We All Live In An Orange Submarine

[sunandsand]

Update . . . he's finally admitting to himself that his tractor is busted right and proper, and he is simply going to have to take it apart. He's not quite there yet, but he's realizing he can't avoid the inevitable much longer.

He's thinking a bent rod, I'm thinking possibly that and a cracked piston. He says it stops smoking (mostly) once it is warmed up, but is still down on power.

It was also determined that the PTO shaft on the gang mower was the wrong one. There was no shear bolt and no slip clutch. The weakest link was the square steel drive shaft inside the PTO shaft, which curled up like a pretzel. I'm astonished the PTO drive in the tractor didn't seem to get damaged, but we won't know that for sure until the new PTO comes in and he puts it on.

He still hasn't been able to remove the rear yoke on the gang mower input, he says he wants to try to save that part. (I don't know why, but it isn't my decision.)

In the meantime, I'm going to take a strong magnet, tie a rope to it and to a length of PVC pipe, and go magnet fishing in that "shallow looking pond". Knowing the history of the property, I'm pretty confident that there is "stuff" down there, some of which probably shouldn't be.


And while we are at it, the neighbor with the big green JD bought a stump grinder from one of the well known accessory manufacturers (or more accurately, importers - it was made in China).

We installed it on his tractor and he was itching to try it out. I said hang on a moment, y'all think we ought read the instructions? Nah, what for? Well it sez here make sure to lubricate all the grease fittings (so I did). Then I got to wondering if there was any oil in the gearbox. Used an unbent coat hangar for a dipstick - and it was dry as a bone. If he'd run it, and he planned to put it to work immediately, it would have been a short, merry, and expensive life.

Real men don't read instructions? This one does.

And Scootr is right, I have no need for a TV with all the local entertainment I'm getting!

Best Regards,

Mike/Florida

 

[scootr]

I'm right jealous. Obviously
I need a better class of neighbors.

 

[jyoutz]

I'm right jealous. Obviously
I need a better class of neighbors.

“Better” class? Or more entertaining neighbors?

 

[stuckmotor]

I have a neighbor who has an MX4700.

He evidently believes that NDT is strictly for wimps. He BREAKS stuff, big time. This time, he has absolutely outdone himself.

Disclaimer - he's a good neighbor and a friend, and I'm not mad at him - just a little in awe this time. He thinks I'm too much of a perfectionist (and has told me so), I think he's a tad too casual with his machinery (I've kept my mouth shut), but this makes the world go around.

Now last week, he was mowing. He has a gang mower, I think it is about ten feet across, and it is a Bush Hog brand. He hit something very, very solid, and the shear bolt either refused to shear or had been replaced with a grade 14 depleted uranium bolt or something and it did NOT let go. Tractor stalled . . .

I saw the remains of the PTO shaft. Inside that cover is a solid steel bar with about an inch and a quarter or an inch and a half cross section. It was twisted like a pretzel, maybe two full twists in two feet - impressive.

His problem with this is that he can't get the rear PTO U-joint yoke off the splined shaft on the mower. He removed the bolt, but the yoke will NOT come off. He's used some serious stuff on it, big breaker bars, an auto body shop hydraulic spreader (junior grade jaws of life), lots of profanity, no dice, it isn't moving.

I suggested that there might be a snap ring but he said no, it is only the bolt, the yoke is just stuck on the spline. (Maybe he will go look for a snap ring, we will see.)

OK, so now we get to the good part.

Yesterday, he was using his root rake to clean up our easement. There were rocks and roots on it, he was "shaving" it to make it somewhat smoother (it still stinks). He had a rake full of roots, brush, rocks, etc., and he decided to dump it into a small pond adjacent to the easement.

What he told me was that this pond looked to be pretty shallow, so he didn't think twice. Guess what - the pond was an old borrow pit and is at the least six or seven feet deep, probably more. (There's another one on his property that he already knows about, but he didn't know about this one.)

Front of the tractor went underwater, intake ingested water, tractor stopped. Blub blub blub. He got off and back to dry land with the tractor abut two thirds submerged.

(I would have helped him retrieve the tractor but I wasn't around, the first I knew of it was when I saw his tractor at the side of the easement dripping water lilies and mud, and liberally festooned with other acquatic plants.)

He pulled it out using his gnarly 4WD super duty Chebby work truck. To get it to come out, he had to disconnect the root rake because it is stuck on something down there (Nessie?). He did put a buoy on it so he can find it when he goes back for it later.

The tractor did start, but it is not running on all cylinders, and is making noises that indicate a sick, sick, sick engine. He suspects a bent valve ("Its only a flesh wound!"), my experience with running engines that have ingested water tells me to look for bent con rods as well. I have my fingers crossed on this, he's taking it apart later this week.

So two questions:

1) Any idea why the rear U-joint yoke won't come off the spline on the mower?

2) Damages to look for on an inadvertent Kubota submarine? (We already know the submarine's screen door leaks "a little", what else should he look for?) Drain the green gold transmission fluids and change all the filters? I think this time he's seriously hurt this poor tractor . . .

Best Regards,

Mike/Florida

Mike,
I like the way you told that story. It kept me entertained.

 

[deezler]

Agreed, been some good story telling in here. Now I think what we need is a few pics. Pond full of debris, smokey running tractor, sly grinning neighbor wielding a big hammer, etc.

 

[scootr]

“Better” class? Or more entertaining neighbors?

More entertaining would be better. Nothing exciting happens around here

 

[alexpops]

More entertaining would be better. Nothing exciting happens around here

I guess Temecula changed. I seem to remember a restaurant there where every Tuesday was Lingerie day & the waitresses were in skimpies for Lunch. Of course, this was over 30 years ago. Linda's or Lilly's was the name I think.

 

[scootr]

I guess Temecula changed. I seem to remember a restaurant there where every Tuesday was Lingerie day & the waitresses were in skimpies for Lunch. Of course, this was over 30 years ago. Linda's or Lilly's was the name I think.

Ha Ha ! Texas Lil's Mesquite Grill in Old Town Temecula. Been there several times myself. It is still there. Not sure if the lingerie day is still going - lol.

 

[rScotty]

I'll keep the information going. Right now the tractor is parked with the hood off and the front loader raised as high as it will go. (Hopefully he will block it there, but it really should come off for easy and safer access to the engine.)

Best Regards,

Mike/Florida

That's odd, I thought that all modern Front End Loaders were made with a safety latch on the FEL boom cylinders so that they could be locked in the Full Up position. But on the exploded diagram (Messicks) for that LA844 loader, I don't see a part to do that. Do some FELs not have the safety lock?
rScotty

 

[dodge man]

I see a lock on most construction equipment end loaders but not compact or sub compact tractors.