JM 254/284 Brakes

[norcal]

I am interested in purchasing a Jinma 284 with a FEL but am concerned about braking power. I live in a hilly area where part of my pastures are a 30-35 degree pitch. I plan on mowing the pastures up and down the hill - going backwards up the hill - forward down the hill. My concerns are - when I am at the top of the hill and need to change from reverse to forward, how well will the brakes stop and hold the tractor? When mowing down the hill and if for some reason the tractor pops out of gear and gravity takes over - will the brakes stop the tractor - or, should I plan on dumping the bucket and ejecting /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif Are the brakes shoe type or Disc? I have been told conflicting info...

Lastly, can the front and rear tires be reversed for a wider stance?

TIA !! These discussion forums are awsome!

 

[Anonymous Poster]

The brakes on my 254 are not that impressive,I might need to adjust them,I don't think that would turn them into power brakes though,plus they are pretty new.As far as stopping you on a hill,they will.but you don't want to do much of that ifin you don't have to,standared transmission as you know.I go 2nd gear low range,[not creeper],when I mow,so I believe the braks would hold if I was fast enough IF it ever jumped out of gear which it hasn't yet,knock on some wood,thats one reason I don't unlock the pedals when mowing,if I did need to break hard,I would want to hit both breaks,if yo just hit one,it might spin you around and make matters even worse on a hill.I got a few spots that are around 40 degrees,so I know your concerns,I got level spots at the top and bottom to turn around though,if I had to stop on some of my areas andchange gears,I wouldn't be mowing them,its got plenty of power,I can tellyou though,those hills I go up in two wheel drive with no problem,when they are mostly dry,or at least not as wet as they are now.So to sum it up,if you got to mow it like you said,and it is as steep as you said,a tractor like mine my not be the best choice for that operation,but maybe I'm just worrying to much.As far as what kind of breaks,the book shows two friction discs on each wheel. RICHARD GAUTHIER

 

[JohnS]

The brake are disks, two per side, and look more like small clutch plates than automotive disk or shoes. They are about 6" in diameter. Put your email in profile, and will send you a diagram (1 meg) of brake mechanism.

I did some mowing on hilly terain, and never felt comfortable /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif The brakes held when doing gear changes. I kept the mower on the ground at all times and fel bucket as close as possible. I would add to Richards note, to always leave it in 4WD, which is probably obvious. In your case, I would drop the bucket just for extra insurance, on the reverse-forward gear changes.

Both front and back wheels can be reversed. I was sent an email from someone in West Virginia who turned the rear wheels around (requires reversing inner wheels) and the wheel weights are on the inside now. It will put some additional stresses on hubs, bearings, and seals.

 

[JohnS]

Just received some photos of the wheels reversed. Here is one:

 

[Anonymous Poster]

One thought on reverseing your rear wheels,my 254 is about56" wide at the back,a 5 ft. brush hog is of course 60",so it works out good,my 6 ft blade,when angled,also covers this,my tires are not reversed.Plus I can't believe it would really make that much difference,the only reason I could think to reverse them would be to make it more stable when running on the side of a hill?If that little bit of extra stability would keep you from going over sideways,than you are in a pretty dangerous situation . RICHARD GAUTHIER

 

[SPIKER]

I've got a 284, and it runs great. mine does POP out of gear when doing HEAVY pushing in REVERS but does not do it in forwards, not sure if it is out of adjustment a bit or not... I've never checked it out that far. I've got some pretty steep hills and creek bottom and I have my Front wheels reversed but my backs are normal. This puts the fornt and back wheels in-line and helps. I've done my share of backing up hill tearing out bushes ect, (lots of wild rose/multifloral rose stuff) and it hasn't let me down for stopping at top to shift. though usually I've got box blade or FEL down into dirt too. I've not had a problem stopping with the brakes and usually can slowly slide down hill with brakes on and out of gear. If I am in creeper gear it will over whine the trans though if not carefull!!!

Anyhow if you have TONS of hilly and intend to use it for all ihlly work I would think about getting a HYDRO... I do LOVE my little JM284 but wouldn't want to be running it on the hill side all the time, 90 % of my use is flat terraine and I feel unconfortable using it in the creek some times as angle going in & out I feel off kilter enough to no feel safe... (nearly had it over on side when creek bank gave away under weight of front end... lucky had tiller attached to back which kept it form sliding all way sideways and possably over on side!.

Mark M /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif

 

[JohnS]

Here is a compressed version of the brake diagram. Loss of some details. This shows only one side.

 

[JohnS]

I have added the Jinma Illustrated Parts Manual and the Y385 Engine Illustrated Parts Manual to the website.

 

[Soundguy]

THat's rough.. a new tractor that pops out of gear.. I wouldn't have figured those chineese tractors would have done that.. I've driven a 204.. it felt great.. but then it is light too.

If those brakes on those new tractors are as bad as you guys say, then that is pathetic.

Ford N's are renown for having nearly no brakes.. yet if I hit the pedal the tractor will hold on a grade.. might take a seconfd to slow down.. but at a stop it will hold...and those are 50 year old brakes with leaky oil seals...
As for the poping outta gear.. pathetic too... again...You don't see that on most 50-63 year old domestic tractors.

I was really hoping those jinmas were going to be decent... I love to see them at tool shows and in magazines...

hope these are just isolated incedents...I wouldn't mind getting one later on down the road.

Soundguy

 

[SPIKER]

today i had my backhoe on and backed her to the creek side, digging out gravel. I had it backjed down at a good 30 degree angle and locked brakes it didn't budge, with hoe and FEL on it weight over 5200 lbs easy I'm sure! the brakes worked fine... the engine will sure over whelm them easy though... have a bad habbit of driving around with them locked on... /forums/images/graemlins/ooo.gif anyhow I know there is an adjustment for the shift linkage which will keep it from "Popping out while in REV." it only happens under seveir load and has maybe happened 10 times, never while in drive except 1time when I didn't have it engauged right... I didn't think it was in but it moved so I went, fully loaded FEL with dirt and a 6' box blade ripping hard pan clay. it popped out after the box blade filled up.

Anyhow it sure is worth more than what I paid! also the big 3 cost was way out of line...

Mark M /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif