Rod in Forfar
Platinum Member
- Joined
- Apr 10, 2010
- Messages
- 568
- Location
- Forfar, Ontario, Canada
- Tractor
- 1960 Massey Ferguson 35 (Perkins), 1995 TAFE 35DI, 1980 Bolens G174, 2005 Kubota B7510, 2020 Kioti Mechron 2200ps UTV Troy-Bilt Horse 2 1988 Case IH 255 4WD with loader and cab
Since buying the cab and loader equipped 255 I have put 25 hours on it running a 4' bush hog around rows of growing trees and this week, a nightmarish 3 acre plot of pasture with boulders popping up in random locations. This field has destroyed three rotary mowers over the last 18 years of annual ordeals to keep down the sumacs and purple loosestrife.
Mower #4 has held up a little better than its predecessors, but it got a workout with the Case IH 255 because its cab insulated me from overhanging branches and its 25 horsepower emboldened me somewhat. Because I had previously used the mower on my Bolens G174 with no level control, I grew accustomed to controlling the cutting height with a pair of chains from the hitch back to the front corners of the mower, connected by adjustable chain plates threaded on with the pin on the top link. I thus didn't become aware that the 3 pt hitch lift had failed until I finished the job, or more properly, until the tractor stalled twice on rocks while I yanked in vain on the hoist lever.
This would not do, especially as I had bought the tractor/loader/cab combination specifically to run my 5' PTO snowblower in winter.
The online manual for the tractor seemed pretty dull until the index took me to diagrams of the PTO mechanism. My big problem was the Laurin cab which seemed to be squatting on the PTO cylinder. The detailed diagrams removed some of the mystery as I looked around for something which might have failed. First thing in the morning I had discovered the screen for the transmission oil is accessible from the cabin. It was under the mat, down by my left heel, its large plastic knob stuck, of course.
I devised a wrench to open it gently -- at that point unsure as to what this mysterious portal actually was. The largest socket in my Princess Auto 3/4" socket set just fitted over the black plastic plug. I added a long extension. The ratchet was long lost, so I cut a 3/4" square piece of hardwood, 2" long, to join onto the extension. Then I turned it with my grandfather's prized tool, one of the first Vice Grip pliers to come into the country, still inscribed with his W. B. initials. I use them for luck. Out came the plug, and to my astonishment, the oil strainer. Its contents provided evidence that the oil was in good condition with no evidence of water contamination. I cleaned and re-inserted it, then hit the computer to find another source of the problem.
The diagrams are quite good if one's concentration is focussed by need. Before long I hit upon a thin rod which controls the lift mechanism. It looked thin enough to be beaten up by bush hogging on rough ground. I checked on the tractor. Yep, the rod was snapped off just a bit before the block where it connects to the transmission. About that time my neighbour arrived, and we brainstormed methods of repairing what was essentially a hardware store part, rather than something from Mitsubishi. I remembered an extra-long nut I'd used to fix a friend's mortiser last winter. The 1" nut had looked too useful not to buy a couple of extras, and so I did. The remaining nut threaded right onto the block and the broken rod and the PTO immediately returned to service. Lloyd insisted that I un-seize the block which had flexed the rod apart, so the bulk of the repair time went into spraying oil and working the block with a 5/8" wrench while Lloyd positioned the hitch arms from his seat on a five gallon pail.
Anyway, it worked and we celebrated a victory for redneck mechanics everywhere. I had been sure I'd have to trailer the tractor to the dealer's and was very glad to get off lightly with a repair costing $0.00.
Mower #4 has held up a little better than its predecessors, but it got a workout with the Case IH 255 because its cab insulated me from overhanging branches and its 25 horsepower emboldened me somewhat. Because I had previously used the mower on my Bolens G174 with no level control, I grew accustomed to controlling the cutting height with a pair of chains from the hitch back to the front corners of the mower, connected by adjustable chain plates threaded on with the pin on the top link. I thus didn't become aware that the 3 pt hitch lift had failed until I finished the job, or more properly, until the tractor stalled twice on rocks while I yanked in vain on the hoist lever.
This would not do, especially as I had bought the tractor/loader/cab combination specifically to run my 5' PTO snowblower in winter.
The online manual for the tractor seemed pretty dull until the index took me to diagrams of the PTO mechanism. My big problem was the Laurin cab which seemed to be squatting on the PTO cylinder. The detailed diagrams removed some of the mystery as I looked around for something which might have failed. First thing in the morning I had discovered the screen for the transmission oil is accessible from the cabin. It was under the mat, down by my left heel, its large plastic knob stuck, of course.
I devised a wrench to open it gently -- at that point unsure as to what this mysterious portal actually was. The largest socket in my Princess Auto 3/4" socket set just fitted over the black plastic plug. I added a long extension. The ratchet was long lost, so I cut a 3/4" square piece of hardwood, 2" long, to join onto the extension. Then I turned it with my grandfather's prized tool, one of the first Vice Grip pliers to come into the country, still inscribed with his W. B. initials. I use them for luck. Out came the plug, and to my astonishment, the oil strainer. Its contents provided evidence that the oil was in good condition with no evidence of water contamination. I cleaned and re-inserted it, then hit the computer to find another source of the problem.
The diagrams are quite good if one's concentration is focussed by need. Before long I hit upon a thin rod which controls the lift mechanism. It looked thin enough to be beaten up by bush hogging on rough ground. I checked on the tractor. Yep, the rod was snapped off just a bit before the block where it connects to the transmission. About that time my neighbour arrived, and we brainstormed methods of repairing what was essentially a hardware store part, rather than something from Mitsubishi. I remembered an extra-long nut I'd used to fix a friend's mortiser last winter. The 1" nut had looked too useful not to buy a couple of extras, and so I did. The remaining nut threaded right onto the block and the broken rod and the PTO immediately returned to service. Lloyd insisted that I un-seize the block which had flexed the rod apart, so the bulk of the repair time went into spraying oil and working the block with a 5/8" wrench while Lloyd positioned the hitch arms from his seat on a five gallon pail.
Anyway, it worked and we celebrated a victory for redneck mechanics everywhere. I had been sure I'd have to trailer the tractor to the dealer's and was very glad to get off lightly with a repair costing $0.00.
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