Tractorpoint Login

print < Tractorpoint Login

Search for =

Topic

Captain B, I am not sure why the link would not open, it works from my pc. Here is the link, I will paste it in the message, maybe that will help.

http://www.tptools.com/statictext/piping_diagram.pdf

I have never seen a foot activated drain for the compressor tank. My compressor is mounted on a slab outside of my shop. I removed the small drain valve in the bottom the tank. It was a pain to get open and drain the tank of water. I bought a few pipe nipples, elbow and a quarter turn valve and extended it out from under the tank. Now I can easily reach down, open the quarter turn valve, blow off the water and close it back. Its amazing how quickly water collects in the tank. I drain it after every heavy use.

Hope this makes sense. Let me know if you can not open the link. My email is listed with my post. If you still can not open it I will save the pdf diagram as a jpg picture and email it to you. -Ken

Sandblasting
Parts and Repair
Replies 7 Post by Ken Butner

I have posted on this before, but yeah, I have had the same problem with my 430 loader. First round under warranty, the dealer replaced all four cylinders on my loader. Second round out of warranty, I pulled the cylinders off and carried them to a hydraulic shop. The man at the shop told me JD used very low quality parts in their cylinders. He done some mods internally to the cylinder and told me that should take care of all my problems. Hopefully, this will last. I averaged about 200 tractor hours between round one and two. Granted all of those hours I had not been using the loader. Time will tell if the rebuild job will hold. BTW, he rebuilt them for $80 each.

Poor Design on the John Deere 430 Loader
John Deere Tractors
Replies 6 Post by Ken Butner

Darrell, in regards to the question you asked, there is a way to pump calcium chloride out of your tires. Farm supply stores sell an adapter to convert your valve stem to a standard garden hose thread. I went to Lowes and bought a small pump that is turned by a drill. The pump has garden hose threads on the input and output. I turned the tire until the valve stem was down, jacked up the tractor and blocked the rear wheel up so no weight would be on it, screwed the adapter onto the valve stem, screwed the pump input directly to the adapter, and then screwed a garden hose to the output of the pump. I used a small drill to turn the pump. The pump acutually sucked the tire flat around the rim. This will get most of the calcium out, but I am sure there will be some left. As for ballast, most folks use an ENVIRONMENTALLY friendly antifreeze and water which does not corrode. Also it will not kill your pets or hurt the enviroment if you get a tire puncture. Hope this helps!-Ken

Changing tire ballast from calcium to Rim Guard
Parts and Repair
Replies 7 Post by Ken Butner

Tom, out of curiosity, how many PTO hp does the tractor have that your turning your 96" finish mower? I been considering buying a larger finish mower. Thanks, Ken

Rotary Cutter or Flail Mower
Mowers Field and Finish
Replies 10 Post by Ken Butner

Carter, I have a hydrostat trans, but never had any trouble with it.

As for pushing JD dealerships, I will not take the time to go over all the nightmare experiences I have had with JD Service Departments. Now, its like what is the point.. Its really ashamed though, because I love the tractor and its a great performer. From a reliabiliy aspect, I am very disappointed in JD.

47 BH Leaking down
Loaders Back Hoes
Replies 9 Post by Ken Butner

My personal opinion is that a 4 in 1 bucket is far superior to a standard bucket. I have a JD4300 tractor with a 430 loader and a JD 4 in 1 bucket. It is so much more versatile than a regular bucket. I can grapple brush piles, pick up logs, stumps, etc. I can open the bucket and utilize it in MANY ways to do various grading task. Also, when scooping up piles of materials, you can actually "bite" the bucket full (gets it fuller). This is also very useful if the pile is getting too small to scoop up the typical way. Granted the 4n1 bucket is a little heavier and does reduce your total lift capacity by a couple hundred pounds, but if your pushing the specs that close on your tractor, you probably purchased something undersized for your needs. To me, buying the 4n1 made my loader more useful than just getting a standard bucket. I would never do without one now. Of all the accessories I purchased for my tractor, that was the best money spent.

Loader Bucket Mystery
Loaders Back Hoes
Replies 6 Post by Ken Butner

I had the same problem with my 4300. The battery that came installed in the tractor had a problem - leaked acid. I had very little damage to the hydraulic cooler, but the battery mounting bolts and battery cables were destroyed. I had the dealership to take a look at it, but they shrugged it off stating the battery had been overfilled (I am sick of fighting with JD dealerships). I removed the old battery, cleaned the entire area with baking soda and flushed it with a large amount of water. I wire brushed all the rust and corrosion from the platform which the battery rest upon and repainted everything. I bought a new battery and had to make a new system to clamp the battery in place. I check the battery and compartment frequently and have not seen any signs of additional damage, corrosion, or leakage from the new battery.

4400 Over Charging
Parts and Repair
Replies 5 Post by Ken Butner

Woods makes a heavy duty rotary cutter with dual trail wheels. They make them in 60, 72 & 84 inch cutting widths. WebLink included. -Ken

Anyone make a bushhog w two trail wheels
Mowers Field and Finish
Replies 7 Post by Ken Butner

Guys, I agree with Dana Trumpp. I have a 4300 and the PTO lever has three positions (Run-Neutral-Brake). When I am shutting down a PTO driven implement, I always reduce my engine to an idle, wait a couple seconds, then I move my PTO lever to the MIDDLE POSITION. I allow the implement to coast to a stop. Then and ONLY then do I pull the PTO lever all the way back to the brake postion. Folks, they designed the tractor so you can stop an implement slowly before slamming on the pto brake so that nothing would BREAK! -Ken

JD 4400 PTO Problem
John Deere Tractors
Replies 13 Post by Ken Butner

Here is a link with PTO stump grinders. They make them for the HP range your interested. The smaller model is around $5,500 and the larger is around $6,500.

Stump grinder
Operating and Attachments
Replies 6 Post by Ken Butner

This discussion thread really brings back some memories to me. I am a former Paramedic and a certain EMS call involving a tractor rollover vividly sticks out in my mind. The gentleman was using a Ford 8N (older tractor - no ROPS), doing something we have all probably done before. Something that you would never think you could get hurt doing. Freaky as things can be, the tractor flipped upside down on top of him. His son and grandchildren found him hours after life had passed away. Before we could extricate the man's body from under the tractor, there was a crowd of emotionally distraught family members at the scene. Over the years I served in emergency services, of all the things I have seen, all the things I have had to do, this one call will always stay in my memories.

I guess this was a time of wake up for the tractor daredevil that I had always been. On the farm, I was placed in a tractor seat at the age of five or six. I had to put my back against the front of the seat to push the clutch in. Growing up, I was trained by some of the best daredevils (relatives) in the community. As a teen and young adult, I took more than my fair share of chances and survived some tricky close call situations. Never received more than a scrape and a few bruises. The good Lord kept his hand on my shoulder and I am thankful for that.

Since that EMS call, I have turned over a new leaf. Its so easy to make a mistake, even when trying to be careful. Folks, please be careful. If you have to rush to get something done, maybe you should just wait until another day when you have more time. Its better to take twice as long to do something that to have to send your family and friends to a funeral. There have been many killed due to tractor accidents. Don't let those who have died, die in vain, lets all think safety in our actions and utilize your ROPS (that includes wearing your seat belt). If you have an older tractor without ROPS, go to your local dealer and see if they have a ROPS kit for the older makes or they may have information/sources to help you find a kit. Take care, have FUN tractoring, BE SAFE, and enjoy LIFE! -Ken

Anyone ever use a ROPS
Tractor Projects
Replies 33 Post by Ken Butner

I charge $40 per hour for mowing/bush hogging and I think that is a VERY fair price. For loader or backhoe work I charge around $50 per hour. I never tell a customer a price per hour. I keep the hourly rate in my head to help me price the job. The customer gets a total price for the work. I never price anything until I look/walk over the job site.

No matter how small the job, I have a min price of $80 "IF" I have to trailer my equipment. I am not hooking the trailer to the truck, load the tractor, drive to the job, unload the tractor, do the work, load the tractor, drive back home, and unload everything again for anything less than $80. I'd just rather stay home and piddle in the shop!!

My time is valuable and if I can not turn a profit to help me buy more toys then why WORK for free? My exceptions are for friends and goodwill!

BTW, why should a compact tractor get less per hour? Compacts are VERY expensive machines to purchase per horsepower! There are jobs that are for utility tractors and there are jobs that are for compacts. There are areas that overlap and in those cases both machines are just as efficient. I only take on work that is compatible and competitive with the epuipment that I own. -Ken

WHat to charge for bush hogging
Mowers Field and Finish
Replies 38 Post by Ken Butner

I have had similar battery woes with my 4300. A couple weeks ago, I looked in the battery compartment because I seen some corrosion on the frame of the tractor under the battery compartment. Both cables had huge amounts of corrosion, the mounting bolt nuts in the frame were totally destroyed, the pan that the battery rest on had deep rusting, the oil cooler fins had a few spots of heavy corrosion, and the bolts on both battery cables were almost eaten into completely. I cleaned the battery compartment with baking soda and flushed the area with a large volume of water. I sanded all the rust, repainted everything, replaced the damaged/destroyed nuts and bolts, and bought a new NON JOHN DEERE brand battery. I verified my full throttle charging voltage at 14.2V.

I ran the tractor for about nine hours this weekend and have not seen any signs of leaking from the new battery. This was more damage than I wanted to see on a 1.5 year old tractor. Glad I at least caught it when I did.
-Ken

790 Battery
Parts and Repair
Replies 14 Post by Ken Butner

I have a JD4300 with a BH. I have noticed that there is corrosion in the battery compartment area as well as on the frame of the tractor directly under the battery. I have not had any trouble with the radiator leaking, but now I am concerned. That might be a project for this weekend to replace battery and do some cleaning.... What causes batteries to leak?????

My backhoe has had a couple leaking cylinders but never the control valves. I have been told the same thing everyone else is saying, leaks are unacceptable on a new machine. -Ken

New Problems - JD BH Radiator
John Deere Tractors
Replies 9 Post by Ken Butner

Mickey:

I own a Sitrex 6' side dischage finish mower. I purchased it at the start of last year's mowing season. Over the summer I have mowed many acres of some really tough grass/weeds. I actually have abused it, mowing stuff that I probably shouldn't have. I kept the blades sharpened and the mower greased and it done a fine job without any failures.

It does NOT have antiscalp rollers, which I would probably want if I had to buy again. But for the money I think its a good deal. Less than half the cost of the more popular brands, but so far has been getting the job done- and well!!

-Ken

finishing mower
Mowers Field and Finish
Replies 3 Post by Ken Butner

I would like to take this opportunity to vent some frustrations with my 4300 and experiences with the dealership. I purchased my tractor in November of 1999 from Harnett Tractor in Dunn, NC. I currently have 240 hours on the tractor and of that about 40 hours on the backhoe. Upon delivery of my tractor, I used it for five minutes before noticing the 4 in 1 bucket hydraulics were not functioning properly. The dealership picked up the tractor and returned it in a couple of days. Later on, I realized the dealership had connected the backhoe hydraulics incorrectly. The backhoe was connected inline with the rockshaft input port, meaning the rockshaft would function WITH the backhoe attached. The return of the backhoe was supposed to be connected to the return to reservoir port and the rockshaft input port is to be left unconnected. I corrected this problem at a cost to me of $26 for a coupling. Then the fuel gauge stopped working. The rod that connects the float to the sensor broke at the spot weld. For the sake of not having to go through the dealership, I repaired this myself at a cost of $40 for a new fuel gauge sending unit. After using the tractor for the last several months, the problems began to accumulate. I carried the tractor to the dealership on 6/20/2000 with the following repair list. An engine oil leak around the injector pump. The rockshaft arms tend to have a surging cycle when the tractor is idling, as if its having trouble maintaining the raised position. The backhoe bucket curl cylinder sprays hydraulic fluid under a heavy digging load (its not the fitting, its the cylinder). The backhoe boom right/left cylinders and or fittings leak hydraulic fluid constantly. The backhoe left side frame mount plate has one bolt that has loosened and backed out approx half an inch. The loader intermittently looses power and can barely raise itself off the ground(yes I recoupled the couplings numerous times-not the problem). The loader also holds its raised position for only a few minutes before it begins to sink downward with the engine either running or off. I have called the service manager several times this week and got the following responses. All the problems were supposedly easy to fix except the loader issues. The problem with the loader intermittently lacking raise power had them "baffled" and then they were "confused" per the service manager. John Deere has been providing them with "THINGS TO TRY" all week, but none of those solutions "TOTALLY" fixed the problem. The service manager told me that he was going to replace the entire SVC. I was "semi" promised the tractor today 6/30 or maybe 7/1, but now that has been pushed out to 7/3-late afternoon("we'll try our best") due to the SVC not arriving and was "back ordered". Would I buy green again? I just dunno....... BTW, I do have the scuffing axle problem. That will be my next chore. I will keep you updated. -Thanks!

Is Deere getting the message
John Deere Tractors
Replies 26 Post by Ken Butner

I have a JD 4300 HST 4-WD, R4 tires, 430 loader, 4 in 1 bucket and 47 backhoe. I have the same problem with my 3rd DSCV sticking. I always have had to manually return it to the neutral position. I am going to take Terry's advice to fix the problem.

JD 4400 information
John Deere Tractors
Replies 5 Post by Ken Butner