Glad to hear you got your JD back together. Late reading this thread, but I wouldn’t worry at all about any damage done to the engine. If you had some fluid left in the radiator, you had some in the engine. Those old engines are tough. Top fuel dragsters don’t have any water in them (for a 1/4 mile and the pre-race burnout) although they do have solid castings with no water jackets, which will absorb more heat, vs an empty stock block. But top fuel dragsters produce exponentially more heat at about 9000 horsepower.
I once drove an old olsmobile with a 455 for several miles without water. The engine got so hot the caked oil on the engine was smoking. It didn’t appear to hurt anything, but not something I would recommend.
We don’t have back together yet, the weather hasn’t cooperated. But, now that I got the old pulley on the new water pump shaft, everything’s ready to go. Prob will do it in a few days or so.
My BIL is leaving today, but I think it’s something me and the Mrs can do. We have a bunch of bolts that we had removed that are different sizes, so I had to go online and find the parts layout diagrams to find out what goes where. Glad that info is available, but I should get a repair and or service manual for future reference.
Yeah there was some coolant still in the lines when we disconnected everything, so I don’t think I hurt it. I pretty much shut it down when it started steaming.
@subdood_ky_z6b take a look online for the manual (but be a bit cautious about picking up viruses from some of the less scrupulous places). These days one can find most any shop manual online. And the online versions are easier to use in that you can search for what you need and just print out the few pages you need to take down to the engine (as opposed to lugging a big, greasy book around with you).
Yes, I could probably get what I need online but I would like to have that service manual on hand. I got an owner’s manual for my model of tractor off of eBay, I think. It’s not a used dirty copy, but nice clean copy in a binder. Jensales is the company that printed it, I guess they took the original and made copies of the pages and put it in a binder. It’s been pretty useful so far. But, it doesn’t tell me what model of filters to use, that I had to get online. I need to change the oil and air filters soon.
I can’t recall if they have printed a service or repair manual, tho. If not, one might have to buy someone’s old copy from eBay or wherever.
So I never had anything like a tractor for my own until I was in my early 50’s. I am almost 58 now and have owned two separate new tractors. This is …PLEASE… not to be taken as a complaining post or a rewarding post just my experience with two Big name new tractors. To preface it i will say I absolutely have loved both tractors. Just that I have had different experiences with both. This was my KUBOTA 3200…
32 horsepower 4 wheel drive. Fine little tractor. Plus’s on it, very maneuverable, quit a tough little booger but minus’s under powered and far to light to do the heavy lifting I am doing now. It was super good doing the stuff I asked it to but also I have some wet areas and it’s so light it got stuck…a lot… Just the nature of what it was.
SO…I traded the little guy and moved up to a Mahindra 2555…
55 horsepower and a really tough tractor. I’ve been doing some road building…pushing trees over etc. just some mighty hard work kind of stuff. Without a doubt the best running diesel motor of ANY diesel I’ve ever worked and yes I have only owned 2 but driven dozens of diesel powered pieces of equipment. Superior lifting ability and heavy…Been in some REALLY sketchy situations in bad stuff and its found it’s way out on it’s own every time. Even a few I thought I would definitely NOT get out of. Down side…I got one with a bum front end from the factory. Within 6 months of each other. Mind you I’ve only had the tractor 8 months, Both of the front wheels fell off of the tractor due to bad wheel bearing assemblies and warranty covered them 100% but the parts had to come from Turkey and I was out my tractor 3 weeks two separate times. I does appear all is well now though and hopefully it was just one of those things. Because I LOVE the tractor. It’s comfortable with a multiple bunch of ways to adjust the seat, Tilt steering, huge deck with nothing in the way of your legs or feet, controls all very well place and accessible and HST transmission that really makes it even more powerful…SOOOOO that’s my little story and I’m sticking to it…
Both of them look nice. Kubota’s are a highly recommended brand. If I had a spare $20k to spend on a newer rig, a K would be the one, but it would need to be at least a 40hp. Those compacts are nice, but like you said they can leave a little to be desired power-wise.
My friend up the road has a compact 4wd Mahindra, and it’s worked OK for him, but I do recall him having to take it back to the dealer (30 mi away), because of some electrical issue. It wouldn’t start for some reason. He bought it new, so it was covered under warranty, but still a pain. From what I’ve gathered on folks on here, they’re not big fans of Mahindra’s.
Is the HST tranny mean it doesn’t have a clutch? That would be nice. Another neighbor of mine has a compact Kubota like that, it is a sweet ride. It has a cab with a stereo, and A/C. Wouldn’t mind having one, but too expensive for me.
Well, after I got the pulley pulled off the old water pump, and pressed onto the new one, I noticed something odd about the new unit. It has a big port, and three smaller ones. Well, one of the smaller ones has a screw-in plug instead of a port similar to the other two. They shipped it with another screw-in port, but it has a hex nut end, so I don’t know how the hose will fit over it, and then be secured with a clamp.
I sent pics back to the vendor and am awaiting their response. If it can’t work that way, and I have to send it back, I’m screwed because the old pulley has been pressed onto the new one’s shaft. Taking that off will be nigh impossible without destroying the new WP. I hope I can make it work out.
Update, I got a response from the vendor today. They said that I could get a screw-in hose fitting at NAPA auto parts. So, that is a relief, although more aggravation I don’t need. Hopefully I can get this job done later today.
OK, just had supper after working on the tractor today. I went to Napa and got a hose fitting, and after putting a little Teflon tape on the threads, screwed it into the port opening. Then put some Permatex gasket sealant on both sides of the gasket, and mounted it to the water pump.
Then the WP was put on the block, and the bolts were slightly torqued just enough to hold it in place. I’m going to let the sealant cure overnight, and tomorrow it’ll get torqued down properly. I attached some of the hoses and called it a day.
Next up will be attaching the fan, dropping in the radiator, filling it with coolant, and hopefully everything will work out. Here’s hoping for no coolant leaks.
Very true. They have both kind of served a different purpose as well. I haved liked both tractors and both have excellent qualities and actually very little downside to either one. I just think with more research i would have probably just bought a bigger Kubota…I do agree though they aren’t really apples to apples…
Yes it does not have a clutch. you set the the throttle where you want it, It can run in Low, Medium or High gear and it just has a forward or reverse on the same pedal. Just set things where you want and push the pedal forward or reverse and you can control how fast you move by how far down you push. It’s a really nice system in my opinion… And yes they are a bit expensive. I figured with the Mahindra though I’ll never need more tractor for just 52 acres and in 4 1/2 years I’ll retire so I’ll never have to buy another tractor. The Mahindra have a 7 year unlimited hours warranty as well…
A quick update on the tractor saga. We’ve been really busy with our gardens, so work on the tractor has been delayed.
As mentioned earlier, I got the water pump put on and torqued down. This weekend I got the new fan put on the WP pulley. It initially didn’t want to go on the WP shaft, but I eventually got it on there.
I cleaned a lot of the gunk off that area, which I’m sure was made worse when the radiator spewed out coolant everywhere. The whole engine area could use a good degreasing and new paint job, but I just want to get the rig going again. We have a lot of weeds getting high around the farm, so I need to bush hog.
This week I hope to get the radiator dropped in, the hoses re-attached, and coolant added. That should be it, and we’ll be back in business.
No, I’m ashamed to say. We’ve been so busy with other things and issues, so it’s still out there under the tarp. It still just needs the radiator and hoses to be hooked up and it should be ready to go.
I think we’ll try to get it done sometime this week. Our non-mowed areas are really getting out of control, so they need to be bush-hogged. Some of the weeds in the pasture are probably 4ft tall now!
Haha, I’ll pass on the cows! We have tore down a lot of our fencing, so it’d be hard to keep cattle. I have enough time dealing with the stuff we have.
My wife said at least we ought to get some chickens, but that’s just more to do. I like fresh eggs, but not that much. We get free eggs from some lady up the road from us, she gives my wife a couple dozen every time she delivers the daily church meal to her.
Never thought of bailing it, it’s really not a lot to cut in the first place, I think maybe three acres? Lots of folks around here do that tho. They’ve already cut and bailed a first cut for this year. I wouldn’t be surprised if folks were able to get three cuttings this year.
That’s exactly why I don’t want any critters. Because of other chores, my fruit trees have been neglected and have shameful amount of weeds around them. I cleared out three yesterday evening, and was sopping wet. Only 20 more to go, ugh… I wouldn’t have time to deal with even chickens right now.
What critter requires the most attention? I imagine cows are the most work, plus you gotta worry about them wondering off. How many types of eggs do you get? How many a day?
I started working on the tractor about 11, I got the radiator dropped in, but having a bear of a time getting the hoses hooked up. I’ve had to come in twice out of the heat to cool off and change clothes, I’m on T-shirt #2.
Sorry to hear about you not getting much for your eggs. You’d think folks would pay a premium for the exotic eggs, like quail, duck and guinea. But there has to be a demand for them too, I guess.
Our pasture is very hilly, and now the fencing is incomplete at best. It used to be where the old family horse was kept. A couple years ago, in the winter, she kept getting out and grazing in our yard. We could never figure how she would slip thru, even in the snow.
Finally my bro in law built up a fenced area for her in front of their place. But, occasionally she gets out and wanders over here. I have some fruit trees down by the barn, and I worry about her getting loose and snacking on them. They’re fenced in, but she could easily reach over it.
Since she’s been moved we have removed some of the fence line, there’s no use for it now, and we sure ain’t getting no cows…
