BadMojo
Member
First I'd like to thank all the guys on this forum for the vast repository of info on these little Yanmars. I had been looking to buy another tractor to either compliment my old Ford 601 or possibly replace it entirely for pasture cutting duty and garden tilling and also needed a small FEL for cleaning up an area that had been clear cut years ago. I had found a few places selling these little tractors on ebay and craigslist, and several of the equipment sites, but never anything close enough for me to go take a look at and I'm fairly particular. My old ford is ugly as sin, yet it has been meticulously maintained mechanically and can sit for six months and will crank on the first rotation of the engine every time. (ok so the tires are so worn out you can almost see the air in them, but they are such heavy ply tires in the rear even if one went flat it wouldn't collapse the sidewall.) So I found this place and started reading, I liked the idea of these little tractors, reasonable price, seem to be pretty well bullet proof, and at least from what I see good parts sources.
So, I finally found a place close by who had some of these little buggers on their lot and jumped on the bike (Harley...yes I am accustomed to things falling off) and rode over for a look see. I initially was looking at a small 1500 and after talking to the owner of the place a bit he convinced me that a little larger tractor would be much more useful. I checked over a couple of 1700's he had sitting there, and told him I'd let him know one way or the other. I thought and thought about it...and even after reading everything here and from other forums...I called him and told him to get my tractor ready for pickup! Yes...I bought one of those much maligned, stinking little Yanmar Vietcong refurbs! (I sure like the seats they put on these!
)
Got a great price, better than I expected, and have been running the heck out of it for a couple of days now around the place and just love the little thing! Seems to be stronger than my 601, so I figure it'll go up for sale before long. I know the possible pitfalls that can come along with these refurbs, but the dealer is only an hours drive away, looked like they had a pretty decent shop, lots of JDs and Fords in the bays, and I already know Hoye carries just about any part I can imagine I might need. I'm not afraid to work on something, been working on loaders for years until a couple of weeks ago.
Anyway, just wanted to say hello and thanks for all the great info! I might even chime in on a couple of threads from time to time, I'm really supposed to be an electrical engineer, but for the last 5 years or so I became a pretty fair expert at hydraulics and diesels. I don't have a pic yet of my little Yanmar, I'll try and snap a couple tomorrow when I'm finishing up the install of the water and oil pressure guages(I hate idiot lights! Cost me a crankshaft in my old Torino when I was a kid, I learned my lesson!). But being as I realize a post is worthless without pictures...I'll toss this one out for you to gander at...this is the last type of loader I was working on.
So, I finally found a place close by who had some of these little buggers on their lot and jumped on the bike (Harley...yes I am accustomed to things falling off) and rode over for a look see. I initially was looking at a small 1500 and after talking to the owner of the place a bit he convinced me that a little larger tractor would be much more useful. I checked over a couple of 1700's he had sitting there, and told him I'd let him know one way or the other. I thought and thought about it...and even after reading everything here and from other forums...I called him and told him to get my tractor ready for pickup! Yes...I bought one of those much maligned, stinking little Yanmar Vietcong refurbs! (I sure like the seats they put on these!
)Got a great price, better than I expected, and have been running the heck out of it for a couple of days now around the place and just love the little thing! Seems to be stronger than my 601, so I figure it'll go up for sale before long. I know the possible pitfalls that can come along with these refurbs, but the dealer is only an hours drive away, looked like they had a pretty decent shop, lots of JDs and Fords in the bays, and I already know Hoye carries just about any part I can imagine I might need. I'm not afraid to work on something, been working on loaders for years until a couple of weeks ago.
Anyway, just wanted to say hello and thanks for all the great info! I might even chime in on a couple of threads from time to time, I'm really supposed to be an electrical engineer, but for the last 5 years or so I became a pretty fair expert at hydraulics and diesels. I don't have a pic yet of my little Yanmar, I'll try and snap a couple tomorrow when I'm finishing up the install of the water and oil pressure guages(I hate idiot lights! Cost me a crankshaft in my old Torino when I was a kid, I learned my lesson!). But being as I realize a post is worthless without pictures...I'll toss this one out for you to gander at...this is the last type of loader I was working on.
