What did you do to your Yanmar today?

[Neat 1500]

I thought I might start a thread purely for folks doing bits and pieces to their Yanmar of any description that they might want to put here instead of starting a separate thread for it. I'll start with having to do another patch up of my YM14 mower deck again. The RH spindle broke through and came adrift a few weeks ago. I cut a piece out of it and welded in a new steel plate, man what a slap up job the previous owner did on this poor thing. I have measured up the deck and am going to build a new one as for repairing the existing it has too much rust in it and had much too much butchery done beforehand to warrant a repair. Sorry no pics as I was in a mood and just wanted it fixed in a hurry.

 

[jimjumper]

Surprisingly, i was just about to go do something to the 240D that dazzled me when I saw it. I rescued it from a neighbor that had a shade tree mechanic work on it. He had just pulled the wheels (to replace the 3 point hitch) when he told her that he had a new job and wouldn't be back! He put the rear wheels back on but only used 2 bolts in each and took the other bolts with him when he left. So todays quick project is to do a quick tap out of the bolt holes and install the missing bolts. Geez, some peoples kids!!

 

[California]

Surprisingly, i was just about to go do something to the 240D that dazzled me when I saw it. I rescued it from a neighbor that had a shade tree mechanic work on it. He had just pulled the wheels (to replace the 3 point hitch) when he told her that he had a new job and wouldn't be back! He put the rear wheels back on but only used 2 bolts in each and took the other bolts with him when he left. So todays quick project is to do a quick tap out of the bolt holes and install the missing bolts. Geez, some peoples kids!!

I see from one of your other posts that this Yanmar YM240D replaces an 8N you have had for several years. I would like to hear a comparison - pulling power, convenience, anything you find similar or different. I've always wondered if my YM240 (2wd) was about the equivalent of an 8N, or as I suspect, more like a 4/5 scale model of it.

 

[jimjumper]

I see from one of your other posts that this Yanmar YM240D replaces an 8N you have had for several years. I would like to hear a comparison - pulling power, convenience, anything you find similar or different. I've always wondered if my YM240 (2wd) was about the equivalent of an 8N, or as I suspect, more like a 4/5 scale model of it.

I've only had it a short time and I've spent most of my time with it so far either fixing things the previous mechanic left undone/jury rigged or repairing the 3 point hitch to work with the implements I have for the 8N. The lift arms were bent and twisted when I got it, compliments of the previous owners SIL that tried using a box blade as a bulldozer. So I put a new 3 point kit on it that was further complicated by the fact that the tractor lift arm pins were non-stock due to the pin threads being stripped on the frame.
I do know that it doesn't have the horsepower of my 8N but my N is a pretty old mechanically and I suspect that it doesn't have the power it once had either. The 240 picks up my 5 ft mower easier than my N but since the PTO power is a bit lower I'll probably need to mow a little slower but I live in the low desert south of LA so its not like I'm mowing heavy grass. Mostly just weeds.
i am hoping that the 240 handles the desert heat a little better than the N. I think the water pump in the N is slowly dying so it slowly gets hot and after an hour and a half to 2 hours of mowing its time for it to take a break. I rather it be me that gets to decide when I'm done for the day and not the tractor. But sometimes when I'm mowing it may be in excess of 100 and nothing is going to stay very cool.
I like the live PTO a lot and it also has an FEL that is just what I wanted for keeping our 3/4 mile dirt road in shape. Haven't tried out the box blade with yet. I also like that it generally easier to work on than the N. Of course, the 240 is a diesel so it has fewer parts to break but it seems that the maintenance will be a little easier. I do know that no matter which I work on I can't avoid walking away without a cut, mashed finger, or a bruise! Sorry, I just noticed this post is a little long. I'll shut up now...

 

[Neat 1500]

I think you will enjoy the 240 once you have ironed out it's problems. I don't think it can be compared to an 8N but the littler Yannie will put up a **** of a fight :thumbsup: My little 1500 has always punched well above her weight.

 

[jimjumper]

I think you will enjoy the 240 once you have ironed out it's problems. I don't think it can be compared to an 8N but the littler Yannie will put up a **** of a fight :thumbsup: My little 1500 has always punched well above her weight.

I do know that it wants to run. If tractors have personalities this one is a worker. The first time I went to try and start it I thought I had checked everything that would keep it from starting and sure enough, turned the key and it fired off after about 3 turns! I didn't know that there was a clutch safety switch so it shouldn't have. I wanted to watch the engine area to see if anything started leaking or blowing and wasn't in the seat. The clutch switch was shorted out on its own!:dance1:

 

[California]

If it fired that easily after several years abandoned - you have a winner!

It sounds like the description of mine when I bought it in 2003 - lots of 'deferred maintenance' (neglect, such as loose and squeaky wheel lugbolts) but fundamentally sound. Easily restored. I spent a month buying and installing minor stuff like headlight assemblies off ebay, a battery, Thermostart module etc. Now 13 year later it has needed nearly nothing since. The only Yanmar part that comes to mind was a 75 cent rollpin that keeps the gearshift lever from revolving.

That's not counting my own user abuse such as ripping off loader hoses and the oil pressure wire driving through brush, but those don't reflect on Yanmar. Likewise my experimenting running 100% biodiesel. I eventually had to replace the injectors to restore easy starting, clearly their first replacement in 30 years.

Compared to the problems some people have with brand new tractors this thing is night and day better. I attribute it partly to the simplicity - no fuel lift pump, no fuel shutoff solenoid, no thermostat, only two cylinders. There are simply fewer potential points of failure. What's there was built to run hard for years and years. My cousin listened, looked under the hood, and noted that's the same engine they had in a small commercial fishing boat in Alaska - where reliability is the most critical attribute and it may run wide open for days getting home. After a little research I found Yanmar did indeed sell this engine in a marine version and it was widely used by fishermen in Japan, and for repowering sailboats etc here back in the day. These things are classics of industrial design same as that 8N. I later bought a smaller Yanmar to fit under my orchard trees better but the YM240 is still in use too. Yesterday I backhoed out several stumps with it. You have a keeper!

 

[jimjumper]

As an aside, I posted a question about the best place take a temperature measurement in the Owning/Operating forum without thinking I should put it here. The 2 answers I got was that it should be checked at the location of the thermostat and the next at the sending unit since that is what the ECU is reading. These guys are a riot!

 

[California]

You've come to the right place!

For some reason everyone who buys a used older Yanmar wants to add a temperature gauge. I'll repeat what I've responded to several new owners: Don't waste your time. If you think it needs the cooling system brought back up to spec then spend the money on that - have the radiator core rodded out, or replace the radiator which is not very expensive.

These things are designed to run at full rated power all day, or much longer if used powering a ditch pump or in the fishing boat version. It will never overheat if the cooling system is working up to spec as designed. Be sure to flush chaff out of the radiator fins when you mow and run antifreeze in the same proportions as a car. Buy a new 13lb pressure cap (early Datsun) if you don't trust the existing one. Occasionally check that the warning bulb lights when you ground its wire at the sensor. And that's all it needs to never overheat.

Even the similar versions with no water pump are designed to run at full rated power without overheating. There simply isn't any weakness here that you need to monitor. If you feel the need to, check it with an 'infrared' pistol thermometer occasionally when you've worked it hard. It would be rare to find readings above 220 (acceptable) at the upper radiator hose no matter how hard you ran it, and if you did run it that hard you will smell hot transmission fluid etc - running hot is very obvious well before you reach boilover temperature.

(The non-waterpump versions need a lower proportion of antifreeze to circulate the water by gravity, but that isn't applicable for these.)

In summary don't bother re-engineering it. Yanmar already got everything right. They designed these to be troublefree, and they are.

Just enjoy it!

 

[jimjumper]

Thats just what I've done so far. I've never even seen a reading over 175 anywhere, so I think everything is doing just fine.