Homeowner Forum / Lawn and Garden / July 2008

In article
<6bc8974c-fd55-41c2-acbf-35f232e6b204@l42g2000hsc.googlegroups.com>,

Might be time to look for a local small engine repair guy in your area.  
I live in the boondocks and 2 miles away a small engine guy does lots of
good stuff.  Mowers, chain saws , tillers and sometimes just about
anything that uses oil and gas.

Bill

If you're checking the gear oil level by tipping right after toppping
off of course new oil will drip out the oil level hole, it's the same
oil you just added that's sitting atop the old oil, gear oil is very
thick, it was never given a chance to mix with the old oil... you're
supposed to check the oil again when warm, after running the unit
awhile.  You probably never drained the old oil completely, so the
gear box is loaded with settled sludge (you bought that machine more
then 15 years ago, *used* you have no idea how long it's been since
that gear box was properly serviced).  The sludge will settle each
time the unit sits for awhile... this time you checked it right after
running it with your new attachment, no doubt it would look muddy.

There is no way garden soil got into that gear box if gear oil didn't
run out.  I suggest you fully drain that gear oil and wash the box
clean with a solvant, kerosene will work well, go a few changes
sloshing it as best you can until it pours clean.  Then fully drain
the kero and fill with fresh gear lube of the correct type... keep
track of the volume and check it against the specs if you have the
manual just to be sure it's filled with the correct amount... if it
doesn't take the full amount then there is compacted sludge at the
bottom of that box and it needs to be disasssembled for a through
cleaning.  Then run the unit a while, not just the motor, engage the
gears, but not in dirt so you can check for leaks... if it's not
leaking then no dirt got in.   And now check the gear oil while still
warm, it should be clean and the gear box full.  Again, make sure
you're using the correct gear oil or it could burn and look muddy...
probably what happened under the heavy load of your new hiller-
furrower attachment, especially pressing on with that mucky soil.
Also, when using a tiller make sure the gear box is clear of dirt
(inspect it periodically and hose it off if need be), it needs to be
exposed to air to cool... typically farm equipment gear boxes will
have cooling fins, they're there for a reason, if they become impacted
with chaff and mud the unit will probably fail, become seriously
damaged, or at the very least wear out prematurely.  You may want to
disassemble that gear box completely so you can visually check that
the gears are not damaged... if the mating surfaces are galled you
need to replace those gears before they chew themselves up and seize,
and you then will probably need to junk the machine.  With farm
machinery, since they're used in hard service dirty conditions it's
important to visually inspect the entire machine before and after
every use, check for frayed belts, missing fasteners, and especially
lube levels... never spare lubrication, the grease gun is your friend.