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FYI, the "zebra theory" is used mostly in medicine. Such as, if you hear hoof beats, think of horses not zebras (in the US of course). Thus, look for the obvious diagnosis, not the obscure ones. Also known as Occam's razor for the really pedantic. Necessary information for tractor people.

Three Point Hitch Problem
John Deere Tractors
Replies 20 Post by droz

You may have already thought of this but another possibility to consider is a Bobcat with backhoe. Obviously a full sized backhoe will allow bigger jobs but as you stated it is hard to transport and maneuverabilty is poor. My opinion is that for construction work, the Bobcat is much easier to use than any tractor and of course the attachments are abundant. And if you really have the money their compact excavator is a dream. I have a Kubota L4310 and seldom use the FEL if the Bobcat is available. It takes me twice as long.

Compact backhoe or Full size backhoe
Loaders Back Hoes
Replies 13 Post by droz

Well, of course, it doesn't really make any difference if there are variations, except that if it is a footing depth of 8 inches in one area and 12 inches in another (I don't know how thick the footing will be), you will be wasting a lot of concrete. But your are right in that the surface will be level.

Trench Bottoms
Loaders Back Hoes
Replies 16 Post by droz

And just to give you an idea of how expensive they can get, the one for my Bobcat cost about $2100 with a single 9" bit. But not much slows it down and you can feel the ground move when it hits a rock and drives it into the wall.

The right auger post hole digger
John Deere Tractors
Replies 4 Post by droz

My brother has the Kawasaki engine in his lawn tractor and he loves it. It starts beautifully and runs flawlessly. Vastly superior to any Briggs engines. A diesel might be overkill in a lawn tractor unless it is commercial.

JD 400 series Yanmar diesel vrs Kawasaki V-twin gas
John Deere Tractors
Replies 4 Post by droz

Well, spring is here and I got my Bobcat stuck very badly in some mud by my ponds. I took my Kubota down to pull it out but it is new and I never used it for this before. The question was, where do I hook up the chains? I figured the drawbar was a good idea but is there a pin or something to attach the chain to? I ended up just hooking it to the supports of the rotary mower where it attaches to the 3PH and it worked but I didn't think that was ideal.

towing
Tractor Projects
Replies 2 Post by droz

It may not exactly relate to your situation but I have a 43 HP Bobcat with a very high torque post hole digger. It works well of course but there are situations, especially if you find a big rock, that it simply cannot complete the hole. It tends to then wander off-center but that is hard to see while you are digging. It will easily go four feet or more if there is no great interference. If you don't have a lot of holes to dig it probably isn't worth getting one, especially if it isn't heavy duty. I aslo ended up bending one of the hydraulic cylinders due to a poor design on their part.

790 Post hole digger
Operating and Attachments
Replies 7 Post by droz

I just had two ponds put in last year of about 150 x 50 feet apiece (4-5 feet deep). Sure I would have loved to have done it myself but as stated above, it would have been next to impossible. Fortunately I am in a Conservation Resource Program that mostly paid for me to put them in for wetland restoration. I hired a guy with a big swamp dozer (he called it) and it took him two long days to do it. Plus, it got more and more difficult as the water flowed in so nothing without metal tracks would have moved in it. It cost about $1800 total. Some things we have to farm out no matter how much we want to do it. I have had enough trouble just moving around the area with my Bobcat or tractor while trying to landscape the area when it was wet.

Digging farm pond
Tractor Projects
Replies 21 Post by droz

With regards to the last post, there is NEVER any proof that something is carcinogenic, only lots of statistics and evidence to show a causal relationship. Carbon monoxide binds more strongly to hemoglobin thus eliminating the necessary oxygen. I don't know for a fact that diesel fumes have less CO but breathing them will obviously limit the amount of O2 you are inhaling and certainly will kill you in a confined space, albeit more slowly. As for being absolutely carcinogenic, who wants to take that change. We also know of people that have smoked packs of cigarettes every day and didn't develop cancer. That is not a very wise decision though.
Dr. Roznik

diesel fumes
Parts and Repair
Replies 5 Post by droz

I had my Bobcat before I bought my two tractors. When I bought my Kubota L4310 with a loader I thought it would be of great use and probably had more power than the Bobcat. But I quickly realized that for ease of use and speed and agility, the tractor was was out of the Bobcat's league. I almost never use the tractor if I can use the Bobcat. Yes, it will do much more damage to a lawn. Yes the attachments are expensive (but they are extremely well made and work well and of course, there is no 3 point hitch which saves me incredible amounts of frustration - if you want a backhoe on the bobcat, it takes 10 minutes, if you want to attach a different bucket, it is 1 minute, etc.). I can't believe anyone would use a tractor FEL if they had a choice since you can actually see what you are doing with the Bobcat rather than guessing. Unless you are plowing or have turf to worry about, I would opt for the Bobcat everytime.

skid loader vs compact tractor
Operating and Attachments
Replies 14 Post by droz

Dsg, thanks for the information. Now I am less sure of what I want!

DUMP TRAILERS HAULING YOU TRACTOR
Parts and Repair
Replies 10 Post by droz

I tried a quickhitch and, as explained, there was variation in the pin placement on my implements and virtually none of them fit the quickhitch, even with modifications. It was frustrating but a great theory since I hate trying to attach the implements. I guess there is some value in standards. All my Bobcat attachments fit flawlessly regardless of who makes them.

Quick Hitches
John Deere Tractors
Replies 4 Post by droz

That sure doesn't sound normal. Assuming your glow plugs are working, the tractor should start in a few seconds. If it doesn't, it probably isn't preheated enough. The could explain the black smoke. Using a quart of oil in 10 hours sounds bad. It shouldn't use any oil. It also depends on the age of the tractor. My older Bobcat took 20 seconds minimum to preheat and always belched clouds of smoke for awhile. The newer Bobcat and Kubota and John Deere take no preheat (if warmer than 50 degrees) and the exhaust is clean. Since a diesel is a pretty simple engine you either have a glow plug problem of fuel injection problem or compression problem. There isn't much more.

Hard to start Kubota
Kubota Tractors
Replies 6 Post by droz

Are you saying the reception is good when the tractor is parked and not running or parked and idling. Is this radio made for a vehicle? It may not be shielded properly from interference although there is no spark on a diesel like a gas engine. Need more info.

Poor radio reception
Tractor Projects
Replies 2 Post by droz

My experience with a trencher was with my 36 HP Bobcat and it barely was able to move the trencher beyond a depth of a few inches. My 46 HP BObcat did a better job but it told me that trenchers in particular place a huge demand on the machine. And if you hit any rocks it doesn't work well. I used my backhoe; it was messier but more thorough.

pto quot ditch witch quot
Loaders Back Hoes
Replies 6 Post by droz

Well, I have a Grand L4310 and I am assuming they are the same or similar (43 HP). Yours new would probably cost around $22,000 so I would say that was in the ballpark. However, with that many hours on it you probably wouldn't expect it to last more than 25-30 years more.

Kubota Price
Kubota Tractors
Replies 4 Post by droz

Obviously we are all pretty sure that John Deere doesn't make their own filters or oil (or engines or other parts for that matter). It is contracted out of course. Certainly for warranty purposes alone though, you should probably get their filter because if anything goes wrong you don't want a dealer to see a different filter on the machine. Just out of curiosity, why are you changing the oil at 6HOURS? I also have a 4100.

4100 Filter Part 1
John Deere Tractors
Replies 9 Post by droz

I think you will find there is much more power and range with the gas driven engines. Make sure you get a Honda engine on it if you do (avoid Briggs). I have a professional Generac model with a 6.5 HP Honda engine. Yes, it will do damage if you are not careful but that just means using the right tips and pressure. It sure takes off the dirt. I just used it to wash an old deck and it was an incredible difference afterwards. And yes, regreasing is recommended after.

Power Washers
Parts and Repair
Replies 8 Post by droz

Now I am worried. I changed the fluids on my Kubota L4310 and had no shavings at all after 50 hours. Either I have a precision machine or I am in trouble!

Hydrostatic Transmission
John Deere Tractors
Replies 3 Post by droz

Well, here is the bad news. I have used them for my Bobcat and they are 1)very expensive ($4000. to go to three feet and more for deeper) and 2)take a huge amount of hydraulic power (I had to upgrade to a 46 HP Bobcat to be even able to use it) and 3)if you hit a large rock, you need your backhoe anyway.

trenching sprinkler lines
Operating and Attachments
Replies 12 Post by droz