a dirty engine condition, I brush with kerosene and the hose off with water. I have had great results using a spray tire cleaner as mentioned above on my tractors, 4 wheel ATV's , etc. I find that the spray cleans hard to get at dirt and leaves a shinny/slick surface which makes it easier to keep clean. - Bob ....

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MichaelSnyder
Join Date: Jun 1999
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1999-11-11          9606

Craig,I'm making assumptions here...but everything on our units should at least be sealed for a water resistant rating. Anytime you insert 1-2K PSI, you might be asking for a little trouble. But as other post'rs indicated, I think you'll be fine, so long as you don't put close direct water pressure at electrical connections and such. Something that has always worked for me (Compliments of my father) is to spray Simple Green on the engine(cool), let it sit for a bit and spray it off with either the pressure washer or hose. Then I (sometimes) spray "no-touch" tire cleaner on everything. Haven't done the "no-touch" thing on the tractor yet, but it works great for my vehicle engines. TIP: I try to keep overspray from the fenders and outside exposed paint. I've also used that "waterless wash",works "surprisingly" well. ....

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robertn
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1999-11-11          9610

An old dirt biker trick is to spray WD40 under the fenders, engine, frame ect.Then, after a ride through mud, ect, the dirt and mud practically "jumps" off the surface when you wash it.Tried it, it works. ....

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Bird Senter
Join Date: Jun 1999
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1999-11-11          9613

I had a lot of trouble for a couple of years with dirt, mud (clay), grass, etc. building up under the deck of a riding lawnmower that was very difficult to clean off. I tried painting the underside of the deck with what was supposed to be a slick enamel, then a neighbor told me about spraying the underside of the deck with WD40, but neither helped much (although I do use a lot of WD40 for other things), and then another neighbor told me that he mixes 75% diesel and 25% motor oil and sprays the underside of the mower with that, and after mowing, simply hose it off. And I found that worked marvelously on my Cub Cadet! Now that I'm going to be using a 60" Bush Hog finish mower behind the Kubota, I plan to try the same thing on it in the future (I say in the future because it hasn't rained enough to make the grass grow in Central Texas since July). ....

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Carl in VA
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1999-11-12          10056

Craig,
The only caveat about washing a diesel is to be careful not to hit the injector pump with cold water when it is hot. GM put out a service bulletin about this as the temperature difference can warp the pump enough to screw up the close tolerances the pump is built to. They recommend that diesels not be washed if they are warm. ....

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