Winterizing & storing your Iseki TK: complete checklist

Winterizing your Iseki TK or storing it for an extended period? The TK series manual devotes an entire chapter to this — rightly so, since most spring problems (a seized clutch, a flat battery, a cracked block) originate during the storage period. Below is the complete checklist for both daily and long-term storage.

Suitable for the entire series: Iseki TK21, TK25, TK29, TK33 (Japanese) and Iseki TK527, TK532, TK538 (European).

Daily and short-term storage for the Iseki TK

• Clean the tractor, especially after wet work or work on grass and mud. Note: don't point a pressure washer at the dashboard, the electrical components, or the stickers — the manual explicitly warns against this.
• Always lower the implement and preferably park the machine indoors.
• Remove the key (this also prevents parasitic drain and short circuits).
• In severe frost: remove the battery and store it somewhere frost-free — this makes a noticeable difference in starting ease.
• If it's freezing and there's (partly) water in the cooling system? Add antifreeze or drain the system completely. A cracked block is the most expensive part on the entire tractor.

Long-term storage for the Iseki TK: the checklist from the manual

1. Take care of any outstanding issues. Minor faults only get worse during storage.
2. Change the engine oil and let the engine idle for 5 minutes, so the fresh oil reaches all parts. Combine this with the filter set (SKU-10081) and you'll have completed the service in one go — see the maintenance schedule.
3. Cooling system: fill with fresh antifreeze mixture, or drain the system completely and then hang a clear "NO COOLANT" tag on the steering wheel — exactly as prescribed by the manual.
4. Grease all fittings and treat bare parts (lift arms, tie rods) with grease or Teflon spray.
5. Check bolts and nuts and retighten any loose fasteners.
6. Inflate the tires slightly harder than normal — this prevents flat spots and cracking from prolonged standstill (you'll find standard values in the specifications blog).
7. Remove ballast weights and disconnect implements or lower them fully.
8. Battery: disconnect (negative terminal first) or remove it and store it somewhere frost-free; recharge every 1–2 months.
9. Choose a dry, ventilated storage spot without straw or other flammable material nearby, and only cover the machine once all hot parts — the exhaust in particular — have completely cooled down. A cover over a hot exhaust is a genuine fire hazard, the manual warns.

Extra tip from practice: fill the diesel tank completely before storage. A full tank barely condenses, and condensation water in winter means bacterial growth and a clogged fuel filter come spring.

Bringing the Iseki TK out of storage: spring check

• Check oil levels (engine, transmission, front axle, power steering) and coolant level.
• Connect the battery (negative terminal last) and grease the terminals.
• Bring tire pressure back to normal values.
• Open the fuel tap, check the sediment glass for water.
• Preheat, start, and warm up gently according to the table in Starting & operating the Iseki TK; check the warning lights.
• Test the clutch, brakes (free play and left/right balance), steering, lift, and PTO briefly without load before starting real work. If the clutch slips or sticks after storage, check the troubleshooting guide.