Steiner/Ransomes Model 420

[GMJohnny]

Nice!! It's good to hear that a little labor made a big difference.

GM

[wxo]

Next up, I'm going to drain and refurb the cooling system, hydraulic fluid, and change the kinked hydraulic hose.

[wxo]

I spent most of the day today working on Gladys. I had to remove the radiator to get to the other end of the kinked hose. It was not a trivial job. It's amazing how good the antifreeze in the cooling system looked after 18+ years of neglect. It was still clear and green.
When I was able to put a wrench on the other end of the kinked hydraulic hose, I found that it was loose. It was just a bit more than hand tight!! I took it down to a local hydraulic place and had a new one made which is 1.5 inches longer. Sixy five dollars later, the new, blue, hose looks great in it's place.
It just keeps gettin' better.

[GMJohnny]

WXO...

If you keep on doing this type of work, I can get you a job at a rental store! The blue hose
looks good. Make sure that it isn't touching the bracket that is by it. If it does, the vibration
from the motor will cause the hose to wear and it will blow out there. The cool thing about
those hydraulic lines is that they can be positioned by putting a bit of torque on the hose.
Loosen up the nut that is connected to the fitting on the machine. Put a wrench on the inner
nut and move the hose to a position where it won't touch any framework, then tighten down
the fitting and it will maintain its position of not rubbing the frame.

GM

[wxo]

GM, after I took that picture, I discovered that little positioning technique you just described. The hose is now positioned away from anything that would cause it harm.

[GMJohnny]

I'm glad you fixed it. I'm like the hose-Nazi at work... a hose rubbing steel is just a ticking
time bomb! Good work!

GM

[wxo]

After replacing the hydraulic hose, it was time to change all the fluids and get the old girl back to work. When I tried to open the petcock to drain the block of antifreeze, this happened:

It turns out that the petcock is aluminum. I guess thirty-some years in service was too much for it. After I broke off the handle, I put a socket on the hex part of the main body and broke the whole thing off. Drilling it out wasn't too bad because it was aluminum and very accessible. Bruno gave me a tip that worked very nicely to remove the outer portion left in the block. He suggested inserting a hacksaw blade and cutting slots at 12, 3, 6, and 9 o'clock to segment the remaining aluminum ring. It worked like a charm. Tapping around with a punch dislodged the segments and out they came. The threads were serviceable so I just replace the petcock with a steel plug I had in my parts drawer.
After adding oil and hydraulic fluid, I poured in some cooling system cleaner and ran it for a while then rinsed it out a few times. I don't think the cooling system cleaner helped at all. I couldn't see any difference. Anyway, Gladys is back up and running better than ever. I have a few more things to do, but the major problems are fixed.

[Basement Paul]

A coat of wax, some tire shine, maybe some flames...

-BP

[wxo]

I must admit. Flames has occurred to me.
But first, Gladys and I need a new seat. I like this OEM one because it has a drain hole at the lowest point.
They are still available at Steiner, but they are grey and cost $236.

[GMJohnny]

I'm always amazed at how much seats cost! We go through a bunch of them at work, and they all
seem expensive. We've found that ones with plastic backs tend to last better because they don't
rust. Surprisingly, Tractor Supply Co. has a decent selection of them, and the price isn't horrible.
I'm certain that you could find a "deal" on the internet for some type of universal seat that might
save you a couple of bucks, but usually seats are in the $125 range for a decent one. We have used
vinyl paint to make yellow seats black when the color didn't match the machine and we wanted to
save $.

GM

[wxo]

I've decided to simplify Gladys' seating arrangement by eliminating the arm rests and just going with a simple seat from Northern Tool.
It was one of the few I found with a drain hole for water and had some good reviews.

[Basement Paul]

Same seat, only cheaper:

https://www.tiredirontractorparts.com/t ... 100bl.html

http://www.ebay.com/itm/One-Black-Unive ... Sw3v5YnSBg


-BP

[wxo]

Add shipping costs and it comes out about the same. I'm near a Northern Tool store, so I can pick it up there.

[Basement Paul]

You might even be able to sit on it in the store. It's always better to see and touch before buying.

-BP

[wxo]

Breaking news! I just thought of another upgrade. LED headlights and tail lights! Of course I'll need to upgrade to the wiring to make them work. None of the lights currently work.
New seat is slow coming. I wonder what the holdup is.