First tractor, a John Deere 970, purchased 4 days ago. New owner intro & questions.

   / First tractor, a John Deere 970, purchased 4 days ago. New owner intro & questions. #21  
Re: First tractor, a John Deere 970, purchased 4 days ago. New owner intro & questio

I'd be concerned that the MX5 could weight too much for your tractor. I located a nice MX5 when I owned my 790....but decided it was too heavy. Especially without a loader.....the MX5 is a beast. Maybe some others have a different experience?
 
   / First tractor, a John Deere 970, purchased 4 days ago. New owner intro & questions. #22  
Re: First tractor, a John Deere 970, purchased 4 days ago. New owner intro & questio

Joe,

Welcome to the forum...I'm pretty new myself. I enjoyed your story since it is so close to my own. I'm in VA but followed much the same path you did...Mech Engineering, Ph.D., etc. Did a lot of design work on engine and propulsion systems; some for NASA. Now I have a small farm in Orange County, VA. I grew up in a rural environment and have some knowledge of tractors and implements, but nothing close to some of the folks here. I do know mechanical systems.

Your tractor looks like new and for all practical purposes it is. In fact, the engine is still in the wear in period. But as you know, oils and lubricant degrade with time, not just heat and contamination. I would change every fluid and filter you have. I'm not convinced that JD fluids are the best, but your capacities are relatively small so the extra cost won't be excessive. As for a loader, you may want to check with All State Ag Parts. You can find them on the web. They have excellent service and have yards full of used and junked equipment. So if you need mounting hardware, they can probably find it. You might also set up a search bot on tractorhouse.com. I'd leave the rear wheels wide for the time being until you get a feel for the tractor. It isn't always the hills that get you. Put on a cutter and have a wheel go into a ditch or into the edge of your pond and you could have a problem. You might consider changing the spacing after you have time on it. Your tractor is rated at 30HP PTO and will handle a 5' cutter for most situations. A couple of consideration are the weight of the cutter off the back end if you plan on a 3-point lift type. You may need some weight on your front end. Also, cutting old bambo that is 3" cane be difficult. Most farmers in my area recommend 7HP PTO per foot of cutter so that leaves you in the 4' to 5' range. It is a good idea to have a cutter that is at least as wide as your rear tires so you know where you are cutting and can get closer to objects. As for other items...when you change your filters, I'd change fuel filters and air filters as well.

Best to you and enjoy that tractor!

Chuck
 
   / First tractor, a John Deere 970, purchased 4 days ago. New owner intro & questions.
  • Thread Starter
#23  
Re: First tractor, a John Deere 970, purchased 4 days ago. New owner intro & questio

Thanks Chuck. We have more in common than you think. I worked for NASA indirectly on the Taurus and Pegasus projects at Orbital Sciences Corporation. I did some design work on the stage one thrust vector controller and designed the first stage power distribution electronics. Part of me misses being a rocket scientist and part of me does not. Fun days for sure... but never ending work and lots of time away from home. There is no way I could travel now like I did back then. I get within 10 miles of an airport and my blood pressure goes up. Life on a small 22 acre farm and working as a Professor with summers off suits me much better now.

With respect to the tractor, I changed all of the fluids and filters in the tractor this morning, with the exception of the front axle which I will do shortly. I found an NOS mid PTO kit and it arrived today so now I get to drain all of the hydraulic fluid again so I can install the mid PTO. I am keeping my eyes out for a nice 72" belly mower. With your comments and the comments of others such as foggy111, I very well may get a lighter bush hog. Maybe a 4' frontier. Interestingly enough, I am finding this tractor to be much more fun than I expected. Not only is it fun doing the basic maintenance on it, but each thing that I install makes it more useful to me. I fertilized our pasture yesterday and thoroughly enjoyed every second of it, even though it was pretty warm outside.

Joe
 
   / First tractor, a John Deere 970, purchased 4 days ago. New owner intro & questions. #24  
Re: First tractor, a John Deere 970, purchased 4 days ago. New owner intro & questio

I\m not so sure I would settle for a 4-5 foot mower. I would buy a 6 foot one and just cut less width in the heavy going.

I have a 5 foot one and cut mostly grass and weeds. This one was given to me (JD 506) but if I was to buy one it would be a six foot.
 
   / First tractor, a John Deere 970, purchased 4 days ago. New owner intro & questions. #25  
Re: First tractor, a John Deere 970, purchased 4 days ago. New owner intro & questio

That is one pretty 970. Congratulations..

I had a 770 for a while, seems the manual transmission deeres ie; 990, 790, 3005, 4005 and earlier models : 670, 770, 970, 1070 are beautifully simple and extremely well made. I'd get another in a heat beat cept the wife wants a small hydrostatic model..
 
   / First tractor, a John Deere 970, purchased 4 days ago. New owner intro & questions. #26  
That's an awesome looking tractor. . My thoughts are someone on tractor house may have a loader for sale. The phone app is not bad but you can do more detail searches with the deck top version. Some may have a salvage tractor with a loader. Or all states ag has salvage tractors. A few of the pictures show loader mounts. I recently posted for a 72 inch deck I did get some responses. But out of my price range. I ended up posting on Craigslist around ia ne. And had awesome feed back. I ended up getting a deck for $400. With a whole box of new bearings a spare gearbox and casters. So don't let people try to tell u there 1500 all day long. There a few on ebay. No where near the awesome Ness of your tractor but sandblasting and fresh paint. Does wonders. Again that's an awesome buy. CONGRATS.
 
   / First tractor, a John Deere 970, purchased 4 days ago. New owner intro & questions. #27  
Re: First tractor, a John Deere 970, purchased 4 days ago. New owner intro & questio

if it were me I would go with a 5 ft. hog
should not be a problem with your power or weight
My :2cents: but you're paying the bill
 
   / First tractor, a John Deere 970, purchased 4 days ago. New owner intro & questions. #28  
Re: First tractor, a John Deere 970, purchased 4 days ago. New owner intro & questio

if it were me I would go with a 5 ft. hog
should not be a problem with your power or weight
My :2cents: but you're paying the bill

Agree! My tractor has a little less hp than yours and it handles a 5' fine but a 6' would be too much. a 5' would be a nice fit.
 
   / First tractor, a John Deere 970, purchased 4 days ago. New owner intro & questions. #29  
Re: First tractor, a John Deere 970, purchased 4 days ago. New owner intro & questio

Yes we do have a lot in common. My propulsion work was as an Air Force Officer on the Minuteman III, Peacekeeper, and Small Missile ICBMs. My NASA work was on the Space Station. I miss aerospace work in general, but am certainly glad I don't have to survive the ups and downs of the industry.

Yes, owning, maintaining, and using a tractor is a great deal of fun. Except for cutting heavy grass on a very hot day. But, since I was small driving an old Ford 8N I wanted a John Deere. Now I have one and love every minute of it. I suppose it's not work to me because I'm not trying to make a living with it.

We'll have to stay in touch because we'll probably be facing a lot of the same issues moving forward.

Best,

Chuck
 
   / First tractor, a John Deere 970, purchased 4 days ago. New owner intro & questions. #30  
Re: First tractor, a John Deere 970, purchased 4 days ago. New owner intro & questio

Thank you both for serving!
[a former email address of mine: @orion.arc.nasa.gov ]
 
 
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