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The next morning Alexia and I drove the 4 kilometers from the farm house to the tractor. She came along so that she could drive our Jimny back to the farm while I take the tractor. We were both armed with lots of water, patience and our Midlands two-way radios. The plan was for her to drive slowly ahead, in case I get stuck (walking back through the hills would be unfavourable in the morning heat).

It was initially quite disappointing to gaze upon the tractors. I remembered them, and I have a good memory of the sun and water damage they sustained sleeping outside in an area prone to vast amounts of deluge followed by high UV. However, they seem to have gone backwards a bit more than I remembered. The worst? Not really. The plan was to give them a once-over, and to 'sort things out'. Now, it seems it will have get a twice-over, or thrice-over.

Let's go over some of the things that stood out to me.
These images are from the first day (or two) before I started doing any work; representing how I saw it.

The cluster and steering wheel showed signs of environmental aging as expected, but looking closer quickly revealed maintenance neglect and 'quick fixes' to more serious issues. I can easily fix broken instruments, faded glass and replace steering wheels. The more difficult thing is completely rewiring the loom. Knobs, buttons, ignition keys and wires were chewed off, cut and damaged to the point where they don't work at all or cause shorts leading to things like the started motor trying to turn over continuously. The fix I found in place was a G-clamp holding the wiring to the solenoid (to enable “yanking it off” when the started cranks too long).
It is hard to see in the images, but hoses are rotten and dripping on the engine or breathing crankcase out to the air. Seals are dry rotted and allowing dust and moisture to enter. These are all easy to fix, and could have prevented a lot of deeper damage from occuring. Sensors that are key to operating an engine without damage, like oil pressure, are disconnected and pinched off by badly fitted components.

Down under, general rust is present and expected from something that was standing uncovered in rain (and not something I plan on doing to a machine I want to keep running). Boots on the hydraulics and other shafts were rotten and let dust into the seals. Again, an easy things to fix but just ignored.

Much worse, however, is the neglected and ignored points of operating a tractor or machinery. You ALWAYS, check fluid levels, you always grease pivot points and grease nipples and you never operate it outside of its temperature specs. The grease nipples were caked up with grime and sand, indicating that they have not seen a grease gun (at all). This was a very scary realisation. It meant that inside those links and pivoting stress-points, wear and rust was going to be present. The steering components, the front-end loader links, just about every grease nipple I found was either broken, gunked up or invisible under mud and oil.

The issue regarding the RPM revving issue, was related to what internet searches called 'a common issue'. A stuck rack inside the Bosch-like diesel pump governer causes the the overfueling, and it can often be unstuck. Sadly, when I opened the rack inspection cover it revealed that the diesel pump had NO, Nada oil in it. It wasn't filled, and hasn't seen oil. It was rusty, dry, stuck good.

The difference between a rotten seat and a rusted link bolt is not a little grey line. Perhaps this section could inspire some thought about what to look for when you are buying a tractor, or used machine for yourself.

Whether we're looking at this from an ownership & operation perspective, or a repair and 'make safe' issue, it remains the same. There are priorities, and they can fall anywhere between 'it looks crap' and 'it's going to kill me'.
They all have to be fixed, but of course safety and reliability issues come first and second. It may not be obvious to those lacking a culture of looking after things, but cosmetic items are often precursors to deeper rooted issues. They often swing from aethetic to adverserial without warning.

I would not be able to remember or list everything that went through my mind, but I will try to mention the biggest handful. These pages are, after all, a documentary and journalling attempt while I work on the tractors. It may be worth noting that the 'many, other insignificant things' are not worth listing (and I will assess and handle them as we go along).

- Convert remaining handwritten notes