How To Take Care of Your Antique Tractor?

For many, their tractor is the apple of their eye and you can feel a strong bond developing as you spend more and more time together, grueling it out on the field. But as the years go by, your beloved tractor is going to start showing signs of aging. It may start to sputter and cough, wheels may start wobbling, rust can develop on engine parts or it may even stall altogether.
However, this long term relationship can be saved and this is exactly what this article is going talk about. We, parts world USA will tell you everything you need to know to keep your old friend on the farm running happily along.

How To Take Care of Your Antique Tractor?

If you follow the following the tips having blind faith on us, your Antique tractor may run smoothly, and you and your old friend can live happily ever after together.

Give your Tractor Time To Warm Up!

Just like how an athlete needs to warm up before trying to make his body perform to its maximum level. Otherwise, there is a high risk of doing damage.
Your tractor is no different!
Normal operating temperature for diesel tractors is around 80-85 °C.
You should allow the engine to reach this temperature by running it for 5 minutes before making it do any heavy work, especially if your tractor is turbo-charged.

Give Your Tractor Time To Cool Down!
Allow your tractor to cool down a bit before turning the key off and shutting down the engine. This gives time for the pistons to cool down and also greatly cool down the turbocharger and the shaft.
Suddenly turning off the engine will cut off the oil supply to the turbine shaft. This will highly heated shaft to burn up the remaining oil and there is a chance of the shaft melting because there is no supply of oil.

Fuel System
If your tractor is not being used all winter, here is what you should do, depending on whether your tractor runs on gas or diesel.
For Gas Engines: It is wise to completely drain out the fuel system completely.
You should turn the fuel off at the sediment bowl or the tank valve and then run the carburetor out of fuel.
For Diesel Engines: The reverse is true for diesel tractors. Do not drain out the fuel system of your diesel tractor, in fact, keep it topped up in winters so there is little or no air gaps left. Air gaps can cause unwanted condensation and create airlocks.

Cooling System
If our coolant system does not leak and can hold the antifreeze coolant, there is no need to worry about your cooling system.
However, if it leaks, make sure the water is drained out regularly so that rust does not develop in nearby parts made of cast iron.

Plug The Exhaust and Air Intake!
Mice and rodents can crawl into the holes of exhaust and air intakes and can cause some major damage to the electrical system and their carcass can block pipes and passages.
Battery
During the winters, when you won’t be using your tractor, it is advisable to take out the battery and store it in a relatively warm place and connect it to a trickle charger if possible. This will make the battery last much longer. Also, keep the top surface of the battery clean.

Tires
Keep the tires well inflated. This reduces the area of contact with the ground and prevents cracking and degradation of the tire rubber.

Keep it Clean
A great way to keep your tractor healthy is by simply keeping it clean regularly!
Washing away the dirt, mud and cut grass from the body and the tires, once or twice a week can do wonders for maintaining your tractor and greatly extend its life.