nortrac???????

[Threepoint]

Bluebonnet2, congratulations! Enjoying this thread. I knew nothing about the Nortrac other than from the Northern catalog, so thanks for the posts. :thumbsup: Looks like you're going to have fun with that tractor.

 

[BLUEBONNET2]

good evening,

thanks for all the comments and well wishes............


........I'll really put it to the test next week....got some "Johnson grass" about 6'...will cut half a mower width till I get it knocked down....I gotta remember the fel and the sun roof around trees..........lol....nortrac DID service the cutter gearbox, so now I gotta check it out, prolly have to drain some gear lube out....don't want to blow any seals....

ordered a 60" tooth bar from "yankee warehouse"......should help out around here a bunch....will post foto's later...

good luck,
PURA VIDA,
bluebonnet2

 

[tcreeley]

Nice looking tractor- enjoy it!

 

[zonta223]

good evening,

thanks for all the comments and well wishes............


........I'll really put it to the test next week....got some "Johnson grass" about 6'...will cut half a mower width till I get it knocked down....I gotta remember the fel and the sun roof around trees..........lol....nortrac DID service the cutter gearbox, so now I gotta check it out, prolly have to drain some gear lube out....don't want to blow any seals....

ordered a 60" tooth bar from "yankee warehouse"......should help out around here a bunch....will post foto's later...

good luck,
PURA VIDA,
bluebonnet2

If the grass has a lot of chaff I suggest you put a screen/filter in front of the radiator and just keep an eye on the engine temps.

 

[namesray]

hey bluebonnet2, glad to hear you got your tractor fixed and that it was a quick simple fix for you.

I was wondering how you like the gearing speeds and transmission operation on the nortrac 25xt. Seems like a few of the comments from owners is that there is no good gear for bush hogging and it is geared that you have a hard time getting up to the upper gears (5-8) without bogging the engine or stalling.

Another question is how well do the brakes work? Don't know how steep Texas is, but do you think those brakes hold on a very steep hill, both pedal brakes and parking brake? That is one thing I really liked on the nortrac over my kubotas is that the parking brake was activated with a pull handle/lever instead of a pedal interlock lever like on the kubotas.

Keep us posted, looking forward to more photos if you have time.

 

[BLUEBONNET2]

good evening,

so far the best "bushhogging" gear for me is L....3......about 2000 rpm.....I'm still playing with it.....and the shuttle shift.....here is some of what I'm doing now, got about 3 more acres to do



it about 3-5 ft tall, taking it easy....

yes the pto problem was an easy fix, I have no idea what caused the **** thing to come loose..."u type clevis"....I guess the cotter pins came out...

the brakes are great, course its new...I really like the parking brake also....I don't know how they would work on steep inclines..they are fairly quick for me......loving the 4 WD...I do have an issue see the bucket level, however, this is my first tractor with a fel........I'm getting there....my toothbar has been shipped....(yankee warehouse)...

good luck,
PURA VIDA,
bluebonnet2

 

[BLUEBONNET2]

BTW

,,,it has a screen in front of the radiator, I just lift the hood and wash it down....will try to get a foto in the morning...

also, some where in this section..someone mention hydrostatic tranny's....Tom, told me nortrac looked at this and decide to stick with shuttleshift because hydro's have "too much" going on inside when operating....thus more maintenance issues and repairs...pls more power to the axles and pto...plus pricing....they wanted to keep it simple....I understand.....





bluebonnet2

 

[cleat]

I made a bucket level indicator for mine. I love it and use it all the time

 

[BLUEBONNET2]

good morning,

cleat....if you make another one....let me know....lol...

here's the foto of the screen....



hope you can see it.....

good luck,
PURA VIDA,
bluebonnet2

 

[Bob Rooks]

BTW

,,,it has a screen in front of the radiator, I just lift the hood and wash it down....will try to get a foto in the morning...

also, some where in this section..someone mention hydrostatic tranny's....Tom, told me nortrac looked at this and decide to stick with shuttleshift because hydro's have "too much" going on inside when operating....thus more maintenance issues and repairs...pls more power to the axles and pto...plus pricing....they wanted to keep it simple....I understand.....

bluebonnet2

A lot of folks replace that screen with a pleated furnace filter or bulk furnace filter media. Much more efficient and easier to service.
What Tom told you about hydrostatic drives (not a "tranny") is only partially true. There isn't more maintenance issues. In fact there is less. Both my skid steer and excavator have hydrostatic drives. Very simple concept - hydraulic pump driven by a diesel engine and hydraulic motors, but the initial cost is considerably higher. That's the true part.

 

[California]

A lot of folks replace that screen with a pleated furnace filter or bulk furnace filter media. Much more efficient and easier to service.
What Tom told you about hydrostatic drives (not a "tranny") is only partially true. There isn't more maintenance issues. In fact there is less. Both my skid steer and excavator have hydrostatic drives. Very simple concept - hydraulic pump driven by a diesel engine and hydraulic motors, but the initial cost is considerably higher. That's the true part.

Yes but ...

I think each of those points is valid in some circumstances but there can be other cases where a different solution is preferable.

For the radiator screen, wire mesh won't be damaged by backflushing with a garden hose. It won't keep the radiator fins as pristine, but a garden hose washdown at the end of the day without disassembling anything is quicker to accomplish than pulling and servicing a furnace filter.

For anything hydrostatic, the mystery fluids (hazardous waste disposal? ) and casting sand floating around in the early Jinma manual transmissions must have scared off Northern Tool from importing anything but manual transmissions, to keep their warranty costs down. Hopefully the Fotons sold now have much better quality control.

And for a tractor used heavily for pto work, mowing or tilling etc, the power loss in a hydrostatic pto is larger than a manual transmission. I'm thinking of the Mahindras where the difference in ratings is substantial. Seems to me all that lost energy in the transmission is felt as heat by the operator.

Hydrostatic is great if you need to change speed or direction all the time, mowing in close quarters etc. For longer runs, discing or tilling etc, I think manual is more efficient. Either has its place but the application should be considered in choosing which is preferable.

 

[cleat]

My garden tractors are all hydro and they work great but my DF diesel is a shuttle shift gear drive and works great for what I use it for, mainly snow removal and driveway grading.

Cleat

 

[BLUEBONNET2]

good afternoon,


look what came while I was in town.............





weight 66#....3/4" steel teeth.....yankee warehouse....less than $300.....about 8 day turn around, not to bad....these folks seem like real good people....

next week will be fun...

this is what happened yesterday.......



in stock at NAPA....$1.53.....go figure...I didn't check everything....lol....added locktite blue.........so far so good.....

good luck,
PURA VIDA,
bluebonnet2

 

[cleat]

Exact same thing happened to me the first year I had my DongFeng. I was able to find the nut in the yard, the washer was long gone. I put it back together (don't remember if I used loctite or not) and it has not happened since.

Seems like the first year bolts were coming loose all over the tractor and I tightened everything as soon as I got it. After that it seems to have stopped and everything just stays tight.

Cleat

 

[quicksandfarmer]

I put a bottle of loctite in my tool box. Whenever a nut comes loose I put a drop on when I tighten it. Like Cleat, I had a lot of loose nuts at first, now hardly any.

I also have gotten into the habit of using a torque wrench and in my toolbox I keep a chart of recommended maximum torques, available here:
US & Metric Bolt Torque by Grade

Bolts that I have torqued don't seem to rattle off, which leads me to believe they don't torque them at the factory. On a new tractor it might be worth going around with a torque wrench and torquing every bolt you can.

 

[cleat]

I believe a large difference between a green or orange tractor and a Chinese tractor is the assembly. It seems a lot of engineering has went into the design but the bolt torquing and general fitment seems a little off.

Likely due somewhat to the lack of training and low pay the workers get.

The one main part that seemed to be assembled and torqued properly so far as I have been able to tell is the engine itself.

Cleat

 

[SPIKER]

good afternoon,


...this is what happened yesterday.......



in stock at NAPA....$1.53.....go figure...I didn't check everything....lol....added locktite blue.........so far so good.....

good luck,
PURA VIDA,
bluebonnet2

Mine I broke about 2 weeks back, was using the box blade and ripping roots around some trees I cut down last year. Snapped it clean but since I was close found washer and bolt/eyelet half's and grabbed the 7018 & mask. I knew where it happened even though it was 30 min or so till I noticed the box was swinging around too much. I went back as I ripped by and was stopped dead so looked there & picked up the parts...

no before pics but after pics

welded up


starting to clean it up



and finished




Mark

 

[BLUEBONNET2]

good afternoon,

here is what happened today.......would not start, no dash lights, nothing, crawled around, checked fuses, etc...,,,,,,,,,,,called nortrac....service guy said the positive battery cable, somehow, rubbed thru, or the clip was to tight and shorted out the battery.....new battery and wiring clip......the green light was still visible.....

now the tooth bar....about 45 min.....had to work a bit to get the fit I wanted.....grade 8 bolts with Loctite...

RIGHT SIDE......



LEFT SIDE.



COMPLETE.........



will put it to work later.....

I would like to say..........everyone at Nortrac has been great!!!!!!!!!!!

good luck,
PURA VIDA,
bluebonnet2

 

[BLUEBONNET2]

good evening,



after 8 gal. of fuel, and about 6 hrs today of hard mowing........I like it........total hrs 15.....other than the above issues, the little machine is impressive, it just keeps digging.......starts right up, after about 20 seconds for the glow plugs.....still like the cockpit...will take a look at the hi-lo shifter handle....its tall....I really like the exhaust points down..........

now the tooth bar from yankee warehouse.........leveled my road(1800 ft.) in about 2 hrs....backdragging and pushing gravel.....I think if you have a fel, the tooth bar is a must........

will keep you posted........

good luck,
PURA VIDA,
bluebonnet2

 

[BLUEBONNET2]

good morning,


today I got a big surprise!!!!!!!!!!!!!! trungh, the store mgr. in tyler, tx brought me this.....for the original paperwork screwup.............




the northern tractor quick hitch................FREE FREEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! no charge..............


.


came on his day off.........1.5 hrs away......what a guy.............

all the folks at nortrac have been great.... what a surprise!!!!!!!!!!!!

will mount next week.........

good luck,
PURA VIDA,
bluebonnet2