New Kubota owner with a project...

[canucklehead]

sounds sweet, well done. now we just need some pics. I just did a JD F935 project and it seems great. I can't believe that 72" front deck cuts heavy field grass so well.

 

[ancho]

Some pics for your enjoyment

 

[jinman]

Nice Job! The only things you are missing now are four chrome (plastic actually) plated hub caps. The hub caps make it go faster.

 

[canucklehead]

wow, I'm impressed, that looks great.

Do you find the mower deck chute a bit of a PITA ? It seems to stick out so far and limits your ability to cut from that side.... I know I'd be rubbing it all the time and looking to remove it or fabricate something shorter out of sheet metal. Obviously you try to use your left side for the fence areas, etc..., but I still find I sometimes don't seem to have a choice or it's a lot of extra work to get manouevered around.

 

[ancho]

Thanks for the positive comments! I mowed with it for the first time this week, and it cut a 3 hour job down to about 1:10 -- so that alone was worth it all! It seems to be running very nicely so far. The discharge chute is definitely a PITA -- but I just have to change my approach in some locations, to work around that issue.

I'm now trying to decide if it's better to part-out the non-running machine, and keep some spare parts for myself, versus just selling it whole and hoping that I don't end up needing any of those parts anytime soon? The non-running machine has a good HST, controls, lift cylinder, etc which I suspect would be tough to source at a reasonable price if needed.

Any thoughts on that matter?

 

[canucklehead]

sell it for the price that makes you happy, otherwise you could keep it. I have so many "spare parts" from so many things, it gets to the point of obsession and junk accumulation/hoarding. You have all the good stuff right now on the mower you want. It should be unlikely you will need anything siginificant for a long time. And if I'm wrong in 3-5 years when you do need something, you can curse me out then. If you can sell for a decent price, I say "Sayonora!!" If it doesn't take up space and doesn't bother you...you could keep it. I still lean to getting rid of stuff. One less thing to deal with.

 

[ancho]

Sounds logical. I already do have way too much stuff, including spares for cars and equipment that have long since been moved along.

 

[canucklehead]

yes, it is very practical/logical... I need to listen to my own advice. I've spent the last few years trying to not stockpile, get rid of existing piles, and it is overwhelming and borders OCD. I look at lots of it and ask myself, "WTF were you thinking..." So if the opportunity presents itself, sell it off. And maybe 1 in 50 I wish I might have kept some old relic thing that had a later use, but I am happy to live with those consequences and buy the item when i actually need it.

 

[Coyote machine]

I wouldn't bother with the pulley bolt extraction. First the bolt is still in place and won't back out on it's own. Without the head the bolt still fills the pulley hole and helps the other bolts keep the pulley from turning on the surface it's bolted to. Think about it- say there are 3 or 4 bolts total, if only one head is missing the other bolts are still doing their job, and the headless bolt is doing most of it's job too.
I'd bet a million $ that bolt will stay put for the rest of time.

 

[ancho]

The bolt sheared off flush with the pulley surface, not with the flange of the driveshaft, so it was not providing any real assistance to keeping that joint together.

Sure, the pulley was $65, but at least I don't have to worry when I'm working the machine hard, that the joint will fly apart, break the driveshaft, bend the sheetmetal, break the HST fan, and all sorts of other secondary effects.