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My lawn was seeded about three weeks ago. The new grass is about 1.5 inches. I live in southern NY state. Can I apply a turf starter fertilizer now, or do I have to wait longer. Thanks in advance. Mike C.

When to apply fertilizer to new grass
Garden and Landscape
Replies 2 Post by MikeC

In my area, a residential septic system is supposed to be built to withstand
7 PSI of ground pressure without damage. Dividing the weight of my JD855 w/belly mower by the contact area of my turf tires, it's right around 7 PSI. I'm comfortable driving over it as long as the ground is not real wet.

4100 and Septic System
John Deere Tractors
Replies 5 Post by MikeC

I've been tracking fuel usage for the last 100 hrs. on my JD855. I've averaged 1.5 hrs/gal! This is combined usage - plowing, mowing, loader, backhoe, etc.

Fuel Usage
New Holland Tractors
Replies 11 Post by MikeC

Is it possible that you have leaky injectors?

oil level
Kubota Tractors
Replies 11 Post by MikeC

Roger, you were right. Moving the temp. sender to the engine side of the thermostat made a surprising difference. I get only a 10 deg. temp. swing now. That seems reasonable. For the record, I still have about 3/4 of my radiator blocked off with duct tape. I'm operating in 45-65F temperatures. Apparently, this engine doesn't produce a lot of heat! It turns out that JD actually lists two different replacement thermostats for this engine. One rated at 160F (as specified in your Yanmar book), and one at 180F. I ended up with the 180F, and the engine runs between 175 and 185, as expected. I wonder why they specify diffent temperatures with no explanation. I'm mostly interested in what's best for the long-term health of the motor. 180F is typical, but did Yanmar design the motor for 160?

Deisel coolant temperature
Parts and Repair
Replies 28 Post by MikeC

Speaking of the "proper amount of hydraulic fuild", how important is that on a hydro drive tractor? My JD855 is a bit over-filled at the moment. Will that cause problems or reduce performance? Thanks.

Hydraulics question
Parts and Repair
Replies 8 Post by MikeC

Webmaster, take a look at my last three posts on Maintenance/Diesel coolant temperature. I sent the first post, then disconnected my dial-up connection leaving the "sucessfully posted" page displayed. After dinner, I started a redial by clicking on the refresh button (IE 5.0). I got a poor connection speed, so I disconnected then hit refresh again to redial. When I went back to the "Diesel coolant temperature" thread, I noticed that the same message was posted three times! It looks like the last two corresponded to my last two dialups.

new java window
Website Operations Howto
Replies 19 Post by MikeC

It occurred to my as I was changing my front tires to their widest setting that this may only be a small factor in preventing rollover. My front axle is attached to the tractor frame by only a single pivot pin, providing the front end of the tractor no resistance to rotation until the axle hits a stop. This means that as my tractor starts to tip, the axis of rotation is an imaginary line between the outside edge of the lower rear tire and the front axle pivot. Once the axle hits its stop, then the axis of rotation moves to the line between the outsides edges of the lower front and rear tires. Anyway, I still feel better with both sets of tires at their widest...

tractor tipping
Parts and Repair
Replies 15 Post by MikeC

Sounds good. Inexpensive, and easy to install. Now I've just got to find a place to mount the guage. Maybe there's an un-used guage knockout in the dashboard. Time to got out to the garage and look...

Diesel RPM
Tractor Projects
Replies 12 Post by MikeC

Are you sure it's a hydro? I thought the '50 series were gear and the '55 series were hydro.

Price on 750
John Deere Tractors
Replies 3 Post by MikeC

Much obliged!

Classified ads
Website Operations Howto
Replies 4 Post by MikeC

The sleeve serves two purposes - to protect the hose from abrasion, and to protect the operator from the high pressure oil which can easily penetrate the skin in case of a rupture.

Nylon sleeve on JD 47 back hoe
John Deere Tractors
Replies 2 Post by MikeC

Murf, the 70A has a restrictor on the boom lowering circuit. In fact, when the bucket is empty, the boom lowers to slowly for my preference.

Loader down force
Loaders Back Hoes
Replies 15 Post by MikeC

That seems like a fair price to me. I have a 855 with 70A loader 60" mid mower. I paid 14,500 when it had 225 hours. If my tractor had about 560 hours, I would have paid up to about 13k in my area. That leaves 3k for your model 7 hoe. That's a good price for a well-kept model 7 considering that they go for over 6k new.

Pricing advice
John Deere Tractors
Replies 3 Post by MikeC

The main reason I had heard not to idle a compact diesel tractor is because of the extra carbon buildup in the combustion chambers. I guess this would follow the idea of incomplete combustion at low RPM.

Running a Diesel at Idle
John Deere Tractors
Replies 10 Post by MikeC

John, which model (or capacity) did you buy, and where did you get it? Thanks in advance.

Cosmo fertilizer spreader
Operating and Attachments
Replies 7 Post by MikeC

Does anyone have any experience with (or heard anything about) the Cosmo spreaders? SSB tractors will sell a 100 lb. cap. 3 pt. spreader for $380 (link below). That's one of the cheaper prices I've seen. If it would work effectively for 10 years without problems (private residential use), then I would buy one.

Cosmo fertilizer spreader
Operating and Attachments
Replies 1 Post by MikeC

I've been pricing the Woods 7500 (3 pt w/pump). I have quotes from $5300 to $6500. The high price dealer justified his price because his rent is higher. As far as I'm concerned, $1200 price difference is plenty of incentive to drive a couple of hours to a low rent dealer to pick up a backhoe.

Woods Hoe Pricing
Loaders Back Hoes
Replies 8 Post by MikeC

Jeff, I also have a 855. I'm torn between the Woods 7500 and the JD model 7. I've posted on this subject before, but I still can't decide. JD hoe looks like it would be quickest on/off, closest to tractor, most secure mount, but also the highest price option and weakest performance. The Woods is cheaper, stronger digging, faster action (with PTO pump - do you have this?), better bucket, but I'm concerned about the stress on the PTO and tractor, and that the mount could become sloppy over time, and that it sits farther from the tractor (stability, manuverability). Have you considered the JD model 7? Thanks - Mike

Backhoe for the 4600 JD
Loaders Back Hoes
Replies 13 Post by MikeC

Thanks for the info. All of these explanations make sense. This is exactly what I needed to stop my compulsion to "improve" something. I'll just grease more often. Those air-powered grease guns look interesting. Anyone have any experience with one?

Slop in loader cylinder mounts
Loaders Back Hoes
Replies 6 Post by MikeC