Buying Advice Looking at NH LB75.B 4x4

[jinman]

Well, it's gonna be Monday or Tuesday before I get delivery on the LB75B. I called the dealer for a progress report this morning. He said they needed to replace a rear axle bearing and did not order it when they ordered the seal. That made them have to wait a couple more days. They are finishing up the tractor now and will check every grease zerk to make sure they take grease and grease the tractor and clean it up for me before delivery. I told him as long as he was fixin' stuff on my tractor, he could take all the time he wanted.

Now, I'm wondering if my wife would notice if I bought a set of quick attach forks for the TC45D and had them delivered with the tractor? Hmm. . . sounds like a plan.:thumbsup:

 

[JC-jetro]

Hey Jim,

Let me be first one to congratulate on your purchase :thumbsup::thumbsup:

Please share your lessons learned and projects. It'll be fun to have some play time

JC,

 

[doall]

You lucky dog. I agree don't loan out expensive toys. Unless it's to someone you really trust and know they can afford to fix it. Nice machine.

 

[jinman]

I went to the dealer yesterday and paid for my tractor and a new set of pallet forks. They will be delivered on Friday. I should have pictures by this weekend.:thumbsup:

The tractor was still on their washing pad yesterday afternoon where they are pressure washing and scrubbing it clean. I couldn't believe how good of a job they are doing. It's really improved its appearance. The sales manager checked the pocket behind the seat and there was the Operator's Manual. I brought it home last night and read it cover-to-cover. (I'm OCD about having/reading manuals.) Here's a trivia fact. The backhoe by itself has 30 grease zerks. I believe the loader has over 20 (don't remember exactly). That means I'm going to have to budget much more money for grease. While the tractor has zerks that get grease every 25 to 250 hours, the loader and backhoe are supposed to be greased once for each 8 hours of use. That's a bunch of grease, 50 zerks minimum every 8 hours. Whew! My Lincoln battery powered grease gun is gonna get a workout.

 

[EddieWalker]

I've tried to count all the zirk fittings on mine, but always forget before I finish. I know there are quite a few. I use two greese guns. One with the flexible hose, and another with the hard one. It takes a good tube and a half to do all of them.

Looking forward to those pictures, and your impressions of it.

Eddie

 

[jinman]

My LB75B was delivered early yesterday morning. I posted pictures in the Construction Equipment forum. It's going to take awhile until I get used to it and feel comfortable. Even so, I dug up some huge rocks yesterday that my TC45D won't even touch.:thumbsup:

 

[Pops15]

Yeah Jim, you'll need allot of grease. I went through 3 tubes on my 555 last night. Everything was pretty dry. Previous owner wasn't great at maintenance. The lube intervals on mine are 10 hours on the loader and 50 on the hoe.

Just a heads up in case yours is the same.....I took the grille off of mine just to nose around and found there are U-joints in the hydraulic pump drive that are not mentioned in the owners manual. The front one on mine hasn't had grease for a long time. I haven't checked the back one yet.

The guy that did our dirt work years ago would give every zerk one pump of grease every morning. If he was doing allot of serious work with the hoe he'd give the zerks a shot of grease before starting up after lunch. Not a bad idea at all as it pushes dirt out and reduces wear.

You'll love the forks on your TC45. :thumbsup: When your wife isn't looking you'll need to get a set for your LB75 that have the brackets that weld to the bucket so you can lift really heavy stuff.

 

[jinman]

I now have added 100 hours to my LB75B and I'm very pleased. The hardest part of maintenance is daily greasing, but that is absolutely necessary in my opinion. It keeps everything running so smoothly. I only have one leak in the whole tractor. That's the one where fuel leaks through the engine and out the exhaust. Whew! I'm using about 1 gallon of fuel per hour, so that is not bad at all. Really, the toughest thing is filling five 5-gal containers and hauling them home. The power and function of this machine is just excellent. It truly makes me feel like I can do anything. The engine starts instantly and runs smoothly. The drivetrain and shuttle are tight and the torque converter seems perfect. Electric clutches actuated with buttons on the gearshift or FEL joystick make operation a pleasure. I know there are lots of machines out there with more modern controls and auto-shifting transmissions, but this machine is everything a guy like me, who doesn't operate it for a living, will ever need. I really think I got good value for my money on this purchase. :thumbsup: