[1031d]

I am a new owner of a 1968 195. I have a deck, blower, and blade. Any advice, tips, repairs/improvements or stories? Doing a mechanical restoration on it for now, then cosmetic when I decide to buy a 444

 

[Hydriv]

Depending on how far off your restoration plans are, you might want to think about changing all the fluids in the tractor so that you have a fresh benchmark to work from. Go into the FAQ's and read. That will save you a ton of time and lots of questions. The 195's were pretty good tractors in their day but the new 200/400 models are far stronger in the trans-axle and in the frame design. That makes the 195's a nice parade/show tractor and the 200/400 models a far superior work tractor.

 

[1031d]

Hydriv, when ever I bring a farm tractor home that's the first thing I do is drain everything, flush and refil. I did the engine right away which was filthy black, but have been waiting on the rear end as it's clean but leaks from the directional valve. Was told there is a quad ring in there so that should be an easy fix. Someone does have 10W hydraulic oil in it I noticed. Am torn between 15W40 and 20W50, thinking of the 20W50 as some guys said it will compensate for wear in the 43 year old hydraulic system. All in all it does run good, use little oil, and has a ton of power in low gear. I know Bill from Barneveld Imp and he has been fixing me up with the parts i need. I only have a little over half an acre of lawn and a 40'x60' driveway/parking space and blow about 100' from the house to my shop so it will see some winter use. Here it gets down to sub zero on occasion, stays in the 20's for most of the winter, but I keep my tractor in my attached garage which gets some heat from the house so the tractor would be stored above freezing. I read the articles last night from Snotrocket on oil.

 

[Phaon]

Barneveld Imp as in Barneveld, WI? I grew up 5 miles from there. They hooked me up on a lot of cool stuff for my 155. THE best resource for old GT parts I have found outside of a few people on this forum.

Chris

 

[Hydriv]

Hydriv, when ever I bring a farm tractor home that's the first thing I do is drain everything, flush and refil. I did the engine right away which was filthy black, but have been waiting on the rear end as it's clean but leaks from the directional valve. Was told there is a quad ring in there so that should be an easy fix.

Someone does have 10W hydraulic oil in it I noticed. Am torn between 15W40 and 20W50, thinking of the 20W50 as some guys said it will compensate for wear in the 43 year old hydraulic system.

Go with the 20W50. As you say, the tractor will be in the garage during the cold months. Start it up with the trans-axle in neutral. Push the travel lever forward and let it run at half throttle for ten minutes to warm the oil before putting it to work when the temps are sub-freezing.

All in all it does run good, use little oil, and has a ton of power in low gear. I know Bill from Barneveld Imp and he has been fixing me up with the parts i need. I only have a little over half an acre of lawn and a 40'x60' driveway/parking space and blow about 100' from the house to my shop so it will see some winter use. Here it gets down to sub zero on occasion, stays in the 20's for most of the winter, but I keep my tractor in my attached garage which gets some heat from the house so the tractor would be stored above freezing.

I read the articles last night from Snotrocket on oil.

Yes... those are pretty good articles. I hope that the information in those articles are something that you found helpful.

The 195's were nice tractors but they have been known to have cracks in the frames just in front of the trans-axle. And there have been many reports of axle shafts twisting off at the carrier. Therefore, stressing the trans-axle is not a good idea unless you like repairing things. :sidelaugh: