new pack member with new-to-me LB1914

[Coyote machine]

Look at the fine print on the tires- it should give you max psi.
Best to call MIE, they're very busy most of the year...

 

[TomSeller]

What are some of your intended uses? On my place, I would match it up with a smaller brush hog and use it to mow under trees and in tight spaces. Also it'd be a good little trailer hauler.

 

[motownbrowne]

I'd go as low as possible for rear tire pressure. Somewhere between 12-16 maybe. That'll give you the best traction and ride quality. Fronts I'd run highers, but still less than max since you don't have a loader. Maybe 60-70% of the maximum rating. My .02.

 

[dbotos]

Been tied up this weekend between being sick myself and then the Mrs. being sick. I did sneak outside for a little bit today and worked on a few of the items on my to-check list for this machine.

None of the four tires had any pressures listed on the sidewall. The rears are Kumho 12.4-16 tube type, load range B, 4 PR. Left front is a Hankook Field Master FM-3 6-12 tube type, 4 ply rating. Right front is a Firestone All Traction Field & Road R-1 4-ply rating 6-12.

Coolant looked good and tested to -15 F freeze / 261 F boil over.

Battery appears to be very new. I tightened up the fit of the negative cable in its terminal by flipping the strap over (it looks like the one below, but the two-hole strap has a V-shaped hump instead of a U-shaped hump):



Air filter looked okay. Had NAPA GOLD stamped on the end.

Engine oil was black, but level okay. I read online that even new oil in diesel engines gets black very quickly after an oil change. I'm going to change it anyway just as cheap insurance. I picked a 5-quart jug of API service CJ-4 oil tonight. Anyone have recommendations on oil filter brands? I found the NAPA FIL 1334 as fitting the LB1914. The product page is pretty forthcoming with details and I read elsewhere that the NAPA filters are made by WIX:

NAPA AUTO PARTS

I'm planning to use the tractor to finish grading the unpaved half of our horseshoe driveway and dig out some parking spots next to the deck. Removed dirt will be used to make the slopes down to the roads a little more gradual (they probably average around 45 degrees, but have some flat portion at the bottom that I'd gladly sacrifice for a more gradual slope overall). Pretty much everything on our property has some amount of slope except for perhaps a very small portion of the front and back yards closest to the house. I've got a 6-foot rear scraper blade, the scoop, a middle buster plow (also going to make a ripper tooth for that), and a 4-foot box blade with scarifier teeth. Hoping I can do what I need to with those implements. I'm sure a loader would be nice, but we'll see what I can do with what I've got for now.

 

[TomSeller]

Engine oil was black, but level okay. I read online that even new oil in diesel engines gets black very quickly after an oil change.

The amount of time before the oil turns black depends on the engine design in my opinion. Some of mine turn black literally at the first startup after an oil change. Some take a hundred hours. I always thought it depends on how well the engine drains. It does not correlate to how reliable the motor is on my engines.

 

[dbotos]

The local dealer quoted $110 for the service manual. I bought the one on eBay for $70 shipped (3-hole punched, 190 pages, looked like the real deal in the pics). Will advise on quality and content when I get it. Seller has 100% positive feedback and looks like they sell lots of lawn, ag, and construction equipment manuals.

 

[dbotos]

Ordered both seatbelt halves and fasteners, ROPS pin and springs (got two springs cause I think the right side is missing its spring too), and all filters. I'm sure I'll discover one more piddly little thing I need after the order arrives. :2cents:

 

[dbotos]

Service manual arrived yesterday along with the filters. Manual is the real deal and has K1296 printed at the lower left of each page (guessing this is a part or document number). It has the following sections with lots of good pictures, data, and procedures:

1. General & Separation
2. Engine
3. Clutch
4. Transmission
5. Rear Axle
6. Brake
7. Front Axle
8. Power Steering
9. Hydraulic System
10. Electrical System

The general section has a maintenance interval table, which has some items on it that could supplement my "to-check" list. I found an owners manual on eBay for $35 shipped so I ordered that too. Seems like a lot to pay for a basic manual like that, but I figured it could pay for itself if the info in it saves me from messing up or neglecting something that would cost more than that in parts or my time.

On the subject of tire pressure, I was doing some searching the other day and found a Firestone Ag brochure online for compact tractor tires that has some good info in it:

http://dealersupport.firestoneag.com/pdfs/brochures/Full-Line%20Compact%20Tractor%20Brochure.pdf

6-12 (front) 4 ply rating has 600 lb max load at 28 psi max pressure. 12.4-16 (rear) 4 ply rating has 1430 lb max load at 16 psi max pressure. Thinking I might try 20 psi front and 12 psi rear as a starting point (70-75% of max).

 

[ritcheyvs]

The owners' manual (and also the service manual) should show recommended tire pressures for thr different tire types (Ag, turf, ind.). From discussions here and looking at manuals for various tractors, the recommended pressures are all over the map. For my DK45s with industrial tires, the book says 20 psi all around. But other models recommend different front and back pressures, some much higher than 20 psi. I don't have any LB documentation so I don't want to recommend anything except don't let the pressure go so low you risk breaking the bead seal at the rim.

 

[dbotos]

Didn't see it in the service manual. Might be in the owner's. Will report when I receive it.