N80
Super Member
After learning that I could use the FEL on my L4400 to grub pine trees in wet soil, I decided to clear the hillside in front of my cabin. It was covered in planted pines that obscured our view of the 10 acre pond below. I was surprised how effective this powerful little tractor was when the ground was fairly soft. I popped many of these pines right out of the ground, some of them 8" in diameter and 25' tall. This is what I accomplished:
I felt that at times I was pushing the tractor to its limits and worried about breaking something big. But nothing bad ever happened until I started pushing the trees into piles along the sides of the clearing. Then, out of the blue a slender snakey cedar branch went up inside the engine compartment, made a few turns, busted through the fan cowling and poked a hole in my radiator. This was part of the process of getting the radiator out:
http://www.tractorbynet.com/photos/data/529/22347Tear_down-med.JPG
And this is what the radiator looks like now:
http://www.tractorbynet.com/photos/data/529/22347Hole-med.JPG
It is now Sunday afternoon so the dealer and radiator shops are closed. Anyone know if something like this can be repaired at a radiator shop? And if it can't, anyone have any idea how much a new radiator will cost?
This obviously isn't the worst thing that could happen doing this kind of work, but its enough that I will probably not undertake any more major clearing jobs. Thanks for any input.
I felt that at times I was pushing the tractor to its limits and worried about breaking something big. But nothing bad ever happened until I started pushing the trees into piles along the sides of the clearing. Then, out of the blue a slender snakey cedar branch went up inside the engine compartment, made a few turns, busted through the fan cowling and poked a hole in my radiator. This was part of the process of getting the radiator out:
http://www.tractorbynet.com/photos/data/529/22347Tear_down-med.JPG
And this is what the radiator looks like now:
http://www.tractorbynet.com/photos/data/529/22347Hole-med.JPG
It is now Sunday afternoon so the dealer and radiator shops are closed. Anyone know if something like this can be repaired at a radiator shop? And if it can't, anyone have any idea how much a new radiator will cost?
This obviously isn't the worst thing that could happen doing this kind of work, but its enough that I will probably not undertake any more major clearing jobs. Thanks for any input.