Got this deathtrap tractor

[The_Jeff]

My in-laws gave me their old tractor to dispose of on craigslist as they don't like wierdos showing up on their property, on the phone, etc. Wife says as long as it's over here let's order a dump truck full of gravel and fill in some low spots.



While the bucket and tractor seem to go together they couldn't be a worse match. Sorry the pictures are so bad at illustrating this but the bucket hangs waaay forward. The predictable result is most of the weight hanging on the front axle. It could REALLY use some power steering BTW.

Speaking of which, the tractor has no suspension and the front axle pivots in the middle so all four wheels are always on the ground. The only force keeping it from tipping over sideways is the solid rear axle with 10% or so weight on it! A previous rednecked "fix" for all this is a metal box on the rear full of old metal junk. I added a steering knuckle and four rotors I had laying around.

My property layout has me go down a short little hill then turn. Crest the hill as slow as I can and then sort of bomb down. Engine braking makes it do a "stoppie" then the wheels lose traction (being airborne and all) and it settles down, repeats.

Oddly a fellow could get used to driving that way!

Who wants a "kludge" story? Before moving gravel I was pushing my junk pile around, and may have hit a board with nail in it, flattening a tire. Get my rope plug kit, plug a couple holes, add air, find a couple more. Buy 30 rope plugs at walmart, figure I'm good. Add air and hear hissing when I move the valve stem. (Conveniently mounted INSIDE the wheel, I guess to protect it). Tire/wheel only comes off if a gooey greasy bearing retaining nut comes off.

Break the beads and my "valve stem" is a tube.

What happened was I pinched/poked the tube causing one air leak, and the existing tire had already been punctured so often a previous owner stuck a tube in! Called father-in-law to let him in on the joke, was news to him too.

for the 1st person to say I was overloaded. If it took 100, 200 trips back and forth to the pile anyone would push capacity.

Oh yeah and the barely guarded PTO belt is right by my foot! Watch those shoelaces!

 

[Colt45ws]

Thats a lot of bucket for that little tractor!
My Dad has this Mitsubishi

 

[The_Jeff]

^ That mitsu looks cute. Possibly my bucket is an oversized "snow bucket."

 

[Cup of Joe]

That looks like a toro wheel horse garden tractor with a aftermarket loader on the front. If it was 4 wheel drive that would help you allot and of course powersteering. That bucket does look a bit big for that garden tractor. Looking closer at the rear were the weight box is I'm not sure it is a garden tractor. I think it may actually be a lawn tractor. If it is you should basicly move as little material as possible, the frame will not take over loading well at all. If its a lawn tractor and not a garden tractor the frame was never meant to have a loader mounted on it.

What you really need is something like this:

http://www.kioti.com/products/tractors/tractors_view.asp?src_con1=CK20S

Sell that thing and tell your wife you need a new "lawn mower". Find a good used subcompact tractor and you are set.

 

[Slick17601]

Let me tell you that is one of the finest garden tractors ever made. It looks like a 520H. Wheel Horse did offer a front end loader but the dealership I worked at never sold one. I can't tell from the pictures if it is a 520H or 520HC. The HC has a swept forward front axle that allows it to accomodate a 60" mower. The HC front axle and spindles will handle anything you can haul in that bucket. The key thing to remember here is you do not have a backhoe. Remember the limitations and you'll be fine. It was free, what more can you ask for?

 

[The_Jeff]

Well my use last week was free they get the money when it sells.

 

[94supraonchrome]

how much you want for it?

 

[The_Jeff]

$2500

 

[exranger06]

Originally Posted By: Slick17601
Let me tell you that is one of the finest garden tractors ever made.

+1000! I can't believe you call that a deathtrap. I have one just like it and I absolutely LOVE it. It is literally one of my most prized possessions and I fully intend on keeping it and using it for the next 50+ years. It is incredibly well-built, tough, made in USA, incredibly servicable and easy to fix and truly built to last forever. Not like the made in China junk being produced now. I wouldn't trade for any new tractor.

 

[exranger06]

Originally Posted By: eljefino

While the bucket and tractor seem to go together they couldn't be a worse match. Sorry the pictures are so bad at illustrating this but the bucket hangs waaay forward. The predictable result is most of the weight hanging on the front axle. It could REALLY use some power steering BTW.


I've never used a bucket on mine so I can't really comment on this, but without the bucket, I highly doubt you'd complain about weight distrbution. About the power steering, have you tried greasing the front spindles and steering linkage? If not greased every 25 hours or so, yes the steering can be get quite difficult. After some shots of grease in the zerk fittings and it's a NIGHT AND DAY difference!!

Originally Posted By: eljefino

Speaking of which, the tractor has no suspension and the front axle pivots in the middle so all four wheels are always on the ground. The only force keeping it from tipping over sideways is the solid rear axle with 10% or so weight on it! A previous rednecked "fix" for all this is a metal box on the rear full of old metal junk. I added a steering knuckle and four rotors I had laying around.

I once thought about the lack of suspension on my tractor, (BTW, what garden tractor DOES have a suspension?) and quickly realized how impractical it would be and that it would actually be a BAD thing to have. Imagine trying to mow your lawn, the suspension letting the tractor bounce and oscillate over bumps, with the mowing deck attached to it ALSO bouncing up and down over bumps. Imagine what your lawn would look like then. Or if you tried using a grader blade (another optional attachemnt fo this tractor BTW). You simply DON'T want the body to bounce over bumps. It should always be in the same position relative to the wheels.

My property layout has me go down a short little hill then turn. Crest the hill as slow as I can and then sort of bomb down. Engine braking makes it do a "stoppie" then the wheels lose traction (being airborne and all) and it settles down, repeats.

Oddly a fellow could get used to driving that way!

I go down a steep hill in my yard every time I use my tractor and never have a problem with engine braking. When you're climbing over a crest and start descending, just don't touch the clutch at all and let the engine do all the work. Use the brake in addition if necessary, although Ive never found it nevessary.

 

[The_Jeff]

IDK, if they left the front axle design alone but put in some springs and dampeners it would cut the wild oscillations. The upright bucket acts like a pendulum, starts a resonance going that winds up with a wheel lifting.