Ask The Mechanic

One Filter Ring Too Many

(Photo courtesy of John Deere)

Reader: I bought a used Gator 825i with the 3-cylinder gas engine. The previous owner told me he had never changed the engine oil. So, I decided to do it. After I changed the oil and filter, I drove it. When I got back home, I saw a few drops of oil on the shop floor. It looked like it was coming from the oil filter. So, I tightened the oil filter and thought nothing else about it.

The next time I drove it, same thing, oil drops on the floor. I tightened the filter even more. I got the same result—oil on the floor. I really tightened it the third time, and then it blew oil all over the shop floor when I started it.

I took the filter back to the John Deere dealer, and the parts guy told me the filter looked good. I bought another filter and headed back home.

I felt pretty confident that I had the problem solved until it blew another 2 quarts all the way past my neighbor's house. I need some help with this problem—and a box of grease rags!

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Steve: Wow! Sounds like you bought a gusher. You must have a problem with the seal between the oil filter's sealing ring and the engine block. Check your old filter and see if it has a sealing ring on it, and let me know.

Reader: There is no sealing ring, gasket or anything on the original oil filter. I checked the first oil filter I bought, and it has a round black ring at the base of the filter. However, it leaked when I put it on. The second one I bought (that is on there now) is leaking like a sprinkler. What should I do now?

Steve: Remove the oil filter that is on the Gator now, and look and see (I know it is tight in there) if, by chance, the sealing ring that came on the original filter from the factory is still on the engine block. Sometimes an oil filter can lose its seal when removed because it is stuck to the engine block. Stacked sealing rings have ruined many engines. It's really not that uncommon. You may be surprised at what you find.

Reader: It's still on there. It didn't look like it, but when I raked my fingernail across the block, the old sealing ring came off. I've never seen anything like that before. Thank goodness for the red warning light on the dash—and my good sense of smell.

Q: I have an early model 3020 John Deere that came with the unpopular 24-volt system. I converted it to a 12-volt system using the same two 12-volt batteries that were in the tractor. The battery on the right side is wired so that the positive goes to the new 12-volt starter solenoid. Each battery has its own ground cable [attached] to the body of the tractor. However, the engine spins over weakly, like one of the batteries is bad. The battery store says both batteries are good. When I loosen the left positive cable, the tractor starts as good as it does with both batteries hooked up. But the battery on the left shows 12.6 volts, so it appears to be good. The funny thing is, when I check the voltage on the grounded side of the battery on the right, it shows nearly no volts. But when I check the ground cable on the left side, it registers 12.2 volts. What's with this?

A: You have a simple problem: The ground cable on the left battery doesn't have a good ground. That's why you have voltage on the grounded side. The voltage is trying to get back to the battery through the frame of the tractor, but it can't. Fix your ground cable problem, and the voltage will resemble the battery on the right side, and the tractor will whiz over much faster. You now have a strong 12-volt system. Like Pappy always said, "Electricity won't leave unless it can come home—just like a kid."

Safety Tip of the Month

When charging a battery, always turn the charger off before disconnecting clamps from the battery posts. This will prevent sparks from the battery charger leads that can cause battery explosion.

Write Steve Thompson at Ask The Mechanic, 2204 Lakeshore Dr., Suite 415, Birmingham, AL 35209, or email mechanic@progressivefarmer.com

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