New OC-3 Plenty of Questions

[550DarrinWI]

Well, I'm past the giddy stage :shock: .

Fluids: I pulled the plugs on the drifferentail/transmission and found 1.5 gallons of water (not milky oil - H2O) and a quart of sludge.

The manual calls for SAE 40 in the diff/trans - Is there a better choice 50+ years later?

Engine Oil: Same question, manual calls for SAE 30, anything better to use today?

Speaking of Engine Oil: Anyone have an Oil Filter brand/number that works?

Speaking of brand/part numbers: Anyone have a suggestted spark plug?

Final Drives: Manual calls for SAE 40. Oil of choice in 2007?

Does a guy need to watch out for detergent vs. non-detergent oils in any of these applications?

Lastly, my biggest fix that I can see will be the rear sprocketts.  While they have good teeth, they are loooose .  I'm still chipping away at the grease and dirt but I fear that it isn't just loose studs. . .I have a feelling the stub shafts from the finals are loose and need attention.  Any advice on that fix is certainly welcome.

[walter hudson]

30 weight will be fine for the engine . I use 90w in the trans. and final drives .Try to find some with no additives . You will probably need to replace some bearings in the trans. The stub shaft being loose in the finals is a common problem . Tear down the finals ,bore the housing ,install bushing , turn the stub shaft to fit and weld it in . The oil filter is the same as Oliver wheel tractors such as 66,77 or 88 .
Good Luck
Walter

[550DarrinWI]

Thanks for the reply.  Your knowledge and advice have calmed my fears, a bit.  Now we'll see how easy that master pin comes out of those tracks.?!

[Blake Malkamaki]

Do some searches on here for transmission oil. The original recommendations are to use non-detergent motor oil in the transmission, final drives, lower track wheels and idlers. Most manuals recommend 50 wt., but as you said, yours recommends 40 wt.

Through your searches on this forum, you'll see some research was done (I believe by Zimmermans) that there are gear oils that are equivelent. I would use the non-detergent motor oil as it is what is recommended, but if you go with gear oil, do not use anything with hypoid additives, or anything that will harm brass or bronze in any way. And don't use detergent motor oil  here.

As far as engine oil goes, I would use the latest stuff out there. SAE 30 would be fine in warm weather. I tend to use 15W-40 in most everything all year long with good results. Unless your engine is totally gunk, I would use a detergent motor oil. Even if it is gunked up, I would use detergent oil and change it very frequently while hot until the engine cleans up.

[550DarrinWI]

Where does one find the button end/fitting for oiling the track?  I have heard they are reasonably available and relatively cheap.  Secondly, is there an affordable solution to obtaining the cooresponding oil gun?  Is it true that it is a high volume / low pressure set-up?

I hope the $150 model from Zimmerman's isn't my only option. . .

[Dr Bert]

For the button head fittings for the track rollers I suggest Brown Supply (mailto:brownsupply@verizon.net">brownsupply@verizon.net).  Great place to do business.

Got my oil gun somewhat cheaper through Alemite.

[550DarrinWI]

So I spun my oil filter off tonight and found a sharpened wooden dowel stuck in the center of the filter. :?

[Bill Seal]

McMaster-Carr www.mcmaster.com has the adapters for about 35 bucks.  Even though they're an industrial supply house, they take phone orders and credit cards. (unlike Grainger).
You can find a pneumatic grease gun at Harbor Freight (www.harborfreight.com) for about 20 bucks. Saves a lot of pumping. Just take the plunger out of the barrel and turn it over so it doesn't leak so bad.
I think that stick in the filter was to keep the hole in the "wadding" type filter from closing up, and should have been removed before installation. (When I got my OC3, somebody had removed the tube and stuck the dowel in the hole, plugging it up.   )

[walter hudson]

The wooden dowel came in the filter and should of been removed before installation . If you make a tube ,the top end needs to be small.
Walter

[550DarrinWI]

Walter, you said, "If you make a tube ,the top end needs to be small."

Do you mean I need to pinch or taper the end to somewhat restrict flow?

Can someone tell me the specs of the tube on the real thing (overall length / top of the tube)?  This is something that doesn't get much detail in the instruction manual and/or parts book.

Maybe I'll have to wait until someone does their spring oil change. . .because I think my 550 Oliver has this tube set-up on the oil filter and for the life of me, I can't picture what it looks like. . .

[walter hudson]

The filter system is not a full flow to the filter. The oil that goes through the filter just dumps back into the pan . Your 550 should take the same filter and have the same type tube but may not be the same length as the crawler had .Use the 550 as a guide for the dia. of the hole in top of the tube .
Walter

[550DarrinWI]

For those of you that are interested, the 550 Oliver has 2 inch tall tube that is 1/4" O.D. with a beveled 1/8" hole at the tip. . .time to fabricate a new one for the OC-3

[Eric Severance]

If I recall correctly, I think I made one of those oil tubes from a piece of automotive steel brake line, when we restored my General.

[550DarrinWI]

That's what I've been think - break line tubing. . .I'll let you know how it works out.  Make sure you check out my other headache in the posting above.