How much damage am I likely to have done to my new tractor?

[bigtiller]

It's like that first door ding on your 6 day old, brand new car. It hurts like the dickens but it's not enough to stop it from working.

 

[4570Man]

Ok thanks folks. I'll pull the mower deck off and have a good look as suggested. I'll definitely be walking my fields before mowing in future. It's actually only been 2 weeks since I last mowed, but its been so hot and humid here the grass is already 18 inches high!

Aside from the strain on the mower, can someone please explain to me what having a tractor stop-dead like this can do to the tractor/engine? What tractor parts are being stressed exactly? What kind of repairs might I be up for if they keep doing this? (hypothetically...I WON'T keep doing this!!)

Also, why doesn't this brand new Kubota mid-mounted mower attachment have a slip-clutch or shear pin??

They don’t need a shear pin. It would just be a nuisance to fix a non existent problem.

 

[4570Man]

You could have bent the blades but you could also bend a spindle and have the blade hitting something underneath or cut at an angle.

It’s possible but not likely. Commercial mowers don’t bend spindles every time they hit something hard.

 

[ericm979]

Shouldn't the belt drive slip or at least cushion the impact to the engine/transmission?

Are you using the MMM for rough mowing? Sounds rough to me if you're hitting objects big enough to stall the tractor. It might be better to use a rough cut mower like a flail or rotary cutter on the 3pt. Those are designed with swinging blades in case of contact with large objects, and they have shear pins or slip clutches as well.

 

[4570Man]

Shouldn't the belt drive slip or at least cushion the impact to the engine/transmission?

Are you using the MMM for rough mowing? Sounds rough to me if you're hitting objects big enough to stall the tractor. It might be better to use a rough cut mower like a flail or rotary cutter on the 3pt. Those are designed with swinging blades in case of contact with large objects, and they have shear pins or slip clutches as well.

It’ll cushion the blow but it has enough grip to stall the engine. Also the center blade on a Kubota is direct drive, no belt.

 

[MoArk Willy]

I'm curious as to what you are mowing with a belly mower that got you into this situation.
The belly mower is a finish mower by design, not a bush hog.
You may consider getting a bush hog for your initial cuts in an unknown area.
It might just save you some $$$$ in the future.
By your own admission you have been fortunate 3 times.
Your luck won't last forever.
Have you got a FEL on that machine?
You can take a ride around the area with the FEL a few inches above the ground to check out the area first.

 

[CausticUrbanCoast]

I'm curious as to what you are mowing with a belly mower that got you into this situation.
The belly mower is a finish mower by design, not a bush hog.
You may consider getting a bush hog for your initial cuts in an unknown area.
It might just save you some $$$$ in the future.
By your own admission you have been fortunate 3 times.
Your luck won't last forever.
Have you got a FEL on that machine?
You can take a ride around the area with the FEL a few inches above the ground to check out the area first.

If you read above, OP said a small tree stump he though he could clear and a random branch he did not see.

 

[xrjohndeere]

Determined to make it last a lifetime, I've been religiously cleaning, greasing, servicing and maintaining my new Kubota B2301 since I bought it earlier this year.

I've been warned that you never want to "stop-dead" the PTO during operation, hence why rotary-tillers and such have shear pins/slip-clutches.

Yet somehow I've managed to "stop-dead" my new tractor 3 times by hitting immoveable objects with my mid mount mower. It appears the MMM does not have a shear pin or anything. One time was on a low tree stump which I stupidly thought was low enough for the mower to go over (no it was NOT). The other two times were on large branches which had come down in the long grass, which I failed to see. In each case BANG the blades stopped-dead and instantaneously stalled the tractor

The tractor still appears to be working, however I can't stop cringing as I wonder how much damage I might have already inflicted on my new baby.

Can anyone tell this lay-man just what kind of damage / premature wear I may have caused?

Little to none. Check blades and spindle. If bent blade replace. Spindle turns free and doesn’t cause a vibration you are good to go. The mid mount mowers do not use a pin or slip clutch because the big belt that drives the pulleys will act as one. The belt will absorb the shock and the engine just stalls. If you had more hp the engine would not stall and the drive pulley would just slip on the belt until you shut it off or the belt burned and broke. I have been mowing commercial for years with zero turns and small tractors like yours. I have hit lots of stuff and stopped dead more than I can count. The only causality was blades. Rear implements is a different story. Make sure you have slip clutch set properly or the right shear pin. I shelled out the pto gears on a 1023r John Deere sub compact running a tiller. $1800 snafu.

 

[s219]

I've never killed the engine on my tractors suddenly with an impact like that, but I have stalled them out a few times with my wood chipper, when the wood feeds too fast and bogs down the motor. It's more of a gentle stall I'd say. Only happens with cutoffs from my sawmill -- I think they are a little too much for the HP available.

 

[bigtiller]

I hit the "man-hole" cover in the front yard for my rural water water shut-off. Killed it instantly.

 

[BobInSD]

Diesels seem to be rather more forgiving in this area.

It is not something you would want to have happen mid-spark with a gas engine.

Also hard on the turbo for those diesels that are so equipped.

 

[Jofang]

I borrowed a flail mower a couple of years ago that was a bit too big for my BX2350 and forgetting its size I engaged the drive without thinking. It stopped the motor dead, instantly, but no apparent damage. Later in the year I noticed the motor fan rubbing on one of the engine mounting brackets, which had torn away from the parent metal bracket and I've always wondered if this was the result of the borrowed flail mower stalling the motor. I suggest you have a close look at all four engine mounts to be sure.

 

[mwhiz]

Determined to make it last a lifetime, I've been religiously cleaning, greasing, servicing and maintaining my new Kubota B2301 since I bought it earlier this year.

I've been warned that you never want to "stop-dead" the PTO during operation, hence why rotary-tillers and such have shear pins/slip-clutches.

Yet somehow I've managed to "stop-dead" my new tractor 3 times by hitting immoveable objects with my mid mount mower. It appears the MMM does not have a shear pin or anything. One time was on a low tree stump which I stupidly thought was low enough for the mower to go over (no it was NOT). The other two times were on large branches which had come down in the long grass, which I failed to see. In each case BANG the blades stopped-dead and instantaneously stalled the tractor

The tractor still appears to be working, however I can't stop cringing as I wonder how much damage I might have already inflicted on my new baby.

Can anyone tell this lay-man just what kind of damage / premature wear I may have caused?

I think it is fine. I dead stopped my JD 950 when I caught a root with a box blade ripper. Started smoking & knocking when I resarted it. Bent or broke a piston rod! So I think you will know if you did any real damage right away. My tractor never ran again bought a new one & not a JD.

 

[jedjoe]

I've had a 2004 New Holland TC35 since it was brand new. It now has over 3500 hours on it. I've lost track of the times I've hit an "immovable object" accidentally in the process of getting work done. Mowers, FEL's, grading blades, all kinds of attachments. The few times any damaged occurred, it was always to the implement itself or something attached to the implement (blade, bucket, etc.). While I would hesitate to say that the tractor itself is indestructible, I would be comfortable saying that what you describe having happened certainly did not damage the tractor. That's also why I would also say it's well worth the money to get a high quality tractor; the steel, the welding, the engineering, that's why so many tractors live to a ripe old age. They really are TOUGH.

 

[skipperbrown]

I didn't read all the replies, but if not mentioned before, something should 'give' before the shock stops your engine. You either need to adjust the slip clutch if it is in your driveline or go with a lighter shear pin. The idea is the damage should be non existent or at most the cost of a new shear pin.

 

[CausticUrbanCoast]

I didn't read all the replies, but if not mentioned before, something should 'give' before the shock stops your engine. You either need to adjust the slip clutch if it is in your driveline or go with a lighter shear pin. The idea is the damage should be non existent or at most the cost of a new shear pin.

Mid mount mowers do not have those normally.

 

[Millwood]

Determined to make it last a lifetime, I've been religiously cleaning, greasing, servicing and maintaining my new Kubota B2301 since I bought it earlier this year.

I've been warned that you never want to "stop-dead" the PTO during operation, hence why rotary-tillers and such have shear pins/slip-clutches.

Yet somehow I've managed to "stop-dead" my new tractor 3 times by hitting immoveable objects with my mid mount mower. It appears the MMM does not have a shear pin or anything. One time was on a low tree stump which I stupidly thought was low enough for the mower to go over (no it was NOT). The other two times were on large branches which had come down in the long grass, which I failed to see. In each case BANG the blades stopped-dead and instantaneously stalled the tractor

The tractor still appears to be working, however I can't stop cringing as I wonder how much damage I might have already inflicted on my new baby.

Can anyone tell this lay-man just what kind of damage / premature wear I may have caused?

I stalled out my Kubota B3300 when it was new and I was opening up a half acre in 2014. I initially used a middle buster plow, removed boulders the size of 55 gallon drums, then added manure and attempted to till it in. I must have stalled the tractor out at least 9 times when large rocks locked up the Landpride reverse tine tiller. Never damaged the tractor or PTO shaft, but bent up some tiller tines. Over about two months I dump trailered out lots of rocks, but now the soil is excellent and has produced lots of spuds and corn. Kubota tractors are tough little machines and will take a beating.

 

[BeezFun]

Mowers have belts. It may sound like things are coming to a dead stop, but it's hard to imagine a belt not slipping a small bit before the driveline snaps or the engine is damaged.

 

[ROUSTABOUT]

Determined to make it last a lifetime, I've been religiously cleaning, greasing, servicing and maintaining my new Kubota B2301 since I bought it earlier this year.

I've been warned that you never want to "stop-dead" the PTO during operation, hence why rotary-tillers and such have shear pins/slip-clutches.

Yet somehow I've managed to "stop-dead" my new tractor 3 times by hitting immoveable objects with my mid mount mower. It appears the MMM does not have a shear pin or anything. One time was on a low tree stump which I stupidly thought was low enough for the mower to go over (no it was NOT). The other two times were on large branches which had come down in the long grass, which I failed to see. In each case BANG the blades stopped-dead and instantaneously stalled the tractor

The tractor still appears to be working, however I can't stop cringing as I wonder how much damage I might have already inflicted on my new baby.

Can anyone tell this lay-man just what kind of damage / premature wear I may have caused?

I worked at Kubota. Saw one come in from hitting a cut off clothes line pipe in the ground. Busted the whole rear end in two. From center line of rear axle from seat to bottom of tractor. We had to get a bare housing and swap all his internals over. I would have bought a back half at a salvage yard. But the dealerships love those in depth mechanic jobs.

 

[JWR]

...
Aside from the strain on the mower, can someone please explain to me what having a tractor stop-dead like this can do to the tractor/engine? What tractor parts are being stressed exactly? What kind of repairs might I be up for if they keep doing this? (hypothetically...I WON'T keep doing this!!)

Also, why doesn't this brand new Kubota mid-mounted mower attachment have a slip-clutch or shear pin??

Forget the engine damage. No one around here ever heard of damaging an engine due to whatever happens with a MMM. If it was severely sudden enough (say like htting a 6" square steel reinforced concrete post sticking out of the ground several inches while going flat out full rpm...and you hit it with the middle blade ) MAYBE you will do damage to the mid-PTO. Maybe. More likely the blade will bend/give/slip on the gear shaft while being mangled.
And for those saying it would be different if gasoline instead of diesel ... I say nonsense. No reason to believe that either.

The belt is going to act like a slip clutch except for the middle blade.

And as others have said, the reason there is no slip clutch or shear pin is there is no need for them... based on hundreds of thousands of hours experience nationwide over decades of time with many models and many brands.