Tractor Accident - Lets be safe

[chrisjbell]

Scary stuff. I just had the top link pin on a Woods BH9500 / Kubota M6800 snap on me today. That was some scary stuff - I was digging up a stump when the pin snapped and the backhoe assembly just flew back towards the ground.

Ironically, the ladies playing golf (I work at a golf course) just kept on going...

(I was OK and rigged a pin up to get the tractor back to the shop. I was done for the day after that...)

 

[Kendall69]

I got the %^&* scared out of me last year. I was burning a huge pile of brush on my land ( I had a fire permit to burn) and was pushing the pile tighter into the fire with the bucket. Flames were up about 20 ft. in the air and growing, as I made the next push, when the tractor stalled in the fire.

New tractor with 10 hours on it. The fire started to flare, and I only had seconds to either start it or jump clear. It started, and I flew out of the inferno - and that was the last pile I ever burned.

 

[JayDavis]

If he was tapping the solenoid, then maybe his screwdriver bridged the battery connection to the starter....effectively hot wiring the tractor...doing this probably also bypassed the clutch safety that keeps a tractor (or auto) from being started without the clutch depressed. Between the low gearing and the strong starter needed for a diesel, the initial surge that knocked him off the tractor could have been the sudden pull of the starter engaging.

The reason I mention this is when the slave cylinder on my truck went out, I could get it started by putting the truck in 1st gear and pressing the clutch (the clutch didn't work, but by pushing it, the safety would let the truck start) and turn the key. The starter would roll the truck down the road at 3-4mph until the engine caught and started to run. After that I could sync-shift and make it home...luckily there were no stops along the way.