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dsholler

Cleanliness is.....forgotten?

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dsholler

OK,

I am starting to get jealous of all the gleaming tractors I see on this forum, but it does spark a question, which may sound inane but is quite serious.... how do you keep them clean?
 

My tractor is a worker, which means it get started up when I have a window of opportunity to mow the lawn, and then is put away when I am  finished (so I can go get the trimmer and the hand mower to finish off the bits the tractor cannot reach)   I do clean up specific bits of it (I do not like to sit on a mess, and I clean around the various filler holes when adding fluids.. clean off the grease when lubricating the chassis, clean the air filter, wipe off the drips when I change the oil, clean the bottom of the mower deck and paint with the used motor oil, etc. ) but I never actually set about to wash it.

 

 

Can I just hose it down without getting water into something vital? Do I need to caress it softly with a virgin chamois cloth? 

 

Just looking for suggestions  

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bean

my 310-8 is usually pretty dirty. it stays in the garage, but I use it to haul firewood all fall/winter. the ground gets pretty muddy  and I have to use ags and wheel weights.

in the summer, I mow a couple of lots with it, when they are too tall for my husqvarna to manage.

it has a rough life, but always comes through. theseat is the only thing that gets regularly cleaned.

a lot of members have a work horse to go along with their  pretty tractors.

ps. if I owned a nice 520, I would probably baby it a lot more :)

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leeave96

I think you can hose them down, just be careful where you put the water around the electronics and at the shifters going into the tranny on a gear drive.  I wouldn't recommend a pressure washer.

 

I use to never wash mine, including under the deck, but now give them a wash once in a while.  This year I'm using a blower to blow grass out from under the tractor and off the deck after giving my yard a golf course quality cut... ;)

 

Good luck,

Bill

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546cowboy

I don't use mine to mow with very often since the Zero Turn was added to the herd but when I do they usually get blown off with the air compressor. I do wash mine and even put some wax on them every now and then. When I get another one for the herd they get a thorough cleaning with the pressure washer as most I get haven't been cleaned in years. Then the decision is made to paint or not. That's just the way I am though. :twocents-02cents:

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rwilson

If you want to keep them nice you need to clean them and lube them. Replace worn out of broken parts. Dont be afraid to put a little wax on em. Store them inside as the sun is hell on the seats and the rain and snow is not verry good either. How often do you scrape the deck out? A brand new 48" deck shell is $800 from toro, as I was quoted the otherday. The grass that collects ontop of the deck holds moisture and then rusts. Same as under neith. I use a presure washer and simple green to get the crud off. The carwash works too. I guess just keep them clean like you would your car or truck.

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dsholler

Rwilson, I have a problem with your post... which is that it is about keeping them clean... I have never had mine clean in the first place.  I do scrape out the deck every time I change the oil (usually about every 4-5 mowing sessions), and I do all the regular maintenance one is supposed to (lube, oil, air cleaner, etc. )  The deck has some surface rust underneath, and has lost a bit of paint on top, but is otherwise sound.

the other problem with your analogy is that you have not seen my car... I wash it twice a year whether it needs it or not. 

 

I am trying to imagine riding on the tractor through the carwash... my kids would love it :D

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AMC RULES

If you do...you know we want picts.   :) 

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Tankman

I use a hose, carefully. And a bit of drying.

Often I use the backpack blower, again, carefully.

Helps keep the Grandsons busy, I have them ready, rags in hand. Earning their keep (wagon rides in the woods)! :smile:

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welderman85

When im done cutting I give them a quick wash with the hose just to get the clippings off and I scrape the deck pretty offten

When im done cutting I give them a quick wash with the hose just to get the clippings off and I scrape the deck pretty offten

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Wheel-N-It

I use Simple Green and a hose. Then dry it off with my back pack blower ( not carefully ).

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Chevydave

When I get done mowing I blow the entire unit off with the compressor.

I am especially carefull to blow out all the engine tins.

I fill it up with gas and grease the deck, shut it off wait a couple of minutes and check the oil.

When I bought it new, I used to hose it clean after every mow.

I destroyed a bearing in the mule drive after about two years.

I was told by the Wheelhorse tech. to be very careful washing it out by the mule drive as water can get into the bearing.

Since then I maybe wash it once or twice a year and I am very careful. Never had a bearing go out since.

I also noticed that I would get fogging in the gauges, so I knew water was getting in there.

I have used POR-15 on the bottom of the deck, so cleaning the underside is easy, I take a look after every couple of mows. 

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MarkPalmer

When I get done mowing I blow the entire unit off with the compressor.

I am especially carefull to blow out all the engine tins.

I fill it up with gas and grease the deck, shut it off wait a couple of minutes and check the oil.

When I bought it new, I used to hose it clean after every mow.

I destroyed a bearing in the mule drive after about two years.

I was told by the Wheelhorse tech. to be very careful washing it out by the mule drive as water can get into the bearing.

Since then I maybe wash it once or twice a year and I am very careful. Never had a bearing go out since.

I also noticed that I would get fogging in the gauges, so I knew water was getting in there.

I have used POR-15 on the bottom of the deck, so cleaning the underside is easy, I take a look after every couple of mows. 

 

This is about the same process I use to clean my tractors.  I give them an air compressor dusting after each mowing.  Every few mowings I clean under the deck with a plastic scraper and grease spindle bearings.  I never wash the tractors with water, unless I run over a dog pile that I didn't find and then I only wash that out of the tire treads. (My tractors stay in my attached garage and I hate smellin' that crap!)  To clean the sheet metal, I just spray and wipe it with a little Meguar's Quick Detailer that I keep around for my car.  Mower decks come off after season for thorough cleaning and blade sharpening.  Snow plow and chains go on 867 for winter, other tractors get ran out of gas and batteries removed for winter.  :)

 

-Mark-

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papaglide

When I get done mowing I blow the entire unit off with the compressor including the engine tins. I use water on the wheels for the same reason above! I have never used water on any of my tractors. Simple green and other cleaners for the sheet metal. I usually wax them once a year also. The decks come off and get scraped after the last cut; they get greased in the spring.

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SousaKerry

I'll leave the engine idling and wash it with a hose, even spraying under the tins.  The fan does a good job of blowing all the crud and water out.

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thehorse

Ditto on the blowing it with the compressor. Scrape the bottom of the deck about once a month and try to never mow wet grass.

Every couple of months it gets a wash before going back to the shed.

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dsholler

Hmm, I am sensing a trend here about blowing it off... unfortunately, I do not own a compressor at the moment, and my blower capacity is 1hp electric, but at least I can give that a try..

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thehorse

Leaf blower also does a great job.

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Tankman

 

When I bought it new, I used to hose it clean after every mow.

I destroyed a bearing in the mule drive after about two years.

I was told by the Wheelhorse tech. to be very careful washing it out by the mule drive as water can get into the bearing.

Since then I maybe wash it once or twice a year and I am very careful. Never had a bearing go out since.

Considering the downward angle of the mule drive bearing, I often (very often) spray PB Blaster down the bearing and shaft or 3in1® oil dribbled to run through the two bearings.

Never had a problem with the mule drive bearings. :smile:

I do the same with the oil ports (holes) on the brake and clutch pedals.

Grease more often than I need to the deck and tractor Zerk fittings, softly.

I sometimes spray Lectric Clean on electrical connections but not often. Never hose any of the electrical system. Like Chevy Dave, I've seen condensation in the gauges and don't like it. No hose or power wash other than the deck or (very carefully) the undercarriage.

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jrfan

well guy i feel silly i usually wash mine once a month and wax it couple times a year then it get put inside and covered up lol :snooty: its never left out in the weather

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mike67
post-8901-0-29859300-1367960259.jpgI've had my c-81 about 6(?) years or so and it dosen't even shine when its wet. It's a worker- plowing snow and hauling wood in winter, plow and disc the garden in spring, mowing in summer, and misc. dragging, hauling and woods running the rest of the time. I do hose it off from time to time, but that's it.
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Kevbo

Good topic question!

 

When I first pull in a tractor I get out the power washer. Most times its cruddy and has had years of dirt built up and the powerwasher brings the tractor back to life. As many have said before just be careful you don't hit the guages or the manual tranny shifters. After you do this once it is much easier to keep it clean. To shine it up, if the paint is faded just take a 0000 steel wool pad and some WD-40 and smooth out the sheet metal. If there is still a gloss on the paint DO NOT use steel wool (I learned this the hard way)...this is where you should apply wax after you clean the surface. Haha as I type this it sounds like I am talking about a car but I enjoy shining up my tractors  :)  Is it essential? Probably not...but it is fun for me  :handgestures-thumbupright: 

 

Here are some pictures of before and after with the steel wool treatment I have described above:

 

GT-1800 before:

7A60E2B8-9330-4D76-9AC3-513F579699F8-820

 

DURING (lol):

 

ECC47209-4807-4A5B-B08D-8B0B3F535996-376

 

AFTER:

 

6BFD410E-368E-4C4F-813A-E377AAFDA372-376

 

1075 BEFORE:

 

D2DF107A-05D5-4F61-9EC7-4363DC02863B-435

 

AFTER:

 

404931CE-C349-4472-950A-64DFDE77E6B2-103

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