etpm
Veteran Member
- Joined
- Jun 30, 2021
- Messages
- 2,036
- Location
- Whidbey Island, WA
- Tractor
- Yanmar YM2310, Honda H5013, Case 580 CK, Ford 9N
Years ago my neighbor borrowed a Post Hole Digger, PHD, so we could plant a bunch of fence posts and a few trees. So I learned how well they work in our rocky soil. So about a year and a half ago I bought a new PHD because my wife and I are on a mission to plant lots and lots of trees and bushes. I have a 9 inch auger I bought at a scrap yard for 10 or 20 bucks years ago just in case I ever bought a PHD. I was all set to drill holes.
So I put the new PHD on the Ford and started drilling holes. The 3 point hitch, 3PH, on the old Ford will only rise if the PTO is spinning. This means that if the PHD is mounted it must be spinning in order for it to be raised. Also, because the hydraulic pump in my old Ford leaks a little the 3PH will slowly lower if the PTO is not spinning so when driving around with the PHD I must keep it spinning so that it doesn't lower and drag on the ground. This is dangerous and I hate doing it. When I park a tractor I lower any implements to the ground for safety reasons. Because I cannot raise the Ford 3PH without the PHD spinning and trying to screw itself into the ground I would put a board on the ground and lower the auger onto the board. This way when I start the tractor and go to raise the PHD it doesn't start to drill a hole before it starts to rise. So one day I started the tractor, engaged the PTO lever, let out the clutch, and forgot that I had not raised the lever that raises the 3PH. So the PHD tried to drill into the ground. It couldn't because of the board so it instead skidded off of the board and stuck itself way out behind the tractor. This of course made the U-joints operate at an untenable angle which resulted in a broken U-joint and a distorted yoke. The damaged brand new PHD really made me mad so I decided it was time to get a better tractor than the Ford 9N.
After the PHD fiasco I was complaining to my neighbor about the tractor situation and he was listening because he was drinking my beer. A week or so later he told me he might have found a guy who wanted to sell his tractor. This resulted in me buying a 40 year old Yanmar YM2310 with a FEL. I was just looking for a tractor with a decent 3PH so I could drill holes easily and safely. I wasn't that concerned about getting a tractor with a FEL. But boy am I glad that the tractor came with the FEL.
Even though I used the front bucket, the FEL, on the Case plenty I had never used one on the Ford and so didn't consider it in my decision for getting a tractor to replace the Ford 9N. This was a mistake. I was just looking for another tractor about the same size, but more modern. I should have been looking for a tractor with a FEL but I had blinders on and had not really thought through what would suit my needs best. But after I bought the Yanmar I realized that if a person is only going to have one tractor it should have a FEL. I can't stress this enough. I just got plain lucky. I know, there are all sorts of special applications where a front bucket is not needed or would even get in the way. I am not speaking to the people with those reasons.
I got really lucky in my purchase. I didn't know anything about Yanmar anything except that they made excellent marine engines. When I first looked at the tractor I just did a drive by as it was parked close to the road. On an arm of the FEL was painted the brand name BULLDOG 285. I thought this was the name of the tractor. I looked it up online and saw them selling for $2500.00 and up. The guy wanted $2500.00 for the tractor and I felt this was a fair deal. The tractor had been parked for 2 years without being started and it would not even attempt to turn over. The seller thought it was because mice had chewed some wires. So he said I could try to find the wiring fault because he didn't want to mess with it and if I could fix it and get the tractor running the price would still be $2500.00. Oh, and the seller told me the clutch was stuck from being parked for so long. He said the clutch disc was rusted to the flywheel. He handed me a small manual to look at that had the wiring diagram in it so I decided to try fixing the wiring. Even though the manual said Yanmar I still thought it was a Bulldog 285. I figured it was a Yanmar Bulldog 285 tractor. The FEL was painted the exact same color as the tractor and didn't look at all like an aftermarket add-on. The wiring problem turned out to be rodent piss on the negative battery cable where it bolted to the frame. The seller had charged the battery so after I cleaned the frame and battery cable I tried starting the thing and it started right up! After sitting 2 years. Since I needed a better tractor ASAP and because the seller had been honest about the tractor and the price seemed fair I bought it even though it had that stuck clutch. I drove it home, which was only about 3 miles from my place, with the tractor in the highest gear and the clutch pedal depressed the entire way. About 800 feet from my driveway the clutch finally started to slip. With my son and I using the tractor and clutch as much as possible right away it took almost 3 weeks for the clutch to operate normally.
A big reason I bought the tractor was because the transmission has the Power Shift feature which allows shifting 3 forward speeds and one reverse without stepping on the clutch. The Case has a shuttle shift which allows shifting forward to reverse and back without stepping on the clutch. My old Ford requires stopping and clutching to shift gears. Being able to shift gears without stopping or clutching is a huge benefit, as is being able to change directions without clutching. It also let me start the tractor in neutral and then drive it away from the seller's house because I could shift without using the clutch. The Yanmar has two transmissions, one with 5 speed ranges feeds the other with 3 speed ranges, so 15 speeds in total. The 5 speed tranny feeds the 3 speed tranny. The 5 speed tranny must be shifted with the clutch and the tractor stopped. I knew I could still use the tractor if the clutch was sticking because of the Power Shift.
I wrote the above because I am sure there are plenty of folks who have a small acreage and would benefit from a small tractor to do myriad chores around the place. Folks who don't want to live in the suburbs or the city. But living in a rural or semi rural location and taking care of the land requires work. I'm 66 years old. My wrists were crushed a little over 20 years ago and now both are bone on bone joints. My back is slowly fusing itself, a genetic thing. I am not physically unique by any means, there are plenty of folks with beat up bodies. And my tractor helps me keep up with the work my place requires. A few weeks ago we had a big windstorm and 24 trees came down. All of them alders, no surprise. So my wife and I had and have a lot of cleanup to do. That Yanmar has moved a bunch of wood the last few weeks. I just love the machine. I am amazed how much I rely on it now.
After my experience over the last 20 or so years if I could only have one tractor it would be one like my Yanmar YM2310. Even though my FEL is an aftermarket add on I would not consider buying a tractor without one. Factory or aftermarket. But it should be on the tractor when purchased. For the work I need to do and the size of my parcel the size of tractor I have is great. There are all sorts of tractors in the same size range available. My tractor is rated 23 HP. Some sites say it is 23 at the PTO and others say it is the engine HP. Whatever, it is plenty to drive my auger and would be plenty to drive a 5 foot Bush Hog because the Ford is rated 20HP at the PTO and the engine when I used the Bush Hog already had 60 plus years of use.
I got plenty lucky with the Yanmar purchase seeing as how I didn't know anything about them and thought the FEL name was a Yanmar model name. I just needed another tractor right away and the seller had been honest about the condition of the tractor, it started right up after sitting two years, and seemed to run well. So I bought it. After I bought the tractor and researched it some, which I should have done before the purchase, I found that they were selling for 3 times what I paid. I should have researched it but I was impatient. What if parts weren't available? And they broke down a lot? Anyway, I got lucky but luck can't be counted on.
Anyway, if someone is looking to buy a small tractor, a CUT I think is what my tractor would be classed as, I hope what I wrote might help. I know, the above was pretty long but I'm sure lotsa folks have gone through similar and can relate. I have learned plenty from this site, I think TBN is a great resource, and I hope this might help a new buyer.
Cheers,
Eric
So I put the new PHD on the Ford and started drilling holes. The 3 point hitch, 3PH, on the old Ford will only rise if the PTO is spinning. This means that if the PHD is mounted it must be spinning in order for it to be raised. Also, because the hydraulic pump in my old Ford leaks a little the 3PH will slowly lower if the PTO is not spinning so when driving around with the PHD I must keep it spinning so that it doesn't lower and drag on the ground. This is dangerous and I hate doing it. When I park a tractor I lower any implements to the ground for safety reasons. Because I cannot raise the Ford 3PH without the PHD spinning and trying to screw itself into the ground I would put a board on the ground and lower the auger onto the board. This way when I start the tractor and go to raise the PHD it doesn't start to drill a hole before it starts to rise. So one day I started the tractor, engaged the PTO lever, let out the clutch, and forgot that I had not raised the lever that raises the 3PH. So the PHD tried to drill into the ground. It couldn't because of the board so it instead skidded off of the board and stuck itself way out behind the tractor. This of course made the U-joints operate at an untenable angle which resulted in a broken U-joint and a distorted yoke. The damaged brand new PHD really made me mad so I decided it was time to get a better tractor than the Ford 9N.
After the PHD fiasco I was complaining to my neighbor about the tractor situation and he was listening because he was drinking my beer. A week or so later he told me he might have found a guy who wanted to sell his tractor. This resulted in me buying a 40 year old Yanmar YM2310 with a FEL. I was just looking for a tractor with a decent 3PH so I could drill holes easily and safely. I wasn't that concerned about getting a tractor with a FEL. But boy am I glad that the tractor came with the FEL.
Even though I used the front bucket, the FEL, on the Case plenty I had never used one on the Ford and so didn't consider it in my decision for getting a tractor to replace the Ford 9N. This was a mistake. I was just looking for another tractor about the same size, but more modern. I should have been looking for a tractor with a FEL but I had blinders on and had not really thought through what would suit my needs best. But after I bought the Yanmar I realized that if a person is only going to have one tractor it should have a FEL. I can't stress this enough. I just got plain lucky. I know, there are all sorts of special applications where a front bucket is not needed or would even get in the way. I am not speaking to the people with those reasons.
I got really lucky in my purchase. I didn't know anything about Yanmar anything except that they made excellent marine engines. When I first looked at the tractor I just did a drive by as it was parked close to the road. On an arm of the FEL was painted the brand name BULLDOG 285. I thought this was the name of the tractor. I looked it up online and saw them selling for $2500.00 and up. The guy wanted $2500.00 for the tractor and I felt this was a fair deal. The tractor had been parked for 2 years without being started and it would not even attempt to turn over. The seller thought it was because mice had chewed some wires. So he said I could try to find the wiring fault because he didn't want to mess with it and if I could fix it and get the tractor running the price would still be $2500.00. Oh, and the seller told me the clutch was stuck from being parked for so long. He said the clutch disc was rusted to the flywheel. He handed me a small manual to look at that had the wiring diagram in it so I decided to try fixing the wiring. Even though the manual said Yanmar I still thought it was a Bulldog 285. I figured it was a Yanmar Bulldog 285 tractor. The FEL was painted the exact same color as the tractor and didn't look at all like an aftermarket add-on. The wiring problem turned out to be rodent piss on the negative battery cable where it bolted to the frame. The seller had charged the battery so after I cleaned the frame and battery cable I tried starting the thing and it started right up! After sitting 2 years. Since I needed a better tractor ASAP and because the seller had been honest about the tractor and the price seemed fair I bought it even though it had that stuck clutch. I drove it home, which was only about 3 miles from my place, with the tractor in the highest gear and the clutch pedal depressed the entire way. About 800 feet from my driveway the clutch finally started to slip. With my son and I using the tractor and clutch as much as possible right away it took almost 3 weeks for the clutch to operate normally.
A big reason I bought the tractor was because the transmission has the Power Shift feature which allows shifting 3 forward speeds and one reverse without stepping on the clutch. The Case has a shuttle shift which allows shifting forward to reverse and back without stepping on the clutch. My old Ford requires stopping and clutching to shift gears. Being able to shift gears without stopping or clutching is a huge benefit, as is being able to change directions without clutching. It also let me start the tractor in neutral and then drive it away from the seller's house because I could shift without using the clutch. The Yanmar has two transmissions, one with 5 speed ranges feeds the other with 3 speed ranges, so 15 speeds in total. The 5 speed tranny feeds the 3 speed tranny. The 5 speed tranny must be shifted with the clutch and the tractor stopped. I knew I could still use the tractor if the clutch was sticking because of the Power Shift.
I wrote the above because I am sure there are plenty of folks who have a small acreage and would benefit from a small tractor to do myriad chores around the place. Folks who don't want to live in the suburbs or the city. But living in a rural or semi rural location and taking care of the land requires work. I'm 66 years old. My wrists were crushed a little over 20 years ago and now both are bone on bone joints. My back is slowly fusing itself, a genetic thing. I am not physically unique by any means, there are plenty of folks with beat up bodies. And my tractor helps me keep up with the work my place requires. A few weeks ago we had a big windstorm and 24 trees came down. All of them alders, no surprise. So my wife and I had and have a lot of cleanup to do. That Yanmar has moved a bunch of wood the last few weeks. I just love the machine. I am amazed how much I rely on it now.
After my experience over the last 20 or so years if I could only have one tractor it would be one like my Yanmar YM2310. Even though my FEL is an aftermarket add on I would not consider buying a tractor without one. Factory or aftermarket. But it should be on the tractor when purchased. For the work I need to do and the size of my parcel the size of tractor I have is great. There are all sorts of tractors in the same size range available. My tractor is rated 23 HP. Some sites say it is 23 at the PTO and others say it is the engine HP. Whatever, it is plenty to drive my auger and would be plenty to drive a 5 foot Bush Hog because the Ford is rated 20HP at the PTO and the engine when I used the Bush Hog already had 60 plus years of use.
I got plenty lucky with the Yanmar purchase seeing as how I didn't know anything about them and thought the FEL name was a Yanmar model name. I just needed another tractor right away and the seller had been honest about the condition of the tractor, it started right up after sitting two years, and seemed to run well. So I bought it. After I bought the tractor and researched it some, which I should have done before the purchase, I found that they were selling for 3 times what I paid. I should have researched it but I was impatient. What if parts weren't available? And they broke down a lot? Anyway, I got lucky but luck can't be counted on.
Anyway, if someone is looking to buy a small tractor, a CUT I think is what my tractor would be classed as, I hope what I wrote might help. I know, the above was pretty long but I'm sure lotsa folks have gone through similar and can relate. I have learned plenty from this site, I think TBN is a great resource, and I hope this might help a new buyer.
Cheers,
Eric
