[BoydH]

I am considering purchasing one of these tractors, but it has some issues and I wanted to get an idea of how serious and expensive these would be to repair.

Hydraulics - it appears that behind the hydraulic oil filter there is a leak that goes into the transmission housing. Current owner removed the plate on top of the transmission housing and the oil is splattering out when running. He thinks there is a leak behind the hydraulic filter where it attaches to transmission housing. My question is what could this leak be and the cost repair estimate? Also, could any damage of been done to the transmission?

Fuel Tanks / Pump / Filters - I do not understand the 2nd tank situation fully, but the lower tank has a pin hole leak near the drain plug. Also, the main fuel pump has been bypassed and a replacement has been attached inside the upper motor compartment. Additionally the upper tank line to the original pump is disconnected and shut off. Current owner tells me that the fuel flow problem is because of the wrong fuel filter or filters being installed, which he has drilled holes in the top and now work (not really sure what the deal is here). He says the unused fuel still goes to the upper tank, but it would have to be siphoned out. The lower tank is in use, but has the pin hole. My questions are can a surface repair / patch be made to the lower tank? Also, does the 2nd tank need to be put into service and what might be necessary to do this?.

Rear unit - when engine was running I heard an occasional sharp noise (like gear misalignment), but no pattern to the noise. Any concern here?

Link to all photos I took : White 2-105

Thanks in advance for any input.

 

[HarveyW]

IMO, from the looks of those pictures, the owner is a "cobbler" of the worst kind. He doesn't do proper repairs, just anything he can think of to get around a problem. Consider what else he might have done to the tractor that you cannot see. There's probably a major problem lurking, that's why he is selling it. Don't walk away from this tractor..... run like hell!!

 

[Bob Driver]

IMO, from the looks of those pictures, the owner is a "cobbler" of the worst kind. He doesn't do proper repairs, just anything he can think of to get around a problem. Consider what else he might have done to the tractor that you cannot see. There's probably a major problem lurking, that's why he is selling it. Don't walk away from this tractor..... run like hell!!

Some of my best buys have come from "cobblers" and I seek them out..... It just depends on the price. When I come across something where there are obviously NOT going to be buyers lined up and a bidding war(like this mess). I absolute low ball the guy and see how he acts.... It works for me because I can "cobble" with the best of them. Do you have the skills, tools, and $$$ to over come his incompetence/lack of skills? If not go with what HarveyW said and walk away.

I bought a commercial SCAG mower this time last year where the Knucklehead was trying to replace a Kohler with a Briggs and butchered the wiring (There's only 5 wires on the whole mower that matter). Gave him $400, worked on it for 3 hours, and sold it the next week for $2,000. When I'm on-line looking to buy, those are the perfect situations to make serious $$$. Honda Rancher, or Foreman, ATV's with bad differentials are another gold mine(I love "Mudders"). $100 - $200 in parts, about 3 hours in labor, sell for $1,600 - $2,000, and I've never paid over $500 for one yet. Zero turns with bad drive units are another of my favorites, but I'm lucky to have the shop, tools, and access to wholesale parts, most people don't.....

 

[BigT]

Bob is a professional. He knows what to look for and he knows how to fix them correctly.

 

[Bob Driver]

Bob is a professional. He knows what to look for and he knows how to fix them correctly.

BigT I wouldn't go that far.... I definitely know I'm not the greatest mechanic in the world, but it doesn't bother me in the least bit to sit in his chair until he shows up in Endville MS

 

[LouNY]

It's a 40+ year old 100+ HP tractor.
When they get to this stage in life they may be cobbled for several reasons.
I don't know how familiar you are with White/Oliver tractors they are not the worst to work on.
The clutch can be replaced without splitting the tractor.
The Hydraul-Shift unit can be rebuilt when needed by a decent back yard mechanic.
The Perkins engine was a decent engine.
As far as the hydraulic leak it is very hard to estimate any repair cost till you have a service manual in hand.
The Oliver/White lineup had a very unusual shift pattern to the 6 speed tranny.
Are you familiar with how they shift, you shift it like a 3 sp with reverse for your H pattern,
in the middle of the H pattern you have another shift either forward or back then you have 3 more forward gear and a reverse.
This gets you your 6 main gears the the Hyraul-Shift gives you an under and over in each gear,
Each gear has an under, a direct, and an over the over under can be shifted on the go.

 

[FredM]

A question?, in the first photo, is the oil stain clear or black?, if black then this is engine oil which could possibly mean the rear main oil seal is leaking, if the oil stain is clearer then this will be hydraulic oil and the gearbox input shaft seal could be leaking, seeing you say that with the cover off, it is spraying oil out of the clutch housing.

Is this lower tank an add on ?, I would buy a fuel pump kit and repair the fuel pump and set the fuel supply back to original and if the lower tank is an addon, remove it, of course you will have to replace those yuck filters and clean out the filter housing, you know how to bleed the fuel system, holler if you don't, plenty of blokes on this forum that will advise you on how to do that.

The fuel tank can be soldered if needed.

Really cannot help you with the transmission noise, could be a throw out bearing, could be the gearbox input shaft bearing, could be the bearings/bushes on the cluster gear, and if the PTO is live could be bearings on the drive shaft, did you engage the PTO while the engine was running and did you hear the noise then?, if the engine runs great and doesn't blow heaps of blue or black smoke, then that is half the battle, and the other, if the price is right and I would suggest beating the owner down a fair bit because of the run down condition of the machine.