Went to change the oil for the first time on my backhoe. I know I should have done it sooner than this, I have had it for almost 9 months. Anyway, warmed it up and then went to drain the oil, no oil would come out. So I poked my finger up in the hole and there is something in the way, when I pushed it up oil ran out. I let go and it quit again. I finally put my pinky finger up in there and shoved whatever it was to the side and the oil drain out. After the oil quit draining and poked my little finger up in there again and oh no, it feels like the oil pump pickup is laying in the bottom of the pan. So I go to the parts book to see what it looks like in there before I tear it apart, and something is going on that I am not sure about, the picture is below. They call #21 "Float Assembly with Screen". #24 is a cotter pin. #22 is "Pipe assembly suction". Why do they call that piece a float and what is the deal with the cotter pin? If that assembly is supposed to move around, I would not think it's supposed to move down and plug the drain hole correct? I am getting ready to pull the pan but was wondering if you guys have any knowledge on this. I think #26 is a different design option? 480 c oil pump pickup by D Franklin , on Flickr
Correct, number 26 is a fixed pickup design, whereas 21 is a floating type, because it can move up and down a bit, but either one does pretty much the same thing. If the cotter pin came loose or broke over time then the pickup could come out of the tube and just flop around in there, no good for picking up oil. For sure drop the pan and see what's going on in there, and give that screen a good cleaning out, as it's probably chock full of old RTV and who knows what else from decades past.
Ok, thanks.
Just an update; Pulled the pan off. There are some bolts up front on the pan that are difficult to get to, a 1/2" racheting wrench with a offset to it works well for this. You have to drop the steering connecting rod down on one side. And then to get the pan off you need to push it forward, drop the rear of the pan down and at a little bit of a angle and then work the front around and slide it out sideways to get it out. There was nothing wrong with the pickup. So for those like me who don't know, you can stick your finger up there and feel the pickup flopping around, but that is the way it works. I pulled the little round piece that was plugging the drain hole out, and it felt almost like rubber. But then I start digging at the very bottom of the pan, the whole area around the plug was full of this stuff, about 1/2" thick. It was just gum/old oil that had built up in the bottom of the pan and had plugged the drain hole. The little round piece is just what I had poked through with my finger. That goes to show you how long it has been since the oil has been changed. It still runs very well though, and no knocks or anything bad since I put the pan back in and got the oil changed. I have had that happen before, change the oil and drain the thick stuff out and then the engine would have a slight knock to it.