Johns .. I think you are missing the point, if not spirit or intent of the post. This was not meant to be an advertisment for mack or snap on.. this was a real world breakdown of what's practicle and what's possible.
In a perfect world.. if your 5a 'wahtever' fuse blows.. you don't put in a 10a funse if it is not correct.. because that is just 'not the way to do it'. in a practicle real world.. most of us jab a piece of wire in so we can get home.. as long as we are sure of why the fault occured ( low bat E thus higher I.. etc. ) or a pinched wire that was corrected.. etc.
Emergency field repairs are just that... emergency. They may not be ideal.. they may not employ all of the oem safety features. They are designed as a stop gap method for either preventing further damage.. or to get you home.
Anyone here ever jimmied up wire and odd bolts into a u-jont that sheared it's botls off.. then slippe dthe clutch and drove home real slow on a back road?
Ever put a screw into a leak in a tire knowing it will substantially reduce the leak so you canget to a service station? Same with a ding/chip in an oil pan? a sheet metal screw and a piece or rubber will stop a small leak.
I know a guy that jump started his car using a single coat hanger out in a mostly deserted parking lot late one night. He left his lights on flattening out his bat while shopping.. The only person he could flag down dind't have cables, they did however find a wire coat hanger inthe parking lot, Both cars were pushed together till the bumpers touched, and then the wire coat hanger was stretches from positive to positive... both guys sat there and gabbed for 15 minutes while donor car ran and charged dead car. When they fired of fthe deat car.. the rest of the shelac burned off the coat hanger... but the car started.
Speaking of coat hangers.. back in the 'day' I've made a null modem cable using 3 coat hangers... and it worked fine for xfering date between 2 old iron boxes.
I helped a lade get home one night and all it required was a penny.
Her car wouldn't start... opened her hood... when she tried starting i observed an arc at the battery terminal.. clamp was loose on the battery post... Bolt and nut were really coroded... My multi tool plires wouldn't budge it... clamp was only a tad loose. I fumbled in my pocket for a penny.. grabbed a rock fromthe parking lot.. I beat on the penny with the rock while it layed on the asphalt.. the woman looked at me like i was crazy. After a couple whacks.. the penny had a slight bend to it. I started the penny into the space around the post, between the clamp and the post... used the rock to drive it in.. was a quite nice tight fit. Car started on first try. I told her to get her hubby/BF to put a new terminal end. Time for repair? 3 minutes.. cost? 1 penny... Money saved? 50 $ towing.. or leaving the car unatended all night... Concept of the 'right way' changes when you or someone else are in need.
In a perfect world.. neither of the cars would have been started due to a lack of the proper tools or parts...
I didn't specifically have 100% of the tractor nuts and bolts in mind when i mentioned the crescent wrench.. I.E.. i wouldn't try to rebuild an engine with a pocket knife, and a crescent wrench... however there will most certaintly be implement or at least a few fasteners that are wrenchable
besides.. I have personally changed spark plugs on a JD-B with an adjustable wrench... I didn't have the large SP socket.. and i needed to get that heavy #$^& moved out of the barn.. and the plugs were bad.... took longer than with the correct tools.. but worked.
I keep a wire with 2 gator clips on it hanging in the barn... friends always ask me what it is for.. I always tell them that it is the spare ignition key to my gas tractors... Real easy to hook coil to battery vs walking out of pasture up to house to retrive key, just to start and move the tractor.
My point is.. the spirit of owning a tractor is that you may have to do a field repair one day.. and it probably won't be in ideal circumstances.. and in those cases.. you make do with what you got.
This probably holds true more for older tractors.. than newer tractors.. however.. it's no secret that these chinese tractors are considered more 'hands on' than a comparable big 3 model... That 'hands on' issue makes them somewhat closer to the way old iron is...
Soundguy
QUOTE=JohnS]Soundguy, Not sure on a 354, but on the 200 series there are allot of bolts that you won't get to with a cresent wrench. ie the sockets are needed. As far as the fuses, I'd bet he has the newer auto type fuses. A handful of values for spares are cheap. Not woth risking the fire/meltdown using the bailing wire, IMO.
Because of the posters remote location, he does need allot more items than what most of us carry. Assuming he has a shed or other spot to store some of this stuff.
My onboard toolbox has only:
- three sizes of cresent wrenchs
- 4-5 of the metric sockets needed w/ratchet and extensions
- screw drivers
- fuses
- grease fittings
- hammer
- grease gun
- cheapo dvm
- pins and clips
- pto shear bolts
- pair of water pump type pliers
- wire (lengths of the alum wire that came with tractor crate)
- probably some other odds n ends that elude my memory
Tools fits in my small plastic tool box mounted on fender. It has one removable tray. What gets used the most? cresent wrenches for adj 3pt linkages, pins & clips, and grease gun. As I think about it, the grease gun sets on the hoe. I don't carry it around in the field. I grease before using.[/QUOTE]