790 Warning

[Buck]

Yesterday, I checked my 790's radiator and didn't see any fluid. Mixed some water with antifreeze and poured it in.

The mixture came right out the bottom of my tractor. Thereafter, I looked for loose hoses. Nothing.

Called my dealer at noon today. He came out to pick it up at 1:30 PM. Dealer called me at 5:00 PM to tell me that the metal bar that holds the battery in place punctured the radiator. Since I had personally replaced the battery, the radiator is not covered by warranty. Not including labor, the cost is $509.

Lesson: Replace the metal battery holders with a bungie cord or something less potential danger!

Buck

 

[Gunfighter]

May have been cheaper to take to a radiator shop an have the old radiator fixed...

Some of the costs I'm hearing about parts an labor is shocking.. $2100 dollars for a clutch assembly, $500 for radiator, maybe I should consider trading in my 790 when the warrantee expires an go back to running junk tractors. The cost of parts at the salvage yards are allot more to my liking...

I looked at my battery when last I serviced the tractor. Those have got to be the cheapest set of battery cable ends I've ever seen...

THANKS FOR THE WARNING...

 

[JATO_RaT]

My neighbor purchased a brand new JD 790 or was it a 970?, I'm not sure now of the model number but it is one of those. I stopped by one day and caught him changing his oil for the first time. Noticing a new looking O ring on the ground I got down picked it up and noticed corrosion coming from the battery area. Opening the front of the tractor shroud up revealed the battery post was completely covered in acid, the terminal had a tiny bit of contact left and in fact as he went to pull the rubber cover on the post/wire off further it broke off. The bracket was almost gone from the amount of corrosion. I mentioned to him to not just fix the end but clean the crap out of the area and if the battery is leaking, to replace it. My queston would be, just what kind of battery are they using that appears to leak so easily. The damage it can do is terrible.

 

[Buck]

Gunfighter,

RE: I looked at my battery when last I serviced the tractor. Those have got to be the cheapest set of battery cable ends I've ever seen...

Went to the dealer at lunch today to talk to the mechanic. The dealer was replacing my battery with a heavy duty one and replacing the cables with heavy duty cables-- on the warranty! I didn't even ask!

 

[Buck]

Rat,

I don't know what kind of battery and cables they are, but the 790's battery is the most common gripe with the 790; just search TBN on the keyword 790.

Outside of this issue, there are very few complaints about this tractor .

However, as my Dad used to say when I was a boy: "One mistake leads to another" . In this case the battery was a mistake that is leading me to shell out >$500US

Buck

 

[JATO_RaT]

Buck, my neighbor has no complaints other then the amount of diesel smoke that seems to go unburnt coming out of the exhaust pipe which is right at head level. The battery thing while irritating was easily remedied. The tractor is pretty simple and I should not think there would be many issues. After he used my hydrostatic versus his shift on the floor, he was quite envious. Other then the few mentioned items, he is quite pleased with it and I'm happy for that, Rat...