I finally got a Yanmar (YM2001)

[duanew1]

I finally got a Yanmar after looking for a couple years at them on craigslist. I would have preferred a 4wd model but a good deal on them is very rare around here it seems. There are a few of the smaller 4wds around but they are either higher priced or really beat up. I went to look at a YM155D but it was too beat up and missing parts so I had to pass on it. On the way home I saw a YM2001 with finish mower and box blade for sale. It smiled at me so I brought it home.

I checked it out while it was there. There are a few issues with it. The lights and turn signals do not work and the battery needs replacing. The switches are broken and need replacement. The throttle lever does not hold its position. The transmission fluid is milky. The left brake feels soft. Now the good things. There is no blowby that I can detect. There is no smoke in the exhaust except for during startup. It starts easy even with the bad battery hat only puts out 10.5 to 11 volts. I just pull the decompression lever, turn the key and wait for the motor to slowly turn over. Push the decompression lever and it starts right up. The paint is faded but the body panels are good. The hydraulics are strong. PTO seems to work well. The previous owner put a boat seat on it. I wish it was a tractor seat. It is ok for now. I have the original seat rails also.

I thought that the YM2001 was just an updated version of the YM2000 with a 3 cylinder engine but the more I look into it the more differences I find. The YM2001 seems to be a pretty rare model. It is probably a 1981 model or so. I have not seen many people who have them. There are many engine rebuild parts available on HOYE so it must share parts with another model. I have been looking at the specs and the YM2001 can weigh as much as 400 pounds more than the YM2000. There is also a 4 speed PTO that I do not know the speed of the top three gears. I have a plan for that though.

I have a tachometer for a model airplane engine that uses light pulses to measure the rpm. You set it for a 2 or 3 blade prop. I plan on taping a light rod (possibly a straw) to the end of the PTO shaft and measure the rpm with the 2 blade prop setting. I will do that in 1st gear and find 540 rpm to find the rated engine speed. I will then change to the different gears and measure to find the other ratios. I will report when I gather all of the parts and complete the experiment.

I love LED's. I plan on changing out the front lights with flush mount LED's when I can gather the money and parts. I posted my plan in another thread, but I plan on using cutting board material. Also, as you will see in my pics, my front plastic light surround is pretty much gone. I also plan on adding a rear led work light.

I like it so far and have been spending a lot of time tinkering with it. I have changed the transmission/hydraulic fluid, greased the joints, and fixed the throttle arm issue. I have looked into the light switch and may replace it with a Dorman 85989 switch. I have not found a replacement for the blinker switch yet. Some of these parts HOYE does not have or they are backordered or I did not find them or they are too expensive for what they are. You get the picture. When I bought it the front wheels were flipped. I have already flipped them back the way they are supposed to go.

The previous owner mostly used it for mowing, so the 3 point adjusters did not get moved for years. They were rusted a bit and were locked up. I got them all loosened up with some penetrating oil but the side adjuster rod gave me some trouble. I got it moving with the blowtorch for a few rotations but pushed too far and it locked up again. I ended up breaking it because I put too much torque on it. There turned out to be a flaw in the weld because the rust line went 1/3 the way across where it broke. Oh well. The side link is on sale now at HOYE and I ordered one. I guess I will have to wait to use the tractor again.

 

[kenmac]

Don't know what the prices are,but if you wanted a 4WD ,Fredricks just down the road in hartselle should have had plenty of them

 

[duanew1]

Don't know what the prices are,but if you wanted a 4WD ,Fredricks just down the road in hartselle should have had plenty of them

Yea I looked there first. This was even before I found out how they are probably the main importer right now. Their prices were a little high and I really did not need a fully refurbished tractor. I decided to go used instead. They did have some nice 4WDs with loaders.

 

[clemsonfor]

brakes are easy on these tractors assuming your cam is not locked in the cover like mine see my post on that "stuck brake cam on YM2000".

Switches are easy like you say. Change the fluid and get another boot for the shifter and o ring that holds it. Get another friction washer for the throttle and the few other things you said an your good to go.

 

[clemsonfor]

any you have no smoke under quick acceleration? or heavy load (which i doubt you have put it under yet?) thats good i thought any deisel of this age and design overfuels till caught up and blows a bit of black smoke under the above situations.

 

[duanew1]

brakes are easy on these tractors assuming your cam is not locked in the cover like mine see my post on that "stuck brake cam on YM2000".

I have already taken off the left side brake housing. The brake actuator was free but sticking a bit. The grease was totally dry and I had to tap it out with a hammer. I re-greased it and put it back together. I also noticed a crack on both friction pads while I had it apart. It is better but it is still not the same as the right. I will put it as if it was hydraulic brakes. It feels like the right is well bled with a firm petal and the left still has some air in the line. I only did the left. The right still feels great, but I will have to do it soon.

Switches are easy like you say.

I am going to wait on this as it is not that important. I am planning on maybe changing the blinkers over to hazard lights. I don't think I need the blinkers anyway. I will just use hand signals if I need to. The top speed is really slow, so I don't think I would feel real comfortable on the road. Boy this thing can go slow with the creep gear.

Change the fluid and get another boot for the shifter and o ring that holds it.

I have already changed out the fluid. It was a job because I do not have anything large enough the catch the whole amount of fluid. Pouring in the new fluid was a pain also. I also have two of the boots on order. I never saw the o-ring anywhere. Do you have a picture? Where does it go?

Also getting the new boots on will not be easy. The knobs seem to be really stuck on there. I think I can slide it over the range selector knob as it is not that big. The main shifter knob is much larger so I do not think that will work.

Get another friction washer for the throttle and the few other things you said an your good to go.

I was able to fix this problem by tightening the nut a bit on the arm. The friction washer is still intact.

 

[duanew1]

any you have no smoke under quick acceleration? or heavy load (which i doubt you have put it under yet?) thats good i thought any deisel of this age and design overfuels till caught up and blows a bit of black smoke under the above situations.

I have not really noticed any smoke yet. I have only been able to do a little scraping of the ground with the heavy 5 foot box blade that came with the tractor. It is really easy to loose traction with the rippers down. I may decide to load my rear tires with antifreeze mix.

I am in search of a 5 foot bush hog. This should be able to make my YM2001 work hard. I just need to sell my finish mower first.

 

[duanew1]

Oops. I forgot I posted about this above.

I broke my side adjusting link a few days ago. The previous owner used the YM2001 mainly for mowing with a finish mower so he never adjusted the 3 point hitch adjusters. They were all locked up from rust. I got them all loose except one with some PB Blaster and time working them back an forth. The side link would not budge. I finally got it to move with the propane torch for a few rotations. It them started locking up again and I could not turn it in either direction for more than 1/8 turn. I guess I put too much torque on it after that because It broke.

It looks like it had been damaged previously or had a manufacturing defect from the rust line going deep into the weld. Oh well. HOYE had them on sale and it should be here today.

 

[duanew1]

Change the fluid and get another boot for the shifter and o ring that holds it.

I see the o-ring now on the YM2000 parts diagram. Does it go on the outside to hold the boot in place? I might be able to source one locally. It looks like a 35x4 o-ring on HOYE. HOYE is a great resource and a great service to the Yanmar community.

 

[clemsonfor]

yes it goes on the bottom edge of the boot where it meets the transmission i guess. thinking in my head now. it is visible from the outside and just makes a seal friction fit. SO size as long as snug is not as important as if it were seaining internally in something. I am not sure if there is a kind of ridge it sits in or just snugs up to the lower edge of the boot. I haveent looked that close?

I needed a new friction washer and later at some point one of my nuts vibrated off so i had to re double nut the thing.

 

[clemsonfor]

looks like you have the heavy duty front axle too.

 

[duanew1]

looks like you have the heavy duty front axle too.

I noticed the front axle before I bought it. It is full rectangular tube and not like the YM2000 U-channel axle that I have seen pictures of. Is it possible that it is stock on the YM2001?

 

[duanew1]

I have been using the YM2001 to actual work lately. It started by using the box blade to move and level some dirt next to a barn to help with drainage. The tractor easily lost traction in the hard soil with the rippers down. This did not seem to stress the engine at all.

I also recently purchased a bush hog. It is a Woods DixieCutter M5. It is a 5 foot bush hog. This cutter could be a medium duty cutter. I was a little concerned about the front end getting light when it is off the ground, but I have had no issues. This is even when taking the tractor on and off the trailer with the cutter attached. I guess the few extra hundred pounds over the YM2000 really helps. I really glad that I got the 5 foot bush hog. It also has not slowed the engine any during use. I have been going pretty slow though through brier patches that you cannot even see the ground through them. I have heard that tall grass will be harder on it. I will have to try that someday.

 

[kenmac]

Congrats getting your new tractor ! B safe... Add some water to the rears.. Makes a big difference

 

[duanew1]

I also got a flat the other day. It must have been from all of the briers. I found the hole that punctured the tube but there was nothing in the tire but a hole. The culprit must have pulled out of the tire.

I have gotten into changing tires by hand lately. I would not recommend it unless you have patience. My first tires were for a trailer that I am refurbishing. I have been getting the rims in a U Pull It car junk yard. The rims are cheap there. Getting the first bead off is not that bad with technique. The second one is a bear. If it weren't for the tire iron shown in the pic below I would have never accomplished the task. I change the tires on my motorcycle too so that is a motorcycle tire iron. I am sorry that the pic is so dark.

Anyway, my point: The front tire on the tractor was that hardest to break the bead that I have encountered yet. I used the car jack under the trailer hitch and even ran over the edge of the tire with the truck but it would not budge. It should be easy because it does not even have rim lips that you have to push the bead over. I finally used a c-clamp and that tire iron to leverage the bead away from the rim. The tire must have been glued with rust, because it should not have been that hard to remove.

There was much rust. It was stuck to the tube and tire bead. I decided that I could not leave it like that. I cleaned up the rust with a wire wheel and primed it with rustoleum. I found that they had an Antique White and used that to paint the rim. I is kind of close to Yanmar white. It does not have to be perfect to me.

I replaced the tube and put the tire back on the rim. It was pretty easy. I was able to get the tire back on the rim almost by hand with help from the tire iron at the very end.

 

[duanew1]

Congrats getting your new tractor ! B safe... Add some water to the rears.. Makes a big difference

I have been thinking about doing that. Most of what I need the tractor for I do not need the weight. Now that I am getting close to getting my trailer fixed, I might be able to handle the weight better.

 

[clemsonfor]

I put windshield waster fluid in them (winter mix) and a bit of water (looked at chart for amout of alchohol in it vs water to see temp that it was good too) to my rears. even though its only like 70-80lbs per tire it made a huge difference. I cant explain why. Seems like more traction than haveing say a 150 lb person ride in your lab would do!!!

I bought the WWF on advance auto.com and used online codes to make it just over like $1-1.50 a gallon i think? Way cheaper than RV antifreeze. I didnt want radiator fluid (really the wife) in case one got a hole in it and i would be leaking ethyl glycol all over for animals and pets to lick up.

 

[jb92563]

Welcome to the club Duane.

The near indestructibility and power of these old Yanmars is incredible and probably what makes them sought after. My own YM 240 came with FEL for $1300.
Hydraulics are a bit leaky but not too bad, and none of the switches, ignition, gauges work on the dash. The previous owner had wired a separate starter switch.

Looks like a charging wire to the alternator has also been disconnected. I just have a little solar panel on the tractor to keep the battery charged and I had never had an issue starting it up.

There is no way a newer tractor could work in this condition, with all the electronics required for it to work.

The fuel burn is ridiculously low as well on these diesels. I think my 2hp lawnmower burns fuel faster than the YM.

I also have the weight issue where the traction gives out before the motor even shows any sign of being strained.

My 4' box blade digs in and fills up and if I don't lift it a tad to load the rears the resistance proves too much and the wheels begin to spin.
My rears are also filled with water but not sure how much. I think I need to deflate and refill with water so I can know that they are truly full.

Simple, reliable, powerful describes these old YM's.

How are you folks filling water into the rear tires? Is there a garden hose adapter that can be used on the schroeder valve? Do you take the one way valve out first.

Since house water pressure is about 50 psi, way more than the tire pressure I guess you would have to relieve the pressure every so often when filling?


On a side note, I was looking for tubes for my turf tires (13.6x16) and found some for about $60 each, which I thought was kinda pricey so I checked with Gemplers and they gave me a quote for a tube that would work for $762 each! Yikes, I looked again to make sure it is for a tube and not a pair of tires, and it says for a inner tube.

 

[winston1]

Slime 20073 Air Water Adapter Kit | eBay This will work for your liquid fill.

12.4-16 to 36x13.50-15 Firestone Farm Tire Tube (TR15CW)

 

[duanew1]

Welcome to the club Duane.

Thanks a bunch.

The near indestructibility and power of these old Yanmars is incredible and probably what makes them sought after. My own YM 240 came with FEL for $1300.
Hydraulics are a bit leaky but not too bad, and none of the switches, ignition, gauges work on the dash. The previous owner had wired a separate starter switch.

Looks like a charging wire to the alternator has also been disconnected. I just have a little solar panel on the tractor to keep the battery charged and I had never had an issue starting it up.

There is no way a newer tractor could work in this condition, with all the electronics required for it to work.

Yes. Mine charges and starts but nothing else works. The dash lights and gauges work though. All of the switches have deteriorated from rain and elements. My horn did work but it started to honk when I turned the key so I unhooked it.

The fuel burn is ridiculously low as well on these diesels. I think my 2hp lawnmower burns fuel faster than the YM.

Yes it is very low. I worked the tractor very hard with the box blade for over half a day and went through around 2 to 2.5 gallons.

My 4' box blade digs in and fills up and if I don't lift it a tad to load the rears the resistance proves too much and the wheels begin to spin.

My box blade that came with the tractor is about 5.5 feet wide and heavy built. You can see why I am having traction problems.

How are you folks filling water into the rear tires? Is there a garden hose adapter that can be used on the schroeder valve? Do you take the one way valve out first.

I plan on using a old garden sprayer that I have with a broken wand. I have seen hose adapters to schrader valve adapters that might work. Something like this:
Prestacycle Schrader Hose Barb 1/4", For Prestaflator
Either that or just clamp the hose onto the valve stem. Here are the steps that I am planning. Jack up the tractor so that the weight is off of it. Rotate the tire so that the valve is a the top and remove the valve core. Attach the hose to the valve stem using an appropriate method. Fill the tank with the liquid mix of your choice and pressurize the tank. The fluid will flow into the tire. When the pressure is too high, the tire can be burped by removing the lid slowly on the tank. Repeat this process until fluid flows back into the tank when the pressure is released. The tire will be full then. Replace the valve core and inflate. This might take a while to finish, but do something else while you wait.

Oh yea. I wish I had a set of turf tires. I can see that the rice tires could tear up some turf. I am thinking trying to find some appropriate rims at the U Pull It junkyard to do it on the cheap but I am not sure that it going to work out.