Idealien

Hello!

Got a diesel IH 434 at the start of the winter (tractor registry: http://www.tractorforum.com/f271/int...nal-434-13890/) and everything was fantastic for the 5 - 10 times we used it in cold weather. Let it sit a little too long at end of winter / spring and have ran into a few issues getting it going again.

Yesterday solved a problem of air in the fuel line which was preventing the engine from starting up. Today I'm left with two - what I think might be - interrelated problems.

1) The hydraulics won't engage - I emptied out the old fluid and replaced it with Case Hy-Tran Ultra (Case-Akcela HyTran Ultra Tractor Fluid). I can barely noticeable lift on the 3 point hitch on the back, but no movement on the front bucket. If I manually physically raise the back hitch up and then use the shifter to lower it will go - but I don't think the hydraulics are doing anything in that case.

2) Cannot drive it - That is, I can shift into 1 or R, but don't get any result. No wheels spinning (which would confirm that bucket on ground and #1 is real source of problem), nothing that indicates the desire to drive. I can engage the PTO and it rotates, and the engine sounds like it is running fine.

Any thoughts / suggestions would be appreciated. I'm not the most mechanically talented tractor owner (yet), so it would be great if you could include as much detail as possible in any replies.

A couple related questions:

3) Confirm if the Hy-Trans Ultra was the right type of hydraulic fluid to put in. Got advice from the local Case dealer that it should be.

4) The proper method to fill fluid on a 434 is to open the screw / bolt hole to the right of the gear shift beneath steering wheel and the one on the left side of the same central block. Fill from the top and stop if / when fluid starts to come out the one on the left (fill line hole?)

5) Does keeping the bucket raised when parking the tractor have any appreciable difference on either the ability to start / use the tractor or long-term care of it?

Idealien

Solved #2 - Turns out I didn't have the gears engaged....DOH.

tractor beam

I lower my bucket and roll it up to keep the exposed hydraulic ram surface buried and out of the weather and dust as much as possible. My neighbor has a tractor that had been sitting for a long time and the rams chromed surfaces are pitted with rust now.

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Idealien

There are two separate fill spots on the 434. The one I had fully replaced was in front of the seat to the right of the gear shift which holds gallon+. The second is behind the seat connecting to the mount above the PTO, and was one I was not aware of and was only 1/2 full.

Yes, it is. Everything runs smooth as a top now.

Yes, in that if your hydraulics are "stuck" in a position that is right against the ground, you cannot drive it anywhere. Had I left the bucket 12" off the ground, I still would have been able to use the tractor for the PTO while I found the solution to the problems above.

Hope these answers might help someone else avoid some struggles. As always, a good learning experience either way.