Moving up to a CUT - What do I need to know?

[hb2u]

Howdy folks. Well I'm taking the plunge and moving up from a GT to a CUT. Got a nice deal on a MF 1205, but now I need to get up to speed on working with and maintaining a larger tractor with 4wd and a diesel engine. I won't take delivery of the tractor and its accompanying manuals until April, but I wanted to start getting an idea of what sorts of things I'll need to know to keep this thing in good operating condition.

All my life I've worked with gas engines, so I'm comfortable maintaining, troubleshooting and repairing them, but I know nothing when it comes to diesel engines or 4 wheel drive tractors.

Regarding the diesel engine - Do the glow plugs need to be replaced often like spark plugs? I get the impression that they don't actually function the way spark plugs do, but don't really know wha their lifespan is.

How do you properly maintain a radiator and liquid cooling system?

What cold weather provisions do I need to make to keep a diesel tractor running? Do I need a block heater, or could I just use a heat gun on the engine if I ever encounter a day that's too cold.

Is it best to leave a diesel running, or can I turn on and off the engine like a gas tractor? (for example, if I'm loading a trailer with yard debris and have to make multiple trips to clean it al up, is it best to let the engine run for the 5 minutes everytime I'm loading the trailer , or can I shut it down?)

Regarding 4WD - can I just put chains on the rear tires, or do I need to put chains on all four tires?

When using the FEL, to minimize wear and tear on the front end, how big a counterweight should I hang from the 3 pt to keep the tractor balanced? Is it supposed to match the max load that the FEL can handle?

Finally, I've seen some counterweights that people made to hang off the 3PH using a small barrel filled with concrete. Does anybody know what they used for the pins that pass through the barrel? I made one for the Cat 0 3PH on my GT using a 5 gallon pail and some threaded rod, but the threaded rod seemed to chew up the ball links on the hitch.

Thanks for any isight you can give me on this stuff.

HB

 

[Dr_Zinj]

This is just my advice, worth precisely what you paid for it. It IS what I'd do, so I'm not trying to send you off on some malicious snipe hunt.

First rule I'd follow is to read the owner's manual cover to cover. Yeah, you probably know 80 to 90 percent of it already; but it's that one paragraph that you didn't read that will bite you in your seat cushions.

If you're going to chain the rear tires, I presume you've got turf or R4s and not AG tires? Chains on the front with 4WD probably aren't necessary unless you're planning on doing a lot of work on ice, or climbing over a lot of logs, roots and rocks in the woods (i.e. snow removal and log skidding).

Special cold weather provisions? I don't see your location in your profile, so hard to say.

I've rarely seen glow plugs need replacing on a diesel engine unless something was seriously wrong with it; like coolant leaking into the combustion chamber, running on gas, other contaminants sort of thing. Much more often you'll find something going wrong with the electrical TO the plugs & switches for them than the plugs themselves. Glow plugs produce a high heat source to more easily ignite the fuel air mixture when it's compressed. You usually only need that boost when it's sub zero temperatures as normal compression will usually be sufficient to heat and ignite.

Radiator and coolant system maintenance is the same as a gas engine.

If your temperatures go below 10 degrees F, you'll probably want an heater of some kind. I'll refer you to "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Block_heater" for a good short briefing on block heaters.

Diesel engines take more power to start. Which puts a greater drain on the batteries. On a new battery, that probably won't cause any problems with frequent restarts; but if it's an old battery, or your generator isn't so hot, you can run out of cranking power. If you're just doing stop and drop or equipment hookups, I'd leave it running. If you're going to take more than about 5 minutes off tractor, I'd shut it down; more from safety reasons than fuel and environmental considerations.

Assuming you didn't get the tires loaded, counterweight on the 3 pt should be roughly equal to weight of the FEL plus the maximum load you're going to pick up. If you're one of the people with a ft mount snow blower or cutter, you should have a rear weight equal to the blower or cutter weight.

I'd never use a threaded rod in the links. Threaded rods are usually hardened, which makes them both brittle, and abrasive. Get a real pin.

 

[crash325]

Pins - Inexpensive pins can be made from concrete form stakes. They come in lots of sizes and lengths. I have used them ( 3/4" fit the balls on an old "Fergi. ) to mount a "Carry Box" and for a "Draw Bar". More than ample strength and a very good fit.

Finally, I've seen some counterweights that people made to hang off the 3PH using a small barrel filled with concrete. Does anybody know what they used for the pins that pass through the barrel? I made one for the Cat 0 3PH on my GT using a 5 gallon pail and some threaded rod, but the threaded rod seemed to chew up the ball links on the hitch.

Thanks for any isight you can give me on this stuff.

HB[/QUOTE]

 

[ppdiaper]

If your spending the money to get a new tractor, IMO it's well worth a small amount more money to just get a nice weight box and a few bags of concrete right away. If you will be using a loader, this is a BIG safety item.

 

[bp fick]

One of the biggest things when moving up to a CUT is to move slowly on everything until you become accustomed to the power. Everything is more powerful and there's a danger in that. Safety first, safety first.

- Fold your ROPS before running into the shed.
- See what it can do with 4x4 before getting too concerned. You'll be amazed.
- Get a block heater for much, much easier starts in cold weather.
- Learn to work smarter, not harder on hooking up the 3 pt implements and taking your FEL on and off. Watch some youtube videos. Great tutorials.
- Run your 4 Way flashers whenever you are plowing snow.
- Hitch your britches up, cause it's a lot taller step up to the platform.
- Get an HydroTrans. It tames the beast.
- Buy two smaller, 3 gallon fuel cans, instead of grunting up a 5 gallon.
- Learn to say FUEL, meaning diesel, instead of gas up the tractor.

Finally, slow down, take your time. Safety first.

 

[LBrown59]

.
1*How do you properly maintain a radiator and liquid cooling system?
2*Regarding 4WD - can I just put chains on the rear tires, or do I need to put chains on all four tires?
3*When using the FEL, to minimize wear and tear on the front end, how big a counterweight should I hang from the 3 pt to keep the tractor balanced?
4*Is it supposed to match the max load that the FEL can handle?
HB

1*The same as you do with a gas motor except the antifreeze has to be one specifically made for a diesel engine.
2*You won't need chains unless operating on ice.
3*The idea of a counter balance is a safety issue that has nothing to do with minimizing wear and tear on the front end,
The amount of weight needed on the back is enough to keep the loader and the weight in it from lifting the rear wheels and causing an upset.
4* See 3*
PS Make sure you use only motor oil formulated for diesels.

 

[TripleR]

Completely agree with Dr. Zini. Right now I have the Operators Manuals for our BX2660, L5030 and M8540 on my table and have been going back through them even though the tractors are not new to me. Familiarize yourself with your machine through the manual and then take your manual out to your tractor.

All my life I've worked with gas engines, so I'm comfortable maintaining, troubleshooting and repairing them, but I know nothing when it comes to diesel engines or 4 wheel drive tractors. Maintaining a diesel engine isn't hard and routine maintenance will be covered in your manual. It may appear daunting at first, but once you start it really isn't complicated. I don't do "repair work", so I can't help with that. These things are really reliable and you may never need to "repair" one depending on how long you own one.

Regarding the diesel engine - Do the glow plugs need to be replaced often like spark plugs? I get the impression that they don't actually function the way spark plugs do, but don't really know what their lifespan is. I don't know their lifespan either as we have never had to replace them and we have one made in the mid 80's.

How do you properly maintain a radiator and liquid cooling system? This will be covered in your manual and there are a couple of threads on here you can access through the "search" function.

What cold weather provisions do I need to make to keep a diesel tractor running? Do I need a block heater, or could I just use a heat gun on the engine if I ever encounter a day that's too cold. Your profile doesn't say where you live, so that is kind of hard to say. Here in Missouri, I don't do anything to mine for cold weather and they always start. In colder climes, some use a block heater and some use a torpedo heater.

Is it best to leave a diesel running, or can I turn on and off the engine like a gas tractor? (for example, if I'm loading a trailer with yard debris and have to make multiple trips to clean it all up, is it best to let the engine run for the 5 minutes every time I'm loading the trailer, or can I shut it down?) If you don't have a turbo, there should be no problem shutting it down. Of course at some point, repeated short intervals of running might be problematic as to the life of your starter and engine getting too cool, but I am not a mechanic, so maybe someone who is can chime in on that.

Regarding 4WD - can I just put chains on the rear tires, or do I need to put chains on all four tires? There is debate and threads on this and there does not seem to be a universal agreement on that.

When using the FEL, to minimize wear and tear on the front end, how big a counterweight should I hang from the 3 pt to keep the tractor balanced? Is it supposed to match the max load that the FEL can handle? Again, there is no agreement on that and there are more threads. I have used a tractor with FEL only and loaded tires since it was bought new in 86 and haven't had any problems. We have other tractors that handle much better with filled tires and a counter weight. You will probably just have to experiment if this is not covered in your manual.

Finally, I've seen some counterweights that people made to hang off the 3PH using a small barrel filled with concrete. Does anybody know what they used for the pins that pass through the barrel? I made one for the Cat 0 3PH on my GT using a 5 gallon pail and some threaded rod, but the threaded rod seemed to chew up the ball links on the hitch. I have mostly seen people use a draw-bar to go through it. Something like this: PTO Drawbar — Category 2, 32in. Length | 3-Point Drawbars + Stabilizers | Northern Tool + Equipment

Thanks for any isight you can give me on this stuff.

HB

Good luck in your transition.