[Toolslinger]

Well, I spent the morning welding the frame on my 646 BH... I knew there was 1 crack in a weld by the tower that the loader is mounted to... After some time with engine degreaser, I found enough cracks that I honestly don't know why the tractor was still in one piece... Well that's all melted back together now, but I guess I really need to do a serious cleaning on this thing to see if I missed anything. Plus it would be good to know where the minor oil leaks are coming from, and there's no way to tell with 30+ years of dirt and oil on there...

So... I guess I could power-wash it, but I'd be real concerned that 3000 psi could do some seriously bad things to the electrical, and low pressure hydraulic lines... Plus I don't relish the idea of pointing that 3000psi in to some of the confined spaces since the only way for the crud to come out is straight back at me...

The spray can engine degreaser did a reasonable job, I just don't want to invest a small fortune in the stuff... Anyone have a recommendation on a concentrate I can mix in an insecticide sprayer? Last time I had to do something this bad, I had an ancient can of mil spec Gunk concentrate my uncle got when he was in the reserves 30 years ago... I'll probably be dead next week from using that stuff back then, but man did it work well...

On a parallel thought, is the red/orange color on the 6xx machines from the mid 70's the same as the 4xx series machines? I'm sure I can get the correct yellow from my local CASE CE dealer, just don't know about that red/orange... Gotta get some paint on those newly welded areas once I get it clean...

-Tim

 

[cp7]

Steam is what you need. I've got a Hotsy diesel fired low pressure steam cleaner and it works perfect on these machines. It only runs 1000psi but the steam softens the crud so then you don't need as much pressure. I've done my 646 a few times and have all the 30 year old stuff off and now it's easier to get at the fresh stuff.
I'd check into renting one.

 

[Billygoat]

I use "Purple Stuff" full strength and works pretty good, about $6 a gallon.

 

[oleblu72]

I thought about taking my Hotsy pressure washer to my 446 but I decided not to worried about electrics like you Toolslinger.

What I did do was take my blow gun with the extended nozzle and knock the big crap off everything, then I sprayed some Greased lighting on it then hosed it off didn't work to bad, just make sure you rinse it off good. You can pick this up at Lowes I paid around $ 28 for 5 gallons.

Mark

 

[Hydriv]

Power Red is correct for the 600 Series.


Diesel fuel makes a great degreasing agent as does Stoddart solvent that can be found as a paint thinner at any hardware store.

Steam Jennies or even hot water pressure washers will remove grease that a cold water unit won't budge.

 

[Bart]

I use a pressure washer on all my equipment and it will remove most crud with no solvent but it's a good idea to wear goggles and old clothes. Most pressure washers have several nozzle choices and I use second most powerful one to avoid taking off the paint along with the grease. If you want to remove all the oil film make a second pass with some degreaser.

I don't spray the back of the dash area where most of the electrical stuff is but a little stray overspray should cause any problems. If you get the coil or plug too wet they may short out but sitting in the sun for a little while should take care of the problem.

If you don't have a pressure washer readily available you can haul the tractor to one of the do it yourself car washes and you won't have to deal with the mess left behind.

 

[Toolslinger]

Steam would be ideal. Been there done that doing fleet work long ago... Possibly have a line on a used unit, but we'll see... I hate renting, but that's possible too...

Diesel would be easy enough as I have 5 gallons of it I wouldn't want to run through my truck... Just too old, but works great as parts cleaner... Problem is, it eats the driveway as the guy before me made a driveway outa cold-patch...

Best bet for me would be to take it out to PA, and do whatever is going to get done to it over the washdown pit we dug many moons ago...

Thanks for the confirmation on the Power Red.

Got the machine back home now, and the subframe, and hoe are mounted again... This will likely get put on the back burner for a little while, but will have to happen before winter so the welds don't get too ugly with rust... Sort of half planning to ditch the hoe for the winter out in PA as its a pain when dealing with snow cleanup... When I drop that, I can do the cleaning I guess...

-Tim

 

[mkimes3]

Might consider a couple containers of 'scrubs in-a-bucket' available at most auto parts stores. Throw down a few 'doggie pee pads' and get in there with your fingers and an assortment of picks and small scrapers and start wiping away. When you get most of the nasty stuff out switch over to clorox wipes and clean everything again. Doesn't seem to bother the paint and does a pretty good job of degreasing most surfaces. Takes a little time and tenacity but sure is nice to roll that mess up in the wipes and catch the rest of the crap in the puppy pads.

 

[Bill.H]

For tight spots, or places where you wish to eliminate overspray, I like a can of WD-40 (Stoddard clone) with the spray tube. Then clean with paper towels (or Q-Tips if it's really tight).