284 International
Veteran Member
- Joined
- Jun 28, 2010
- Messages
- 1,466
- Tractor
- International Harvester 284
I picked up a YM240D last weekend. I needed a fuel tank and some odds and ends for some of my other machines, so called Wayne at LMTC. He was helpful and careful to make sure that I was ordering parts for the correct machine, and told me to check the serial numbers to make sure I really had a YM240. I own a YM2000 and a non-D YM240, and had seen before I purchased it that the engine is a 2TR20A, so I had already recognized the tractor as being a match to those machines. Wayne encouraged me to check anyway, just be certain.
I went and looked, and couldn't find a serial number. I searched and searched, and couldn't find a serial number on the transmission casing, but the data plate on the left fender had a serial number (though it lacked the model ID). I called Wayne back and told him I couldn't find the serial number, but that I was confident enough to have him send me the parts anyway. Wayne was considerate in dealing with someone he had to presume was rather inexperienced and incompetent, and told me exactly where to look, and suggested using a piece of paper and pencil to get a rubbing.
Short version: I couldn't find it. I knew where it was supposed to be (since it's in the same place as my other two tractors, on a raised, flat area on the side of the transmission) and couldn't see a number. The paper trick didn't work, nor did wiping and cleaning the fluid off, though there was black paint on the plate. Exasperated, I took a wire brush and took the plate down to bare metal. Here is what I found:
You can see the tell-tale grind marks and uneven surface of the plate. Spelled right out, the serial number had been ground off and painted over. The paint had been on there a LONG time, and was coated in the same layer of crud as the rest of the transmission housing, clearly years worth.
The simple thing is to do nothing and keep the tractor. However, I'm going to call the local police department and see if I can talk to their stolen vehicles specialist, and see if they can recover the serial number by other means. I don't think the seller had any clue the serial plate has been ground down, and was not in any way misled. However, in hindsight I should have checked to see if the serial number was intact and correct.
It was NOT a happy thing to discover the ground serial number. The only reason for that is to disguise stolen property. I'm still kind of nauseated.
I went and looked, and couldn't find a serial number. I searched and searched, and couldn't find a serial number on the transmission casing, but the data plate on the left fender had a serial number (though it lacked the model ID). I called Wayne back and told him I couldn't find the serial number, but that I was confident enough to have him send me the parts anyway. Wayne was considerate in dealing with someone he had to presume was rather inexperienced and incompetent, and told me exactly where to look, and suggested using a piece of paper and pencil to get a rubbing.
Short version: I couldn't find it. I knew where it was supposed to be (since it's in the same place as my other two tractors, on a raised, flat area on the side of the transmission) and couldn't see a number. The paper trick didn't work, nor did wiping and cleaning the fluid off, though there was black paint on the plate. Exasperated, I took a wire brush and took the plate down to bare metal. Here is what I found:
You can see the tell-tale grind marks and uneven surface of the plate. Spelled right out, the serial number had been ground off and painted over. The paint had been on there a LONG time, and was coated in the same layer of crud as the rest of the transmission housing, clearly years worth.
The simple thing is to do nothing and keep the tractor. However, I'm going to call the local police department and see if I can talk to their stolen vehicles specialist, and see if they can recover the serial number by other means. I don't think the seller had any clue the serial plate has been ground down, and was not in any way misled. However, in hindsight I should have checked to see if the serial number was intact and correct.
It was NOT a happy thing to discover the ground serial number. The only reason for that is to disguise stolen property. I'm still kind of nauseated.