Missed it by that much

[widefat]

...in a good way.
I have learned ( I thought) to be very careful when doing any time of brush and tree work with my tractor. But, sometimes things still escape my attention.
I was pushing some brush around saturday. I had seemingly policed the area and thought I has a good grasp of my surroundings.
I started to back up, and heard an awful grinding(?) scraping(?) sound that immediately reminded me of stripping gears.
I immediately shutdown and climbed down and checked the left side - no fluids running our or dripping.
I walk to the right side, and see a one inch stick jammed up the side BETWEEN the fuel filter and engine case, all the way up against the radiator fan. The fan edge was making the noise.
The stick was wedged tight, I had to cut it to get it out.
The end result, no damage other than a little bit of grindage to the outer edge of the fan blades.
Talk about lucky - I could have broken the fuel filter off, pierced the radiator, any number of things.

 

[D2Cat]

Yep, sometimes the bear gets you and sometimes you get the bear! A little stick in the wrong place can get expensive!

 

[EddieWalker]

Smart to stop so quickly. I've never been so lucky. I've had the oil sensor on the engine block broken off by a twig that worked it's way into the engine bay and I only knew it happened by seeing the oil shooting out through the seams in the engine cover. Not a huge expense to repair, but very messy and time consuming to get a new sensor and get the broken out threads out of the block.

 

[jeff9366]

It pretty cheap to have underside of tractor armored with expanded steel.

To armor my L3560 only four fender washers and two fabricated tabs with holes and two bolts/nuts were required; in addition to the expanded steel.

It is worth shopping for heavy gauge expanded steel.

LINK: STEEL EXPANDED 3/4" #9 FLAT 36" x 48" PERFECT FOR B.B.Q | eBay

 

[MH8675309]

I knew it!! The old stick against the radiator fan blade trick!!

 

[widefat]

I knew it!! The old stick against the radiator fan blade trick!!

:applause: :applause:

 

[widefat]

It pretty cheap to have underside of tractor armored with expanded steel.

To armor my L3560 only four fender washers and two fabricated tabs with holes and two bolts/nuts were required; in addition to the expanded steel.

It is worth shopping for heavy gauge expanded steel.

LINK: STEEL EXPANDED 3/4" #9 FLAT 36" x 48" PERFECT FOR B.B.Q | eBay

I have thought about this many times. Time to get off my keister and do it.

 

[JLH4]

^^^^^ and radiator grille.

 

[Jstpssng]

Yep, sometimes the bear gets you and sometimes you get the bear! A little stick in the wrong place can get expensive!

I could go someplace with that but I won't.

I had a similar experience as the OP on my L275. Not quite the same though, as I smashed the sediment bowl and was paunched for the weekend. The only good part was that my neighbors were cutting wood across the road, and towed me back home. Of course I heard for months about getting towed by a John Deere.

 

[ovrszd]

Before I could reach the key I sheared all the blades off my Kubota fan......

 

[widefat]

Before I could reach the key I sheared all the blades off my Kubota fan......

...and the shrapnel pierced the radiator.....

 

[ovrszd]

I lucked out there. Only repair was new fan.

 

[Jim Nelson]

A few years ago I saw an ad on C.L. for a good looking Woods mower,ad said "needs work". I called and the guy said it had a squeal and he didn't have time to repair it. I quickly looked up the mower parts list and figured it would be an easy fix so I bought it for $150. Got it home and there was a stick about the size of a pencil jammed under a belt and against a pulley. Problem solved and I still use the mower all mowing season with never a problem.Not all encounters with brush are bad for everyone involved.

 

[D2Cat]

Jim, that's good! Some folks just give up to early, or maybe just clueless.

 

[ovrszd]

Jim, that's good! Some folks just give up to early, or maybe just clueless.

Or looking for an excuse to buy a new mower.

 

[4570Man]

Or looking for an excuse to buy a new mower.

When I bought my Grasshopper for $500 they claimed the drive motor was down and it only drove in circles. I figured I might get lucky on the repair and even if it never cut grass again a running Kubota diesel was worth $500 so I bought it. I did get lucky and the linkage between the handles and the pump was messed up. An hours work and no dollars and it was cutting grass again. I don’t think they ever even looked for the source of the problem because they had a new Hustler super Z in the shed. Government efficiency at its finest. Dump a $10,000 or more mower because a 2 cent bolt fell out.