I previously wrote about the need to stop what you’re doing while in a pressure situation so you can review the problem and talk to yourself.
When doing this, you might hear yourself say, “did I do that? Why, that has absolutely nothing to do with this problem.”
Let’s say a hired person says, “you and I have to have a talk. That tractor of yours has no power. Last year it was good, now it seems to be dead. I think we should take it in.”
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The first question you ask is, “how do you know?”
He’ll say, “well, I can’t pull the same load.”
So you ask yourself, “what has changed?” If you were in a panic mode, you might say out of habit that he should change the filters. Or you might ask if the field is more moist than it was last year.
Or you might ask yourself, “did we weigh the tractor after we put all that fluid in the tires?” It might be overweight. Check the manual for maximum weight. The tractor seems dead if that weight is exceeded. And check the slippage. It should be 10 percent. Less slipping takes extra fuel.
Is there still winter fuel in the tractor? The air filter could be plugged.
The turbo charger fins could be touching the housing.
These are all things that can be checked with hardly any tools. So far it hasn’t cost you anything.
Let’s say the air conditioner isn’t working.
Does it ever work? If it works first thing in the morning, the cause is probably ice, which melted overnight. If the problem was caused by dirt in the works, it would not work at any time.
Others questions to ask: Does the pressure line get hot?
Is the condenser full of dirt?
Is there a lot of water under the tractor? Is the pump cycling?
Are there bubbles in the sight glass?
Let’s try questions to ask ourselves in event of combine trouble.
For example, it’s throwing grain out the back.
How much?
Is one side worse than the other?
Do you have a clean sample?
Are you using concave blanks?
Are you cracking any grain?
Here’s another problem: why is my hydraulic oil getting hot?
Is the tank getting low on oil?
