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GeneV
Elite Member
Jimbo u the man, heck ya, keeping busy keeps you young...gotta change your name to Imyoung.
Skid plate for GC series tractors
- Thread starter GeneV
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Imold
Platinum Member
- Joined
- Jul 23, 2019
- Messages
- 806
- Location
- West Central Mn.
- Tractor
- MF GC1705, Cub Cadet RZTL, Husqvarna Rider.
Hahaha no I am definitely old, if I was in good health heck ya I would only be in my 20s.
Just an update on the Bro-Tek Skid Plate - they are currently shipping them. I ordered one on 11/22/2019 and received it 11/30/2019 in Southern Illinois (pretty impressive imo considering it comes from Canada). Install was on a 2018 GC1715. I had thought about building one myself, but after figuring the money and time it would take, seemed like a no-brainer just to order one. Time is a limiting factor for me -- would have been a fun project to build, but too much stuff going on. Bolted up easily and quickly - no holes or modifications to be done on the skid plate or tractor. Will come off and back to stock just as easily.
This thing is a beast - looks like it will shield the hydro fan extremely well, and also blocks the hydraulic lines, filter, rear end, and the hydro fluid drain plug. I also have a 2" receiver bolted on in place of the factory hitch, so was concerned that this would prevent me from using the two rear mounting holes for the bro-tek plate, but there was no interference. The hydro fan has plenty of free open space on the sides and over the top of the skid plate, so I don't think there will be any issue with restricted flow (no more than a MMM would). Also, Bro-Tek has put a drain plug access hole in the bottom, so no need to drop the skid plate to change hydraulic fluid. Cut out is also in front of the mid-pto, and comes with the plate that blocks it off. I personally don't use my GC with a MMM, but i did not see anything that would make me think there would be any clearance issues if I did. This skid plate is tucked up nicely, seems very strong, and super easy to install. The only downside I saw on it is that it does lower your rear clearance by approximately an inch under the rear end. I could see that in really sloppy mud or snow, the skid plate may cause the tractor to float and not allow the rear tires to maintain traction. Personally, I think this is a good trade off, as I have already chewed up the hydraulic fan on two separate occasions and it is not a lot of fun to change.
This thing is a beast - looks like it will shield the hydro fan extremely well, and also blocks the hydraulic lines, filter, rear end, and the hydro fluid drain plug. I also have a 2" receiver bolted on in place of the factory hitch, so was concerned that this would prevent me from using the two rear mounting holes for the bro-tek plate, but there was no interference. The hydro fan has plenty of free open space on the sides and over the top of the skid plate, so I don't think there will be any issue with restricted flow (no more than a MMM would). Also, Bro-Tek has put a drain plug access hole in the bottom, so no need to drop the skid plate to change hydraulic fluid. Cut out is also in front of the mid-pto, and comes with the plate that blocks it off. I personally don't use my GC with a MMM, but i did not see anything that would make me think there would be any clearance issues if I did. This skid plate is tucked up nicely, seems very strong, and super easy to install. The only downside I saw on it is that it does lower your rear clearance by approximately an inch under the rear end. I could see that in really sloppy mud or snow, the skid plate may cause the tractor to float and not allow the rear tires to maintain traction. Personally, I think this is a good trade off, as I have already chewed up the hydraulic fan on two separate occasions and it is not a lot of fun to change.
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GeneV
Elite Member
Oh, that's actually pretty nice! And that was like 100 something bux, right? I'll wait to see if CBCGC1715 comes up with something interesting since we were all cheering him on to design/build one.
Imold
Platinum Member
- Joined
- Jul 23, 2019
- Messages
- 806
- Location
- West Central Mn.
- Tractor
- MF GC1705, Cub Cadet RZTL, Husqvarna Rider.
Good to hear, the Bro-Tek tucks up under way better then the one I am making so I might need to look at it a bit closer, my plate build is on hold being it is winter and my 1705 is parked and plus I have a HF trencher on they way and have a list of mods or add ons to do to that.
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GeneV
Elite Member
So what it cost ya? Is listed @ $140 on their website, but I dunno if that's the old design then.
MF RED in MT
Veteran Member
I'd have to go back and look at the sales invoice, but if I recall, it was around 260 including shipping. I know labor rates vary from shop to shop, but I figured it probably wasn't a whole lot more than having a dealer put a new plastic hydro cooling fan on (or at least that's how I justified it to myself). The last hydro fan I changed myself.... not a fun job, but not terrible - would have been much better if I had sprayed all the mud off first and there was just a little more room to work. Biggest issue was having the tractor down for a few days while I waited for parts, and then being afraid to take my tractor over anything that resembled tall grass or a stick, with the fear of chewing up another fan. Figured the skid plate would not only protect the fan, but make me feel a little better about using my machine.
To put in context the vulnerability of the plastic hydro fan that cools the rear end - it is completely exposed from the front between the frame rails if you don't have a MMM hanging underneath, and it is plastic. The first fan blade I lost was from a hold down bracket on the hydraulic line that worked loose and slid back into the fan. A skid plate would not have prevented this failure. I didn't know this was the cause until I had everything apart. Dealer was happy to have warranty cover the parts. Second fan blade I lost was from a small stick (smaller in diameter than my pinky finger) that rotated upwards as I drove over it with the rear tire and perfectly contacted the spinning fan. Besides the installed audible warning device (sounds a lot like sticking a pencil into a running fan), there would be no way to know that this was damaged without getting under the tractor to inspect. Both of these fan contact failures occurred at my home, driving through a lawn that is mowed at least once-twice a week, 3" tall grass. In my opinion, the design and placement of this unprotected plastic fan, is a horrible choice of design on Iseki/MF's part. I am probably one of the few that use this machine though without the MMM, so there is a lot more exposure. Luckily I caught both failures nearly immediately, so I don't feel there was any risk of getting the rear end too hot, and both times the other fan blades remained intact, so it was still providing most of the airflow.
The next time I used my brush hog hanging off the 3pt, I was very hesitant to cut anything that I could not have done with my ZTR, and chose to back through a lot of what I needed to cut. Inspected the fan blades afterwards and hadn't struck anything that damaged the fan, but I did spend a few minutes untangling tall grass that had wrapped itself around it. Some of the skid plate designs I had looked at or considered building myself left the bottom of the cooling fins on the rear end uncovered, which means they would only be getting natural air flow (not fan powered). I didn't like that design. When I contacted Bro-Tek to see if they had the new ones ready yet for the GC1715, they emailed me a few pics and looked to be exactly what I was wanting - does not restrict the airflow, blocks the fan entirely, and also provides more adequate protection to the filter, rear end, lines, etc.
Disclaimer - there is not actually an audible warning device on the fan.
The next time I used my brush hog hanging off the 3pt, I was very hesitant to cut anything that I could not have done with my ZTR, and chose to back through a lot of what I needed to cut. Inspected the fan blades afterwards and hadn't struck anything that damaged the fan, but I did spend a few minutes untangling tall grass that had wrapped itself around it. Some of the skid plate designs I had looked at or considered building myself left the bottom of the cooling fins on the rear end uncovered, which means they would only be getting natural air flow (not fan powered). I didn't like that design. When I contacted Bro-Tek to see if they had the new ones ready yet for the GC1715, they emailed me a few pics and looked to be exactly what I was wanting - does not restrict the airflow, blocks the fan entirely, and also provides more adequate protection to the filter, rear end, lines, etc.
Disclaimer - there is not actually an audible warning device on the fan.