Duetz-Allis tractor question

[Big Red Oaks 4 me]

A neighbor is moving, and has offered me his D-A 18hp diesel tractor for a good price. It is a small tractor with a front-end bucket and a finish mower on the back. It has 2000 hours on it, with some wear issues, but still has some life left in it. The engine oil light is now on all the time, but I feel like it is still pumping, and shows full on the stick. Motor sounds good. He thinks it's the oil pressure sending unit, and has been running it with the light on. I'm getting it very "cheap", but should I be concerned about this issue? He says it doesn't use much oil, and he's taken pretty good care of it.

 

[lfnh]

Probly put a known good analogue oil gauge in place of sending unit and get some real numbers to compare with factory specs.

 

[diezelsmoke]

If is a Duetz engine I doubt it has low oil pressure, but you need to verify with a manual pressure gauge.

 

[Conquistador3]

If it's an 18HP built in the 80's it's very likely a rebadged Hinomoto (AKA Toyosha). The same tractor was sold by Allis-Chalmer, Massey Ferguson and a few others as well.

I hope you haven't bought it yet because I have bad news for you. Those two and three cylinders Toyosha engines are... junk, really. They usually wear out well before the rest of the tractor. That low oil pressure warning is most likely signaling that engine is on its last legs. That's because spares for Toyosha engines are literally inexistant. Hinomoto has long disappeared and like many minor Japanese manufacturers even when they were active obtaining spares was a headache.

I've heard the three cylinder engines can be replaced with a NA Yanmar 3TN but I honestly don't know who has done it because those Yanmar's are on the expensive side, most likely more expensive than the tractor itself.

 

[Big Red Oaks 4 me]

If it's an 18HP built in the 80's it's very likely a rebadged Hinomoto (AKA Toyosha). The same tractor was sold by Allis-Chalmer, Massey Ferguson and a few others as well.

I hope you haven't bought it yet because I have bad news for you. Those two and three cylinders Toyosha engines are... junk, really. They usually wear out well before the rest of the tractor. That low oil pressure warning is most likely signaling that engine is on its last legs. That's because spares for Toyosha engines are literally inexistant. Hinomoto has long disappeared and like many minor Japanese manufacturers even when they were active obtaining spares was a headache.

I've heard the three cylinder engines can be replaced with a NA Yanmar 3TN but I honestly don't know who has done it because those Yanmar's are on the expensive side, most likely more expensive than the tractor itself.

Thanks! I haven't bought it yet, but for 750.00, the finish mower should be worth that much. I do agree with you on the mechanical side of that. Probably junk.