JD5103 & Hand Tools

[ShookFarm]

Being new to tractor ownership, my initial assessment of needed playthings puts me in the market for a new set of hand tools. As soon as I bought a King Kutter 6' rotary cutter for our JD5103 and had to assemble it, I figured out my Craftsman 3/8" drive socket set should have been classified as baby toys. (They do fine on my Sierra.....)

I guess this means I'm in the market for a set of 3/4" drive sockets to assist in the operation and maintenance of the 5103, but I don't know what to buy.

Working from an assumption - it's made in India - does this mean all the bolts and nuts are metric on a John Deere 5103? I took a tape measure to them, but I'm about as blind as when I started. I couldn't get anything to line up to a mark and I didn't have a ruler with mm/cm on it with me.

Advice anyone? I know most of us are bleeding green here so the brands for hand tools would naturally follow suit. One uncle likes SK, but that's pretty far out there for me.

 

[jdbower]

That's a tough call. My Frontier had US measurements (15/16" IIRC) on the bolts that I needed to modify to make it iMatch compatible, but the 2520 manual presents all information in metric first. It may be annoying, but you may and to invest in a set of calipers that display in US and metric and buy the sockets one at a time - either that or buy a cheap set of US and a cheap set of metric and then replace with individual good sockets as you find valid sizes.

 

[HillbillyFarmer]

I used to buy nothing but good tools. . . Snap-on, Cresent, etc., then I realized that cheaper tools were just as functional rarely broke and at 1/2 to 1/4 the price a much better value. I've got a set of sockets I bought at Lowes almost ten years ago that is in a nice case, has almost every size I need for doing anything both metric and std. and none have ever broke or cracked. I think I paid $59 for it. Snap-on or even Craftsman would have been 4x as much.

 

[BloomingtonMike]

I cough up the weekender money for Craftsman screwdrivers, handtools, and sockets because I know I can take it in and get new anytime i need them. I only own 1/2", 3/8", 1/4" sizes - have not graduated to 3/4" yet. I have a JD 3320 and Simplicity 4041 so nothing too huge yet. I vote Craftsman for you. Kobalt from Lowes (their lifetime brand) costs almost as much as Craftsman or more in some cases. Plus I just love the high polished 3/8" low profile ratchet Sears sells!

 

[Neophyte]

I buy mostly Craftsman, Ideal, Klein, etc. for my everyday tools. For things I use rarely, I usually go cheap and I have had great luck so far. I recently bought a large socket set (7/8" to 2") with 3/4" drive for $40 from Homier. A similar Craftsman set would have been over $250. My brother has had a similar el-cheapo set for years; he uses it quite often and has never broken one. We even had a 6' pipe on the ratchet the other day for leverage and it worked like a charm.

Speedway Series 22 Piece SAE Socket Set

Everything I have worked on thus far has been SAE, not metric.

 

[Turkflyer]

The 5x03 series is the same as any other Deere tractor. Mostly metric. Get a good 1/2" drive setup....that'll do most anything on the tractor. The 3/4" drive is a bit ackward for everyday use. There may be one or two bolts outside that range (depending on your attachments), but just get those as needed and buy individual sockets. Don't know about your King Kutter and other attachments. They may be English sizes.

 

[Neophyte]

Everything I have worked on thus far has been SAE, not metric.

I should clarify this statement. To date, mostly everything I have worked on has related to my attachments and not the tractor.

Homier also makes some inexpensive torque wrenches, which may be required on certain parts of your tractor.

Torque Wrench- 1/2" drive with 10-150 foot pound capacity

Torque Wrench- 3/8" drive with 60-960 inch pound capacity

 

[Tobync]

Howdy ShookFarm, if your going to buy 3/4 drive tools, look around for a Harbor Freight store, Agri-Supply, flea market etc. They have 3/4 dr. sets made in China. Yes, I know they are not the highest quality, but they do last. I bought a SAE and a Metric 3/4 dr. set onsale at Harbor Freight for about $65(on sale). Most have a lifetime warrenty. I also have Snap-on, Mac, Proto,Craftsman, etc, handtools. They break just like the cheaper ones. I would buy a namebrand 3/4 breakover,a socket is only as good as the handle. You can just buy just the sockets that you need , but with gas prices, lost travel time,etc, it just might be cheaper to buy a full set. I have rebuilt an older King disc,and the 1/2 dr. stuff just wasn't working. You may not use the "big" stuff often, but it does in handy. Good luck

 

[Ledgemere Farm]

I agree. I bought cheap ones and replaced some with good ones. at least if you break a Craftsman, they will give you a new one. I split a 3/4" x 1/2" socket wide open working on my sickle bar.

 

[YM2610D]

Hi ShookFarm, I asked a question July 26, 2006 under Parts/Repairs and received alot of good information. The question, "New tractor...What MUST have tools for maintenence?" In fact, I printed it so as to keep the list in my file on my JD 3720. Hope this helps. Tom

 

[ShookFarm]

Thank you very much, YM2610D! I looked at and bookmarked your question and the responses. One change for me, I had thought about the whisk broom for the tractor, but I had already opted for a stiff bristle 2" paint brush (cheapy - toss is when it's broken down). I'm still looking at hand tools. I wound up buying a 1/2" drive Stanley deep well metric set at Wal-Mart for $18+Tax. I have a 1/2" drive air impact wrench I use when I'm working on my truck.

My biggest issue is: we don't live on the farm - yet. I'm constantly hauling tools back and forth. I have a guy living in the old farm house who also uses the outbuilding where the tractor lives. He's got lots of tools so I don't want to leave things there if they aren't secure due to possible mix up.

 

[BobinIL]

Shookfarm, A 3/4 inch socket set is overkill for use with a utility tractor. On our farm the only time we break out the 3/4 in sockets is to tourque down the duals on our big tractors 150hp to 400hp. Then we use a 3/4 breaker bar and piece of 5 foot pipe. A 1/2 inch set should do anything you want to do. I have had good luck with Craftsman and S-K tools

 

[ShookFarm]

I borrowed a 1/2" drive set from my neighbor to check the torque on my lugs (after 10 hours of operation). Got around to the last tire (left front) and one bolt was not snug. When I applied pressure, the bolt snugged and I twisted off the very end (square hammered part) of the 4" long extension I was using to reach inside the rim. Not a major deal. But, I know for my purposes, I don't want to break a 1/2" set working on the rotary cutter (1 1/2" nuts) and the Category 2 pins on implements as well as the huge bolt lugs on the rear tires. I also don't really want to have to carry a 3/4" set all the time, but I don't want to buy both either. May have to break down and do the HF deal. That way I can afford multiple drive sizes. What a pain!

When the question was posed, in another thread, about why you use cheap tools on one of the most expensive purchases you'll make. It's because the pocketbook is more forgiving for breaking a cheap tool than an expensive one. In my experience, all tools CAN break, cheap or expensive.