Fix It if it’s Not Broke

Myles Clifton

  There’s a situation that we’ve all been in before. You have a break down or a repair, something that isn’t what you’d call a quick fix. A timely job that you’re dreading doing but it needs to be done. You dive head first into the deep water and you realize how many other potential issues there could be in nearer than you think future. While you’re this far in do you do it?

   We often don’t want to spend money if we don’t have to, especially these days. Parts are expensive, it may take more time, if it's broke don’t fix it. But here you are with plenty to do, why would you want to add more to the ever growing to do list?

   A simple answer? Save yourself the frustration and disappointment of another issue further down the road. Ive found out that often further down the road happens much quicker than you’d expect. If the you’re replacing the radiator, look out that water pump a little closer. That thermostat isn’t all that expensive. It's easy to do while you’re this far. Have those hoses been replaced? Is that fan belt starting to crack? Take a minute to stop and look. A minute cost a lot more than it used to. That’s all the more reason to be ahead of the game. There’s more than enough to do, why would you want to take half of this apart a second time a year from now?

   We all know parts are expensive, and only going higher. This is often a reason that deters us from preventative maintenance, fixing things that may have a few hours left in them. Just let it go, you might trade it off soon, let the next guy worry about it. Often times it's easy to end up being that “next guy”. Buying used equipment, tractors, trucks, someone ahead of you may have had the same ideas on spending money and times on maintenance and repairs. Save yourself the headache of breakdowns in the field.  

    I can recall a time a repair needed to be made on our 4020. A steering line had blew apart and made a mess. While in the midst of repair I spotted hose going to the oil cooler that I didn’t like the looks of. I brought it to my dad’s attention, who argued with me that it wasn’t something that needed to be worried about at the moment. He insisted we replace the steering line and get back to the work we were doing before hand. Draining the oil from the cooler, removing and replacing the hoses to the cooler was going to take more time than he’d wanted to take. 

   Sure enough, that hose on the oil cooler didn’t last long. It wasn’t but a few days later the hose blew. What would’ve been a simple removal of some hose clamps, with a socket and flexible driver, pulling the hoses loose with a hose pick, and draining the oil, it turned into a much larger mess, everything was covered in oil. So what would’ve been a fairly quick and easy fix was now a longer and more expensive repair. There was still the time and money for removing and replacing the hoses. But now we had to added cost of the lost oil. Not to mention now cleaning the oil out of oil cooler, the radiator and all over the engine, It didn’t just cost us more money, but also more time.

   Not all repairs are a large expenses. So ignored minor repairs can cost more later one than they would if it would be addressed now. Sometimes it just pays to fix it if it’s not broke.

   There’s a variety of simple and effective tools, even the not so experience farm mechanic can use to do simple cooling system repairs and checks on their own. Checking coolant levels and quality are a good first step. There’s a great selection of tools out there to help clean, pressure check, and fill the cooling system on any of the equipment on your farm. Regular checks and maintenance during down time can save you plenty of money when it’s time to hit it hard. Even things as small as regularly making sure your hose clamps are snug. There’s more than enough to do in a day, so take the time to fix it if it’s not broke.  ∆

   Myles Clifton: Contributing Writer