In order to make the most of your farming, you need an efficient, reliable and safe tractor. Carrying out maintenance properly and consistently is the best way to a care-free business. It may be challenging at times, but results show that it is really worth it.
Proper maintenance rewards your efforts: not only is your tractor more efficient, but it will also have a longer life, use less fuel and require less extraordinary maintenance. Some minor daily costs will allow you to save on fuel and spare parts, besides prolonging the life of your tractor, sometimes by several years.
Reducing costs, and quite significantly in the long run, is possible thanks to some simple measures. Moreover, always remember to plan your scheduled checks with your authorised dealer: Landini specialised operators are by your side to help keep your tractor in perfect shape.
What do you mean by tractor maintenance?
Tractor maintenance implies a very broad and diverse range of activities. Indeed, there is a difference between ordinary maintenance, steadily carried out by operators, general maintenance, to be carried out by dealers at scheduled intervals and, finally, extraordinary maintenance, which consists of all operations required when any problems appear with the vehicle.
Ordinary maintenance
Ordinary maintenance includes all those operations directly carried out by tractor operators. It includes a number of daily activities, such as radiator and filter cleaning, component greasing and oil level checking.
Obviously, the frequency of such checks also depends on the use of the vehicle, i.e. the frequency of use and the operating and environmental conditions. Clearly, those who work on very dusty terrains should check the filters more frequently, while if the vehicle were to remain idle for a certain period, it will require less maintenance. In any case, the status of your vehicle must be constantly monitored.
The reference tool to take care of your tractor is the maintenance manual, which provides all instructions concerning periodical checks required specifically by the vehicle you have purchased.
Among the most important operations to be carried out daily when using your tractor, some are worth reporting:
- Check the engine oil level as well as crankshaft and rear gearbox levels. If one of them should be low, it must be topped up in order to restore the correct level. Remember that oil deteriorates; even if the vehicle were to remain idle for some time, oil must be replaced after a certain time, as specified in the operator manual. Always use the amount of lubricant oil specified by your official Landini dealer in order to ensure your vehicle stays in good working conditions
- Clean the air filters regularly, as well as radiator grilles and the opening parts, if available. During field work, filters can get clogged with dust or other materials, and therefore must be cleaned using compressed air or as described in the manual. Depending on the use of the vehicle, the filter must be replaced at regular intervals.
- Apply grease to the parts that need lubricating, consistently with the specified frequency. Some parts must be lubricated daily, others every 100 hours of operations, others require longer intervals. You may access these data by referring to the operator manual and by asking your Landini dealer.
- Empty the water-fuel separator, in order to drain all the water from the filter tap. This is a crucial operation, in that it prevents water from leaking into the fuel circuit and causing major damage.
If you carry out the above operations regularly, your tractor will have a longer life and will be more efficient, the parts will also live longer and the risk of having to carry out extraordinary maintenance will decrease; finally, general costs of operation and maintenance will be lower.
General maintenance
General maintenance is carried out periodically by skilled and authorised operators; it includes the operations required to specifically set your tractor. At given intervals, it is important to bring your tractor to the dealer in order to run all checks and completely verify the operational status of the vehicle.
It is crucial to use an official Landini dealer, whose maintenance operators will have been suitably trained on every vehicle in the Landini range.
More specifically, state-of-the-art technology requires suitable diagnostic tools and skills concerning technical specs, mechanical parts and software programmes. And who knows a vehicle better than those who built it?
Extraordinary maintenance
Finally, we come to the type maintenance everyone would like to avoid: extraordinary maintenance. Extraordinary maintenance is carried out by skilled operators whenever issues arise. When ordinary maintenance and general maintenance are carried out properly, your tractor also works properly and extraordinary maintenance remains quite a remote possibility.
This is why it’s always good to remember that ordinary and general maintenance are much cheaper: besides saving on operations and spare parts, you also ensure that your vehicle is more efficient, also in terms of fuel consumption. Moreover, you avoid the risk of vehicle stoppage, which ultimately causes you to lose precious hours.
Ongoing maintenance for an efficient vehicle
In conclusion, in order to have an efficient tractor and keep it healthier, longer, the more sensible choice is opting for ordinary and general maintenance. First, learn the Landini maintenance manual well in order to familiarise with whatever operations your vehicle needs. Remember that you can always get in touch with authorised Landini dealer experts, who will let you know what’s best for your tractor. Keeping your tractor properly maintained is always the winning choice.
Source: Landini.