Nice tractor. Would he mind if you put 1"-2" spacers on the back wheels to keep the chains from rubbing ?
I tried to do this today but ran into a couple of complications. I brought along my 1/2” drive impact wrench and a set of impact sockets (I wasn’t sure what size the bolts were). I also brought along (6) 3/4” nuts which were the biggest I had in stock in my shop, figuring I could use them as spacers.
I wasn’t able to break any of lug bolts loose with my impact wrench. I’m certain they are metric bolts since this tractor was manufactured on Japan by Yanmar for John Deere in the 1980’s. My 1” impact socket fit them.
I tried my dads old Craftsmen 1/2” ratchet with a long extension and long pipe on the handle, but I couldn’t get them to budge with that with a torque less than it would take to break the ratchet or twist the extension (Ive got a pretty good “feel” for what I can get away with on that stuff from lots of experience).
My 3/4” nut spacers, if they even fit over those metric bolts, would have spaced the wheel out about 5/8”, which should be plenty to stop the chain rub. Another issue, had I been able to break the metric bolts loose, would be insufficient thread engagement in the backing hub, that only looked to be about 3/4” thick.
They had about 6” of snow in the driveway around the barn, so I used the tractor “as is” to clear that. The chain rub (on one side only) didn’t seem quite as annoying as it was the week prior. Nonetheless, I’m going to visit the hardware isle at TSC next time I’m there. Not sure if they will have metric bolts but if they do, I’ll pick up a dozen of the proper length, that measure about 1” across the flats of the head.
I’ll also pick up a dozen English thread nuts, that slide over those metric bolts, to use as spacers. I’d like to put them on both sides so it won’t matter which side I put the ribbing chain on in future years.
If I can find that hardware cheap enough (less than $20), I’ll bring along my 3/4” breaker bar and 1” socket, on my next visit. If I can’t, I’ll just tolerate the fender/chain rub.
I’m getting spoiled by my much more comfortable Farmall Cub with its front plow. My neck was getting sore after about 20 minutes of snow clearing today with the back blade on the cramped platform of that little JD 770.