Massey Ferguson GC2310 TLB Repair

How To Repair
2006 Massey Ferguson GC2310 Tractor Loader Backhoe

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Introduction

This web page contains a narrative log and pictorial essay to maintain a 900-1027 hour 2006 Massey Ferguson GC2310 Tractor with a 22.5 hp 3-cylinder Iseki L3 1.1L (69 in³) diesel engine. This page is meant to document technical data, and motivate and encourage you as you try to fix your tractor. I have other pages about my 230,000 mile 1994 Suburu Legacy with 2.2L. and 180,000 mile 2003 VW Jetta wagon 1.9L diesel, and 160,000 mile 1989 Dodge B250 van and John Deere 14SB lawn mower fleet and 50,000 mi 2018 Subaru Outback and 86,000 mi 2014 Chevy Tahoe and 240,000 mile 2002 Toyota 2.4L Camry manual transmission and 2017 Subaru Outback with only 10,000 miles on it. I appreciate your link back to this page so Google thinks what I say is important.

Because the Model GC2310 comes standard with a backhoe and front loader instead of 3-point hitch implements, you'll also hear it called "TLB" for "Tractor Loader Backhoe". The PTO, 3-point lifters, and tow-ball mount plate are all there, just covered by the backhoe. Mine also has two hydraulic loops installed after market - the rear loop is controlled by a baby joystick to the left of the seat and the front loop is controlled by a click button switch on the bucket joystick. Lastly, mine came with an operator cab to keep the operator more comfortable if operating in cold / wet conditions.

Testimonies

12/7/18 WD wrote, "Just a big thank you!!"
5/28/19 MW wrote, "I just finished installing axle spindle seals on both sides of my GC2400. I read your page detailing the step by step process and the project went perfectly. Thank you for taking the time to document the repair, it was a reference for me more than once! The only part I found difficult was removing the female side of the seal, your tip of cutting it with a chisel worked great. I felt confident starting the project because of your detailed instructions."

March 2016 - Buying Manuals

The first problem I worked after purchasing the tractor wasn't really a problem. I just wanted owner, parts, and maintenance books. AGCO (who purchased an owns the Massey Ferguson line) has an AGCO on-line parts manual (login as guest to view books), so there's really no reason to buy the paper parts manual.

I ordered 4 paper books, which immediately highlighted the fact that there is a serial number break in the GC2310 series. They refer to it as "N 25201", which means any tractor with that serial number or after has a different parts catalog and a different operating manual. To interpet that serial number, you have to add the common letters. "JNA 25201" is what you would find on your tractor. The tractor serial number is behind your left heel; don't confuse that with the frame serial number or engine serial number. My serial number is JRAxxxx, and because R comes after N, I have the later model. An easy way to tell the difference is that the newer serial numbers have a tachometer around the hour-meter.

Here are the paper book part numbers for a GC2310 with a serial number JNA25201 or later. Check the AGCO parts web info if you want ot confirm - be sure to choose the English lanuage if that is what you want. If you order from AGCO, you can get DVD versions for a few dollars cheaper with noticeably less shipping cost.

Operating Manual - 1449927M1, $17
Service Manual - tractor 4283003M1, $29
Service Manual - engine 4283035M2, $17
Parts Manual - 65179M92, $28

April 2016 - Fluids

After researching different options, here's what I purchased to change expendables. These are alternatives to the AGCO filter part numbers. I like to do this up front so I know the service intervals start from zero.

Oil Filter - FRAM PH4967/4767, NAPA 1360, WIX 51360
Engine Oil - Shell Rotella T semi-synthetic 15W-40 (white bottle)
Hydraulic Filter screw-on - AGCO 4265229M91 (no alternative found yet, $29)
Transmission and accessories hydraulic fluid - Coastal Multi-Trac in the green 5-gal bucket, $46
Front axle fluid - same as transmission hydraulic fluid
Fuel filter - FRAM C7516 $15, NAPA 3262, WIX 33262
Air filter - NAPA 9691, WIX 49691
Engine coolant - commerical 50:50 mix from car parts store

May 2016 - Replace Axle Steering Spindle Oil Seal

I checked in the front axle fill cap on the left side and the internal gearing looked wetted with oil, but there was no standing oil. It's suppose to be filled up 1/2 the height of the axle, so I added fluid. Within a day, it had leaked out the right steering spindle onto the garage floor, so I knew that the seal needed to be replaced (part number 4265156M91, $30.85 from Jacks Small Engines https://www.jackssmallengines.com/jacks-parts-lookup/part/4265156m91).

Others have documented replacing the seal for a MF 1553 and MF GC2300.

Right-Click (dual-click on a Mac) any picture to see a full-size view or download.

Overall work area. Right front tire removed. You can use the front loader bucket to lift the tractor and then put a jack stand under the frame. Final gear housing hydraulic fluid is draining out.	With all the bolts loose, split the gear cover from the main housing. I gently chiseled around the entire seam to break the silicone seal, but later realized there are notches at the seam on the left and right side (just out of this picture) to push in a screwdriver to wedge them apart.	Looking inside the final gear housing. The central bearing comes out with the gear. Look carefully on top of the other little gear and you can see the snap ring. After 870 hours of operation, there was silt collected along the bottom of the cavity. Two pins support and allign the cover.	Final wheel gear with more silt collected along the bottom edge (left of photo). Clean out silt and clean the mating surface, but otherwise, there is no need to do anything with these parts.	You may be able to replace a spindle oil seal without removing the 90 degree angle housing. However, 4 bolts and an O-ring seal is pretty easy to take apart and put together. It slips off the spline shaft easily once the four bolts are removed and the tie-rod taper bolt is separated.
Top of the 90 degree gear housing. I cleaned 10 years and 870 hours of crud off the metal surface and cleaned out the o-ring. 4 bolt holes and 2 alignment pin holes.	Drive shaft extending out ward. It's loose and can be easily pulled or fall out; I left it sitting there. Notice the bad tie rod ball I smeared some grease into. I ended up replacing these, too.	Unseat the snap ring by the gear and the final gear housing drops off the spindle. You can see the oil seal sleeve on the spindle (shiny reflected part).	To remove the inner seal, I cut the metal band with a cold chisel and pried it inward toward the center. Be careful not to damage the metal surface of the shaft housing.	After removing the inner seal, I cleaned the 90 degree and final housing and bearings with copious amounts of solvent.
The oil seal has two parts. This shows removal of the collar sleeve, which was a tight rusty fit. Lots of prying with a screwdriver around and around.	I installed the new collar by lubricating and carefully tapping around and around the shaft with a block of wood and re-applied vaseline to lubricate the seal.	The inner seal needs to be set below the surface of the metal, so I used a flat faced punch that was sized to not crush the rubber flange. I went around about 4-5 times before it was set all the way.	.	.

In order to work on the front axle, you need the wheels off the ground. You can use the bucket to lift up the front of the tractor and then put a jack stand under the frame near the front axle. Use a 19mm socket to remove the wheel studs and remove the wheel.

To open up the final gear housing, I worked a chisel around and around the silicon seal. If you look carefully there are notches on the left and right side in order to catch a screwdriver blade and pry open the seal. Also remove the outer tie-rod taper bolt so the final wheel housing can come totally off the tractor. Look in the housing just above the small gear. You can see the snap ring that must be strentched open and removed from its notch. My snap ring pliers spread the ring barely far enough. The final gear housing will drop away from the shaft.

You could replace the seal without removing the 90 degree gear housing. It depends on the condition of the seal sleeve installed on the upper part of the shaft. If it's really stuck or rusted into position, you'll want to be able to work around all sides of it and that is way easier if the 90 gear housing is not connected to the tractor. So, remove the 90 degree housing if you want.

The replacement rubber seal is a 2-piece thing. You have to remove one piece from inside the lower wheel gear housing. You have to remove the other collar piece from the outside of the upper shaft arm. It's easiest to understand how the fit together by looking at the new seal you purchased and pull the two pieces apart and inspect them. Both of the pieces from my old seal were very tightly installed and I needed to use a chisel to break the metal part of the oil seal before pushing / sliding / twisting them to remove them. If you do this, be careful to not chisel or dent the metal underneath the seal piece. After both pices are removed, clean everything up with solvent and confirm you haven't damaged the shaft or bearing housing.

Putting the new seal in place (both pieces) involves lubricating it and pushing, pressing, or gently tapping it them into position. Work around and around with little taps with a hammer and it goes on pretty easily. Just be patient. Re-lubricate both halves of the seal and put the spindle back into the wheel gear housing and hold it in position while re-installing the snap ring. With a worn set of snap-ring plier tips, this proved impossible. I had to purchase new snap-ring plier tips that are the right size for the snap-ring hole and have non-worn edges.

To reconnect the final gear exterior cover, I scraped off all the old silicone rubber, filed off one little blemish, and touched up the entire surface with emery cloth. I cleaned everything with gasoline and then rinsed the surface with acetone to remove any oily residue. I applied silicone rubber as a gasket and re-assembled it.

I measured the bolts as 9 mm in diameter. The service manual identifies torques for only 8 mm or 10 mm bolts. I used the high end of 8 mm as my target and torqued everything to 20 ft lbs. If you pulled off the 90 degree gear housing, there is no way to get a torque wrench on the four bolt heads. I used a 1' long open end box wrench and pulled the wrench with a 20' fish scale in order to get 20 ft lb of torque.

I put hydraulic fluid into the right gear housing through the top bolt hole in case there was an air bubble trap somewhere, and then added more in the left axle fill cap up to a half-filled axle. Side note - after about a day of work, I noticed the left spindle was starting to seep oil out. Uggh.. I think I need to go replace the other seal, too. I think the right leak was keeping the fluid level low enough to not affect the left side, but with the right side fixed, the fluid level stays high enough to make the left leak visible. I will have to order another seal and repeat in the near future.

May 2016 - Replace Steering Rod Ends

The right steering rod end had no rubber boot on the inner ball joint and the ball and joint were totally rusted and very loose. The left one was badly cracked and the inner ball joint was rusty and loose. I wondered if I could operate the tractor this way until one of the ball joints just popped out. For a car, this would be bad because the toe-in would wander around and it would probably make bad rattling noises when on the road and would probably wear out the front tires really quickly. However, a tractor is bouncing around on uneven loose surface most of its life so I'm not sure the tires would ever know the difference.

tie rod picture

Eventually, I decided to buy new ball joints so as to not let little maintenance items build up. Turns out you can't buy just the inner ball joint any more. That part has been superceded by another part, which has been superceded by another part. The final part (7069209M91, $73) is an aggregate kit that includes everything outboard of steering rod out to the tie rod tapered bolt. It does not include the big flat washer where the rod end screws into the hydraulic piston and it does not include a lock washer or castle nut for the tapered bolt.

Spoiler alert: the cotter pins and 10mm-1.25 castle bolts on the tapered bolt were very rusty. I ended up having to get new of both. The hardware store sold a package of 100+ miscellaneous cotter pins that notably did not have the one size I needed (3/32" diameter an inch or longer), so I drove back and bought the package of the exact size. A new castle bolt was made out of a normal grade (hardness) nut by cutting slots with a cutoff wheel grinder. I will have to watch these and see if the nuts are too soft, or loosen.

When removing the tie rod, if the taper bolt is stuck tight, consider using an air chisel. No! don't hit any tractor part with an air chisel. Back the bolt off until it's flush with the end of the bolt. Then use a thick aluminum bar or plate between the nut and bolt and the air chisel. The softer aluminum takes the hammer blows and transfers the impacts to loosen the bolt without damaging the bolt or nut. This method has reliably removed tie rod end bolts in every vehicle I've tried it with.

The tie rod ends screw into the ends of the hydraulic actuating rod, separated with a large flat washer that prevents the tie rod from crushing in against the oil seal when the steering wheel is turned hard left or right. In order to screw / unscrew these connections you have to be able to grab the rod ends and the rods with a wrench and turn about 20 ft lbs. The flat sections provided to do this are very narrow, so I had to grind down my tools to make them fit. Two "special" tools are required:

A narrow 19 mm open end box wrench for the flats on the stainless steel hydraulic drive rod. A wrench of this size was not economically available alone, so I picked up an entire set of metric wrenches for $9 from Harbor Freight. I'm not sure their tools are hard or accurate enough for regular commercial use, but for an open end box wrench that will get ground down and used once every 3 years, I appreciated the lower price.

A narrow 28 mm open end box wrench for flats on the tie rod ends. I could not find a 28 mm wrench for sale other than in a $50 kits, so I used a 10" crescent wrench, which opened jaws just enough to fit. I picked up a $6 version from Harbor Freight because I had to grind down the width of the jaws to fit onto the narrow flats of the tie rod ends, and didn't want to grind on my main shop tools.

Because there was no rubber left on the old rod ends, I could use a fat-jaw pipe wrench to take them apart. Turning in opposite directions, one would let loose first. Luckily the left one came off first, exposing the flats on the end of the stainless rod. I did not have to grind down the thickness of my 19 mm wrench. To unscrew the right tie rod, I used a pipe wrench while holding the stainless rod on the other end with the 19 mm wrench.

To re-install the tie rod ends into the stainless steel hydraulic rod, I couldn't use a pipe wrench because it would have crushed the rubber seal. Instead, I used the narrow-jaw cresent wrench to fit over the tie rod ends without interfering with the big flat washer. I put the right rod end on first using the stock 19 mm wrench. To install the left one, I had to use the narrow 19 mm open end box wrench to not interfere with the big flat washer. I pushed what felt like about 20 pounds on the end of my approximately 1 foot long wrenchs.

I put the taper bolt castle nut back on to 20 flt lbs with a torque wrench and then backed off only enough to slip a cotter pin through the first available nut slot.

I preset toe-in by counting tie rod end thread grooves on the old rod ends. Mine had 3-1/2 threads exposed on each side. After putting the tires back on the tracter, I checked alignment for the spec'd 2-6 mm of toe in (front of tires closer together than the rear of the tires). Nothing fancy, just a tape measure held against the tire surface at mid-axle height measured between two 2x4 sections held against the outside of the tires (someone helped me on the other side of the tractor). I found about 1 mm of toe in with weight off the front wheels. I will check and adjust again after the hardware has settled for a week or so.

Summer 2017 - Removed the biggest stump

The prior year, I cut down a big leaning tree. I did use the backhoe to try digging out some of the stump, but didn't get very far. All winter and spring the stump stayed in the backyard and had a moat around it whenever it rained. I knew I'd have to get it out, eventally. The tractor in the picture is 4' wide. The stump is slightly wider and taller. It was a BIG stump.

Big Stump Pull

At first I was coming at the stump straight on with the backhoe and digging from several positions around the stump. I just couldn't get the depth required. I ended up modifying my technique by digging deep 4' trenches on the left and right side of the stump instead of in front of it. I did this from 4 positions around the stump.

Very soon I had a pillar of dirt in a deep hole. When I stood in it, I was up to my chest in dirt. I tried pulling the stump and dirt pillar over using a full-size van, but the rear wheel just spun in the grass. I hooked up a chain to the tractor on the lowest point below the rear wheel axle (for leverage) and in 4WD and tugged and relaxed over and over - maybe 20 times and finally the pillar of dirt tipped over, but there was no way I could pull or lift or drag it out of the hole. If I released tension, it immediately tipped back.

I used a log about 8" in diameter to block the stump, as shown in the picture. I put a little dirt under the stump and then removed th e log. Tthen I pulled the stump over the other way pulling from the other side, and added a few shovels of dirt under the stump on that side. After about 15 back and forth pulls, taking several hours, I slowly put more and more dirt under the stump until it was all the way out of the hole--or more accurately, the hole had been slowly filled in under the stump. I tried pushing or lifting it and that was a total no-go. The stump is not moving. We'll burn spare sticks and brush under the stump for several months -- maybe even into next year. But eventually it will be gone. What's interesting is that the very heavy clay dirt is cooked by the fire and turned into firebrick. Every once in a while I go chip some off and do another fire. Note - finally burned it all gone in November of 2018.

May 2018 - Left Front Steering oil seal

I need another steering shaft seal (4265156M91). I'll order from McFarlane Mfg, Saulk City, WI (JacksSmallEngines.com said they don't sell Massey parts any more).

When the parts arrived, this worked the same as the right shaft seal documented above. However, I had a lot more trouble getting the snap ring back in place. One reader recommended channel lock snap ring pliers with a 2" throat. Available from Lowe's for just over $20. https://www.lowes.com/pd/CHANNELLOCK-8-in-Automotive-Snap-Ring-Pliers/50424410. I actually have a pair of those and they didn't work for me. I finally borrowed new tips from a friend, and that did the trick. Mine had gotten worn and beveled and the snap rings kept sliding off. Get new tips!

June 2018 - Hydraulic Hose

As I backed the tractor into parking, I noticed a steady drip of hydraulic fluid coming from the front left side. Turns out the cylinder end of the "bucket down" line on the left side was oozing fluid out between the hose and the crimp of the connector. Uh.. time to replace the short flexible section of hose.

The AGCO parts diagram on line shows it as a 1/4" hose 13" long, part number 71515711. I unscrewed the 1/4 I.D. hydraulic line from the cylinder side and found a male SAE O-ring Boss (a.k.a. ORB) fitting with threads that measure 0.555" across. This is the type with the O-ring around the collar, not "flat face" where the O-ring is on the face end of the threaded part. On the other end, the hose disconnected from the metal tubing, revealing a JIC female connector on the hose with 0.509" I.D. on the female thread. The JIC male threads on the metal tubing measured 0.559" O.D. across the threads. Marking a pen-line on a piece of paper and a protractor confirmed the 37 deg angle of a JIC connector (not a 45 deg JIC or 30 deg Japanese JIS).

Now I needed to match my measurements against the industry standard options. Checking a hydraulic fitting chart, I found

JIC SAE-6 size male threads are 0.5625" O.D., with the closest alternative 0.50" and 0.75". JIC female SAE-6 threads are 0.53125" I.D. with the closest alternative 0.46" or 0.60". Since I measured 0.559" and 0.509" , my guess is they are SAE-6 with 9/16-18 threads.

ORB-6 size male threads are the same as SAE-6 and I measured 0.555". Choices are 9/16" (0.5625") or the metric connector that looks almost identical which is M14x1.5, or 0.5512". Since the one end is SAE JIC, I'm betting the other end is not metric.

So.. I have "SAE-6" and "JIC-6" size connectors.

The hose is a 3000 PSI hose with an outside dimension of 0.50" and a length of 13.25" (end of metal connector to end of metal connecto). I think it's 1/4" SAE 100R17 single-wire hose with a 2" minimum bend radius. Alternately, fatter O.D. 1/4" SAE 100R16 hose might work, with an O.D. of 0.57" and a bend radius of 2" and working pressure of 5800 psi. The 100R16 doesn't seem to be much fatter, but when it's squeezed into various body channels of the tractor, the size does matter. On the backhoe, I expect the narrower 100R17 is required to get all the hoses packed in next to each other.

I called around to price a replacement.

Advanced Auto Parts doesn't make hydraulic lines.
Jack's Small Engine again shows that they do carry Massey Ferguson parts. $31.25 after shipping.
O'Reilly Auto Parts referred me to a sister store in a nearby city and they priced it out at $34.73 before tax.
I priced out the assembly at discounthydraulichose.com and it came out to $29.37 after shipping.
I checked SurplusCenter.com and they only have stock hose lengths, but the 12" was close. Turns out I could buy a 12" 100R17 hose with 1/4" NPT fittings each end (916-1412), and a 1/4" NPT female - ORB male adapter (9-6405-6-4) and a 1/4" NPT female - JIC female connector (9-6506-6-4). It probably would add up to about 13-1/4". Total price after shipping came out to $20.45. One of the adapters had a 4-month backorder delay.
Instead of the 4 month back order, at SurplusCenter, I found the 0.070" fatter 100R16 2-wire hose with different end connectors: female JIC-6 connectors (921-2212). Then all I needed was a single male JIC to male ORB adapter (9-6400-6-6). I accepted the fater 100R16 hose. Total price was $18.40 shipped.

I found torque specifications for hydraulic lines and put the adapter on the end of those. I connected the ORB end to the tractor first because the entire hose has to rotate while tightening the connector; 24-26 ft lb. On the JIC side (connected to the cylinder), the nut allows me to tighten the connection while holding the hose untwisted; 17-19 ft lbs.

Everything checked out fine. The only caution issue is that with an adapter on the end adding up to the specified 13" length, the non-bendable end of the hose is longer. That doesn't matter for a mostly straight run installation. For a "U" shaped installation like the loader-up hose, this probably wouldn't matter, either In this case, however, the loader-down "S" shaped installation makes the "S" stretch more than I like because the flexible rubber part of the 13" is shorter. In reality, the hose I removed was really 13-1/2" anyhow. Testing the loader full up and full down looks like it will work - it just pulls harder sideways than I would like at the full loader-up position.

Two months later, the bucket-up end of the same cylinder started oozing fluid right through cracks in the hose. I should have purchased two! Also, the "un-curl" hose on the backhoe bucket is starting to ooze fluid at the top bend of the arm. I need another 13" hose and a 128" hose. Both have ORB at the cylinder end. The bucket-up needs JIC like the one I just did. The backhoe bucket un-curl line looks like it terminates with ORB at the operator control block, too. For the hose squeezed through the backhoe arm, it will be important to get the skinnier 100R17 (0.50") instead of 100R16 (0.57").

April 2020 - Coronavirus Tune Up

Changed the engine oil. Cleaned the air filter and radiator screen. Changed the fuel filter - there turned out to be quite a thick slime and diesel algea goop at the bottom of the fuel filter housing. Protected some chafing hydraulic lines.

March 2021 - Un-curl Hydraulic Hose

The uncurl hydraulic line is oozing fluid through the wall of the hydraulic tubing. Time to replace the "uncurl" or "dump" hydraulic line.

On the MF2310TLB, essentially all hydraulic connects are 37 deg JIC males on the actuator pistons and females on the hoses. Hoses are 1/4" ID hose, but the connectors are 3/8" and 9/16"-18 threads. Sometimes you'll hear "size 4" for the hose (4/16" => 1/4") and "size 6" for the connector (6/16" => 3/8"). The quoted size mismatch of 4 vs 6 originally bothered me, but it's fine.

The hose-end female JIC have a swivel collars that either connect to the end of a metal pipe on the tractor, or fit onto a connector block on an actuating piston. Between a connector block and JIC connectors are often ORB (O-Ring Boss) adapters. The ORB screws into the actuator piston metal connector block and seals with an O-Ring, then the JIC connector connects into the adapter.

Hoses with connectors on both ends are measured from the out ends of the connectors. For really short hoses (e.g. 12" bucket curl lines on the left side of the MF2310TLB front loader), it's assumed all the length of the hose can flex. Sometimes 3rd party crimped-on hose connectors have a long inflexible collar crimp, which really reduce the length of *flexible* hose. It was even worsened for me because the OEM hose had no JIC but directly terminated with the ORB that screws into the connector block. My replacement hose had JIC on both end, and the adapter was another 1/4" or so of inflexible distance. That particular hose makes a sharp "S-shape" when installed, and you'll need all the flexible length you can get.

Hoses are nominally spec'd with ID. However, when routing hoses through little openings - particularly getting all 6 hoses routed in the backhoe attachment - you have to really watch the OUTSIDE dimension. The OEM hoses are 0.492" OD. A local MF dealer offered to make hoses for me using, unknowingly offering fatter 0.530" until I asked him to go measure the roll of hose he had. The 100R16 hose that seems to be so popular is too fat for the backhoe. It worked okay in opens spaces of the front loader, but there's no way to squeeze in six of those hoses into the backhoe arms.

100R16 or 100R17, or other hose designations are *performance* designations, not size designations, and performance and size do not always go hand-in-hand. Different manufactures make 100R16 or 100R17 hose to meet the SAE performance specs, but their hoses with the same SAE spec are different sizes. Higher performance is almost always thicker OD. The only thing I've found to match the OEM hose O.D. is 100R17 hose with only one braided wire instead of two (lower performance of only 3000 psi, which is fine for a GC2310TLB). Even then, 100R17 can be too fat OD. I found only one company (hoseandfittings.com) that distinguishes between 100R17-TC (Tough Coat) which is 0.535" OD and 100R17-TW (Thin Wall) which is 0.492" OD.

MF part number for the backhoe bucket dump line is either 71515428 (page 16 of the parts manual) or 71516103 (page 18 of the parts manual). The local dealer had them for prices of $68.53 or $67.44 and didn't know why they were priced differently for the same thing, or why there were two numbers for the same thing. I would *assume* these part numbers use the smaller (0.492"OD) line, but I don't know because the prices were high and I found an alternative of $45.95, delivered $55.89, from hoseandfittings.com, which is the only place that explicitly let me select the 0.492" OD hose.

With the new hose in hand, here are some notes for replacing the 128" (longest) dump hose. Before starting the project, I wanted to confirm which hose was oozing. With the nylon crunched down so I could what was happening, a definite ooze was coming through the dump hose. See the picture.

ooze

Boom position work best extended way out horizontal, with the middle joint a few inches up. Since you'll remove all pressure from the bucket, brace the dipper arm itself with a stump or other support.
There is a single-bolt clamp wing plate securing the bucket hydraulic lines to the boom. Remove the nut and wing plate. The nut is a friction nut and snapped off my bolt half way. The bolt stub now *barely* threads on a new 10-24 nut over the wing plate.
Open the valve assembly sheet metal covers front and left side. There are two clamp plates holding the row of 8 hydraulic lines. Remove these plates. To get at the plate under the valves, I used a stubby socket. See picture.

Remove the curl and the dump hoses at the cylinder. Reroute them under the pivot joint, so they lay out straight. Pull the nylon off both hoses; there may be a zip tie holding the end from sliding easily. Removing the nylon sheath is necessary because the new hose will catch and crumple it rather than go inside of it.
After the nylon shroud is removed, disconnect the dump hose from the bottom of the second valve column and pull it out so just the end is dangling free by the backhoe L/R pivot. Connect the new hose with wires or pull cord. See the picture.

With the new hose plugged from dirt, pull the old hose (which is now pulling the new hose along) straight out the boom - pretty easy actually. When all the way through, disconnect the pull wire and discard the old hose. Slide the nylon sheath back on both hoses and tuck it down inside the backhoe arm. Zip-tie around the two bucket hoses on the interior end of the sheath if you can reach in there.
Blow out and clean all the new hose connectors. Reroute the new dump hose and the curl hose back on top of the pivot joint. Connect both to the cylinder. Connect the other end of the dump hose to the valve.
Adjust slack in the hoses, start the engine, and move the controls around and watch for hose binding. When all the slack is in the right place, re-install the two clamp plates and install the sing-bolt clamp wing plate back in place, which will also clamp the nylon sheath.
Note the 5/16" bolts holding on the clamp plate outside the valve sheet metal body, on my tractor, were slightly too long and rammed/gouged the structural metal when full left or right. On the left side I was able to reverse the bolt, putting the head toward the front of the tractor which prevented the problem. This did not fit on the right side, so the bolt end/nut will again gouge into the backhoe structural frame when swung full to the right side of the tractor.

August 2021 - Steering orbit bushings

If you own your GC2310 for a few years, chances are your steering wheel mount will become sloppy loose and eventually get really loose as the rubber mount washers wear out. Like many before me, I need to replace the rubber bushings holding the hydraulic steering unit in place. See the hand-sketch below. The structure consists of the hydraulic steering actuator cylinder with 4 bolts and collar bushings threaded into metal ear tabs sticking out the bottom of the controller can cylinder. This structure is mounted by having the four bushing/bolt stems captured in a tractor frame hole that is "too big". In normal ops, two rubber washers are squeezed onto the top and bottom of the tractor frame, and capture the bolt, so the assembly cannot slop around.

The critical washers are MF 4260080M1, a rubber washer with 12mm ID, 26mm OD, and 6 mm thick. As of Fall 2021, they are readily available through at least a dozen dealers. However, they're a bit pricey at $5.73 minimum per washer. That's $45.84 plus shipping.

The right way to change these is to remove the left & right screen panels from the instrument stand (5 screws each), pull off the steering wheel (1 nut) and jostle the instrument panel out of the way (4 bolts). However, after removing the steering wheel nut I could not get my steering wheel off, which also trapped the right screen panel because the throttle lever goes through it. Any ideas to get the steering wheel off would be appreciated!

The work documented below is about doing the rubber washer replacements with the instrument panel in place. Also, looking at the shredded remains of my washers, they just didn't look that fancy. I decided to make my own out of old inner tubes.

Right-Click (dual-click on a Mac) any picture to see a full-size view or download.

A medium screwdriver around the edge got the cover loose. Notice the 3 spring clips that go into the 3 holes.	A 15/16" (23.8mm) socket worked as well as a 24mm. I had to use an impact wrench to get the nut loose. Had to use a stubby driver to put it back because the steering wheel spokes blocked the driver.	To clear the steering wheel, a stubby socket was used	Hand sketch of how the steering controller mount works.	Job overview from the rear. I couldn't remove the right side plastic shield because I could not get my steering wheel off to remove the instrument panel.
Bolts removed. View from front.	Worn out bushing. Rather than single bushings, I built "stacks" of rubber washers punched out from old inner tubes.	Rubber punch that did not work (wrong size).	Trials of multiple punches. Eventually used a 1/2" commercial punch (camfer on the inside).	Producing new washers from inner tubes to stack up.
View from the front, installed.	View from the back, installed.	.	.	.

The steering wheel center cover cap came off with light prying. See the picture about how it has 3 snap pins that need to come loose. I was able to get the steering column nut off only by using an impact wrench. It seems 24mm or 15/16" socket works.

The plastic screen pieces on the left and right of the steering counsole, wrapping around to your knee area, are held on with 3 6mm side bolts and two 6mm bolts in the driver-facing side of the steering column. My tractor has a cold weather cab installed, so the plastic screens were overlaid with additional side sheets of metal over the screen held on with the same 3 side bolts.

Getting the front side bolt out was pretty easy because I could reach it with a phillips screwdriver. The two aft bolts were not accessible because the front loader arm didn't allow a screwdriver to get in there. I ended up using a large phillips bit from an impact wrench and a stubby 1/4" drive socket with a 5/16" socket to grab the impact wrench bit. It was close - almost stripped the heads, but I didn't want to pull the front loader off because I had never done that before.

So I ended up with 8 rubber washers with my "4stacks" a bit thicker for the top washer locations, figuring that the steering controller weight would be "hanging" on these and squishing them more than the bottom washers. So, building my own, I decided to make them a little bit sturdier.

Getting all the washers in place was a bit tricky. Since I could not get the steering wheel off, I couldn't free the instrument panel away from the steering column. I ended up popping out the indicator lights and disconnecting the ignition switch connector in order to have room to work.

The bottom washers are squished into place kind of aggressively. I was thinking I might have to trim the OD a bit on them, but pushing and squeezing got the washer holes to line up with the tractor frame holes. Then, holding them in place, I squished, pressed, wiggled, and squeeze the metal collar bushings down into the washers until I could feel them hit the steering controller ears. From there, I loaded up the bolts with the lockwasher, two metal flat washers and the top rubber washer and positioned it down into the metal collar bushing.

After 10 minutes or more of trying to get the threads to catch on the first bolt, I found the secret - a small mirror that allowed me to look up from below and see when the bolt and steering controller were massaged into a perfectly aligned position to push the bolt down and twist it into the threads. Took about 2 minutes per bolt using the mirror. It actually got easier on the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th bolt because everything was being drawn into allignment. I tightened the bolts down until they were firm, the steering wheel felt "firm like new", but not squishing the the washers too hard. With my 3stack and 4stack washers it turns out the bolt bottoms just barely emerged on the bottom side of the lug ears and that seemed about the right tightness.

What to do with your tractor

Here are a few projects I've used the tractor for.

Transplant bushes and small volunteer trees to where you want them in your yard.
Dig graves for your children's favorite pet when the pet gets hit by a car.
Dig and pull tree stumps and level yard dirt. Now, each normal sized stump removal is about 1 hour (with tractor and axe) instead of 1 day with a shovel and axe. BIG stumps (see picture above) still take a day.
Backhoe out bamboo weed patch and scoop out tangly weeds with the bucket.
Scratch cultivate a garden for planting using the bucket teeth.
Build a 6' privacy mound of dirt.
Lift and move rail road ties and 10' sections of tree trunks. My bucket and backhoe have chain hooks welded on which have been very helpful.
Front bucket about 6' high is a platform for me to stand on to reach tree trim branches. This worked, but I realize it's unsafe to do so. Even with no power, moving or bumping the bucket control while standing on the bucket will move the bucket abruptly and send you tumbling!
Safety pull on tall trees and large branches as I cut them down (so the tree falls the correct direction). I learned that the tractor can pull pretty hard when the pull direction is below the drive axle of the rear tires; use a snatch pulley if necessary to keep the pull angle low. It cracked off one 8" diameter branch that was 1/2 cut through. Now, I am careful to cut bark all around now so it won't tear back if the branch snaps off early. Pulling high on a tree helps it fall the right way, but if it's leaning or angled, planning to pull it sideways quickly as it comes loose will NOT work because your line will go slack as it falls. Remember, "gravity always wins" - better to tie up a restraining rope so that the trunk or limb's own weight will swing it over where you want it.
Snow shovel the driveway with the front loader. Works best when snow is more than 1" otherwise, it's not worth the trouble.
Removed raised dirt gardens from against the house. Nip and lift rail road ties out of position. Without teeth on the bucket, I can't dig with it very well, so I backhoe all the dirt first and then the bucket scoops the loose dirt easily.
With a hooked chain, 2 or 3 wraps around a vertical rebar lets the front bucket pull the rebar out of the ground.
Carry cut firewood and drop it into a pile for splitting. Of note, not only is the transport much easier but I don't UNload the logs now - I just dump them.
Redistribute the slope of the yard where water used to collect.
Use the backhoe to strip 2" thick sections of grass and replant the grass in new locations.
Dig out a drainage ditch across the front of the property, and free debris from around the culverts.
Moving dirt for therapy after a rough day at work, trying to make a tall mound.
Teaching skills to my friends and family.
Dig bricks and stones out of old paved patio area and leveled dirt for concrete.
Collect large limestone slabs from local farm lands to make a patio area - the farmers like to have the rocks out of their fields, too.
Dig off 2" of dirt to make way for a stone walk-way.
Dig a 30 foot long septic leach line ditch, 13" bucket in practice makes a wonderful 20" ditch, 3'-ish deep.
Easy levelign of 3 yards of 2" limestone for a driveway base. Nearly impossible to do with a shovel.
Carry tools in the bucket to a job site so I can make only one trip.
Backhoe out difficult honey suckle roots and clear area to smooth and level by back scraping with the bucket.
Air chisel old bricks and concrete in the bucket and then all the chips and dust can be easily dumped to level my driveway without scooping/shoveling up the shards.
Dig out around 4x4 concrete anchors and then use a chain on the bucket to pull the old concrete and wood out of the ground.
Scoop up and move a 55 gallon drum of mortar sand; requires a chain around drum to keep it from falling out of the bucket. Google says that weighs about 750 pounds.
Remove 4" "raised garden" dirt that had been piled up against basement windows of a house.
Spring replanting of garden plants, scooping holes all over with the backhoe. Replacing shrubbery, small trees.
Cut a drainage channel to reroute gutter downflow water away from the septic tank drain field. Later, dig a trench for drain piping.
Carry lots of 4x4 pallets by "hooking" the bottom one under the top lip of the bucket.

How To Repair 2006 Massey Ferguson GC2310 Tractor Loader Backhoe

Introduction

Testimonies

March 2016 - Buying Manuals

April 2016 - Fluids

May 2016 - Replace Axle Steering Spindle Oil Seal

May 2016 - Replace Steering Rod Ends

Summer 2017 - Removed the biggest stump

May 2018 - Left Front Steering oil seal

June 2018 - Hydraulic Hose

April 2020 - Coronavirus Tune Up

March 2021 - Un-curl Hydraulic Hose

August 2021 - Steering orbit bushings

What to do with your tractor

How To Repair
2006 Massey Ferguson GC2310 Tractor Loader Backhoe