Timberjack 230D

[WhitePineJunky]

A Detroit that doesn't leak oil doesn't have oil in it to leak  ;D

But the oil going into the soil :( 
I get all hot and bothered by that. I have read a lot on these machines and are known to leak oil

[barbender]

That can be dried up. I have one of the rare 3-53's that doesn't leak any oil. I don't know what was done to it, it was like that when I bought it🤷😊

[mudfarmer]

Can't blame you for wanting to dry it up, oil isn't cheap and nobody wants it in the ground or the water.

FWIW I've been working under contracts that explicitly forbid visibly leaking equipment and would expect that to become common place

[WhitePineJunky]

The only leak that's really bothering me is the engine oil leak, the others are not that leaky, drip every couple mins but the engine oil leaks a drip every couple seconds. I need to have a certain area prepped for seedlings so I might just cut up some old towels into oil rags and jam them up in the oil pan cover plate or bungie them lol 
Il have a ton of oily rags to through out but I really need a couple acres finished by September

[WhitePineJunky]

Is a dent like this in the front diff bowl a cause for concern? It runs so I assume not, might lower the oil capacity lol 



 

[WhitePineJunky]

What was/is this pulley for that's not hooked up? 



 

[Southside]

BB, any chance the old farmer/leaking gear box trick was used? Fill it with grease instead of oil?  :D

[nativewolf]

The only leak that's really bothering me is the engine oil leak, the others are not that leaky, drip every couple mins but the engine oil leaks a drip every couple seconds. I need to have a certain area prepped for seedlings so I might just cut up some old towels into oil rags and jam them up in the oil pan cover plate or bungie them lol
Il have a ton of oily rags to through out but I really need a couple acres finished by September

Rags are fine but if they don't hold some PIG mats might be helpful (though pricey).   

[nativewolf]

A Detroit that doesn't leak oil doesn't have oil in it to leak  ;D

But the oil going into the soil :(
I get all hot and bothered by that. I have read a lot on these machines and are known to leak oil

I am about as green (tree hugger sort) as much as anyone but ...if you own a piece of forestry machinery you will spill some oil...sometimes a whole lot.  I appreciate and support your effort to track down the leaks... once you've ripped the hoses on a Ponsse Bear harvesting head and seen 20 gallons go whoosh in a sec...well you haven't really been logging (ask us how we know  :D) ..at least that is what I tell my Dad.

[WhitePineJunky]

A Detroit that doesn't leak oil doesn't have oil in it to leak  ;D

But the oil going into the soil :(
I get all hot and bothered by that. I have read a lot on these machines and are known to leak oil

I am about as green (tree hugger sort) as much as anyone but ...if you own a piece of forestry machinery you will spill some oil...sometimes a whole lot.  I appreciate and support your effort to track down the leaks... once you've ripped the hoses on a Ponsse Bear harvesting head and seen 20 gallons go whoosh in a sec...well you haven't really been logging (ask us how we know  :D) ..at least that is what I tell my Dad.

Gotta do my best for my land and the area I'm skidding from is where I've been planning to put a house for a couple years now, definitely don't want oil in that area

[barbender]

 "The solution to pollution, is dilution"

 I don't like intentionally spilling oil on the ground, but I'm with NW. Get in some modern logging equipment and you will quickly have to re-evaluate your attitude towards oil spills. Thankfully, all of my incidents were under 5 gallons😁

[C5C Tree Farmer]

What was/is this pulley for that's not hooked up?

The two large pulleys on the front of the engine have offset weights on the backsides and serve as the engine balancer. These engines were used in a wide variety of applications. Depending on the belt driven accessories of a given application some pulley grooves were used while others were not.

[chet]

Referring back to infamous starter bolt. My first encounter was a 453 in a Franklin. Wife went with me on a Sunday to try to get that last bolt out. Frustrated as nothing I tried would work,  I resorted to taking the rear view mirror off her beloved '77 T-Bird ta see why. DA WIFE WAS NOT IMPRESSED AT ALL.   :D      Since that first encounter all reinstalls have used Corley5's fix.

[Corley5]

 Once upon a time I blew one of the 3/4" 4 wire hoses on the house swing motor on my Fabtek harvester. The 60 gallon hydraulic reservoir was empty before I knew what happened.

[GRANITEstateMP]

sometimes you can find that single Detroit starter bolt on ebay. They fetch a high price because of all the blood, sweat, tears, and homemade wrenches they take to get out :D

Whoever mentioned the gear reduction starter is spot on. Buy a new one, they are smaller and spin faster. Use you old starter as a paper weight!

The PIG mats nativewolf talks about are excellent. We have them in our spill kits at work. I would advise against rags or paper towels stuffed in or around the engine area. Too easy to catch on fire, and thats too nice of a machine to go out like that

[mudfarmer]

Snagging a hydro line is an accident, knowing your engine is losing oil pretty fast the entire time you are running it is deliberate and different you can also get bio hydraulic oil so when you lose 60gal it isn't as bad, and I don't think there are concerns about carcinogens in hydraulic oil like there are in used engine oil.

[WhitePineJunky]

sometimes you can find that single Detroit starter bolt on ebay. They fetch a high price because of all the blood, sweat, tears, and homemade wrenches they take to get out :D

Whoever mentioned the gear reduction starter is spot on. Buy a new one, they are smaller and spin faster. Use you old starter as a paper weight!

The PIG mats nativewolf talks about are excellent. We have them in our spill kits at work. I would advise against rags or paper towels stuffed in or around the engine area. Too easy to catch on fire, and thats too nice of a machine to go out like that

Well I just got done running it for 4 hours the rags worked, the fire hazard was in my mind, but they were down on the oil pan so I was less worried. I'm getting the hang of it but I gotta remember the dozer blade UP(it's my parking brake) before I try to  take off after choking some logs lol. 

[barbender]

That's the same parking brake I have👍

[WhitePineJunky]

That's the same parking brake I have👍

Really impressive how much that blade can push. Will push fresh stumps right out 

[WhitePineJunky]

 

 

[mudfarmer]

Nice! Looking good  8)

[WhitePineJunky]

Rotella t5 15w-40 for engine oil ? Going out to get some supplies and grease 

[tacks Y]

Most will say straight weight 40 or 30 in the winter.

[Plankton]

Id stick with straight 30 or 40 wieght. At least in my area its the same price if not a little cheaper and just as easy to find. I run rotella t1 sae 30 year round in mine.

[barbender]

 From all the digging that I've done on the subject, the big issue for Detroit 2 stroke oils is that they are low ash content. I don't remember what the newest diesel oil rating is (JF maybe?) but they have to be low ash now as well, so they don't plug catalytic converters and DPF's on new diesel emission systems. I have low ash 15-40 in my 3-53 right now, I think I'll put 5w40 synthetic in it at next change. I'm no expert and I could smoke my engine, so take what I say with a big grain of salt😊