Do not try this at home!

Anonymous Poster · Apr 23, 2003

Well, I had mounted a resurrected JD 39N sickle mower to my 4500 and left it in the driveway overnight so I could work on it again the next evening. I parked it with the front tires turned right about halfway. As I got ready to go in, I went to put the cable lock around the loader frame and left front tire as always. But it was not long enough with the wheel turned! So insted of starting the tractor and turning the wheel, I put it on the right side instead. You probably have guessed by now what happened. Yup, I went out last evening, got on tractor, started it and backed up three feet before I noticed the right front tire was draggin a rut in the gravel! Dang!! well, no big damage, just a slight kink in the cable. But wait, theres more to the sad tale. After unhooking the cable lock, I got back in the seat and started the tractor to move it closer to the garage. Then a thought came into my head, because it won,t start with the shuttle in forward or reverse. So I wondered if it would start with the PTO engaged, to use as an extra theft deterrent. So I put the shuttle in neutral, engaged the PTO and hit the starter. Remeber now, I said I had a Sickle Bar mower mounted with the blade in the road position. Good thing I only bumped the starter. The rattling and shaking behind me was quite a shock. Fortunately, nothing was bent or broken since the motor did not start. Lesson learned, "00" series Mahindras will start with the PTO engaged!! And always be aware of the status of the equipment you are "playin around " with. Chet

Anonymous Poster · Apr 24, 2003

I am not sure what the "shuttle" is/or how it works, my "00" Mahindra has the hi/lo X 4 tranmission. The District Mngr that delivered it told me the only safety on starting the engine was on the hi/lo lever - it had to be in neutral before the tractor would crank. So far I haven't found any other "safety" lockout on starting.
Makes me give consideration to the hidden "kill" switch someone mentioned in a discussion/thread concerning tractor security.