Above 1200 Sq/FT Out on Quaker Road

[oldironfarmer]

I'll bite. Why 0 hrs? You're not resetting the hour meter for a new torque converter, I'm sure.

I thought sifan's story was great, sounds like the businessman's incestuous relationship was embarrassing.

Have you used sawdust for oil dry? I find it cleans up more oil, ***** it out of the floor better, and makes a great fire starter as well as a good use for some of the wood shop waste.

 

[jblnut]

Nice work. I especially like the "0 hrs" written on the filters.
While it looks like a pain, I suspect for inside the chicken barn work you'll never have to have split it again....and if you do, by then the kids will be old enough to do the hard stuff.

I sure hope the kiddos show the same interest when they get older. I couldn't ask for much more than a couple kids with greasy hands .... and probably hair knowing how they are

Agreed, you got your money out of the first filter!

I questioned doing some of these extra things while the tractor was torn apart and ultimately this guy won out -> "Hey there Leedstone customer, as long as I have this robot torn apart I think it'd be smart to replace a few other wear items that look decent but will cause issues down the road". I argued with myself and lost.

I'll bite. Why 0 hrs? You're not resetting the hour meter for a new torque converter, I'm sure.

I thought sifan's story was great, sounds like the businessman's incestuous relationship was embarrassing.

Have you used sawdust for oil dry? I find it cleans up more oil, ***** it out of the floor better, and makes a great fire starter as well as a good use for some of the wood shop waste.

I went back and read it again and laughed once again. I'm sure they were both quite embarrassed and I'd imagine it was a quiet ride home.

I have used sawdust before and it does work great !! I use floor-dry when I run out of sawdust. I haven't done a lot of woodworking stuff at my place lately and the stuff we've been making by Dad's place is mostly planer chips.

Seems as if I forgot to post a picture last night. This is really an amazing tractor, it hasn't aged a minute since I purchased it. I have no idea if it actually had around 2,817hrs when I purchased it or if it has 10,000hrs as the hour meter has not worked since I've owned it. Oh well I guess. No great way to test that other than leave it run on the dealer lot for a while. New tach is installed and shows 0000.0hrs so that's what goes on the filters

 

[jblnut]

I got a few odds and ends back in the trans tonight and cleaned up some goober that has settled in there while it was open. Should be ready for a cover soon !!


I also got the new clutch and pressure plate installed. It would have been a nightmare to get all the oil off the other one and I decided it was better to just go new. Plus I put in a "heavy duty" clutch that should last longer as I ride the clutch a fair bit in the chicken barn.

 

[Farmall450]

Well, that clears up the hour thing. Hard to go wrong with a diesel IH utility, or any cared for older international. There's not much that can't be changed or serviced.

 

[jblnut]

Well, that clears up the hour thing. Hard to go wrong with a diesel IH utility, or any cared for older international. There's not much that can't be changed or serviced.

After doing this T/A rebuild I think there's not much on the 884 we can't do ... or the 886 for that matter. The clutch has been getting mighty touchy on there the last bunch of years. Might be time to split another IH !!!

I think we'll wait until the new shop is built to tackle that one though. Might be a year or 9 before we get it built

 

[jblnut]

Got the "new" ProMaster in Dad's shop to fill it up with all the **** I took out of my old one on Friday. It feels weird calling this one the new one as it was built a few months before the old one and it has 15,000 more miles on it


I got the racking in and stared at it for awhile waiting for inspiration.


I guess I must have liked the way the old one was set up as it ended up just about the same


Since this van is 18" shorter there is not room for my old Craftsman tool chest stack on the drivers side. I ordered a different box to put in the van behind the bulkhead that will be here in a week or so. I had a bit of space left over on the drivers side so I am going to see how I like having some of these DeWalt Tough system boxes in the stack. A couple are full of networking stuff and the others are full of misc screws and other hardware. I think I'm going to end up building shelves for them as this isn't going to work long term. I'll have to tear the entire stack apart to get to anything in the lower boxes ....


The steers were all running around like mad cows until I pulled out my camera. Then they all got nosy at the same time.


I've been tossing around the idea of getting a newer skid loader with a heated cab and a 2 speed and Dad had to show off a bit and plow snow in 2 speed to show me just how much faster he is than my 763. I think an S250 would be a nice machine but they're still too spendy at around $25-$30k for one with lower hours. No emissions BS to deal with is probably worth it though ....

 

[Farmall450]

Yeah, that's one thing our 85XT is lacking - the 2 speed. The hundred series that follows (but preferably still w/ the Cummins) would be awesome.

 

[davo727]

Glad to see the bulkhead in the van to keep all that junk from hitting you in the head if theres a traffic incident.

 

[jblnut]

Yeah, that's one thing our 85XT is lacking - the 2 speed. The hundred series that follows (but preferably still w/ the Cummins) would be awesome.

I've got a BIL with a 40Xt and he loves it but also wishes he went to a 420 with a 2 speed. The inlaws just picked up a brand new SV280 with all the goodies (it even has a backup camera !!) and they LOVE it. I've yet to use it I guess. The last Case skiddy I drove was our 430 Series I. What a POS that was !!

Glad to see the bulkhead in the van to keep all that junk from hitting you in the head if theres a traffic incident.

I guess that's a major benefit of it. I look at it as a way to keep the squeaks and rattles confined to the rear of the van. Those of you that know me know that really bothers me ......

 

[jblnut]

Each week the Kindergarten class features a family and the student is the "Super Hero" of the week. This week was Miss Lily's week so I went and had lunch with her. To say whe was "a bit" excited to see me at school is a small understatement !!


Menards decided to put something on sale I've been eyeing for a while and I could not resist. The man van and I went to pick it up on Tuesday.


I purchased this rivnut tool a while back thinking it'd come in handy and it finally did !!!


I used it to secure the racking in my "new" work van. Man it worked slick !!


More parts for the 884 keep trickling in so we're putting them in as we get them. The fork and new throwout bearing came today. The old stuff was quite a bit more worn than I though once I put it up to the new stuff ...


We got tons of stuff back together tonight. The next step is to connect the front and rear and make it whole again !!

 

[Finallygotit]

Man, working on that tractor looks like a job and a half. Glad you're getting it sorted out.


That picture of you and Miss Lily put a smile on my face.

 

[jblnut]

Man, working on that tractor looks like a job and a half. Glad you're getting it sorted out.

That picture of you and Miss Lily put a smile on my face.

The tractor is taking longer than I thought it would but I'm hopeful that it'll be together 100% tomorrow !!

It was fun for me as well. That is the same school I went to back in the day with some of the same staff and it was neat to see what all had and hadn't all changed over the years. I'm quite certain we used the same lunch trays that I used back in the day

 

[oldironfarmer]

Very cool you took time to go see your Super Hero.

Looks like you're getting there on the binder. A lot of the parts look strangely familiar.

 

[threeputt]

The filter I took out had May '81 stamped into it so if that one lasted 38yrs I shouldn't need to change the hydraulic filter again until 2057. I'll be 70 and doubt I'll remember about the drain valve

You will. I am 71 and still remember good what I did back in the day I think

 

[jblnut]

Very cool you took time to go see your Super Hero.

Looks like you're getting there on the binder. A lot of the parts look strangely familiar.

Every Super Hero has a super Dad behind them and every super Dad has an understanding wife behind them

I'd imagine from the days of the Super M to this 884 things would look similar.

You will. I am 71 and still remember good what I did back in the day I think

Point noted. I hope this site keeps running until then and I can search for something I think I forgot but might remember enough to spark a memory so I can search for the idea again

 

[jblnut]

Annnnnnnnnnnnd it looks more like a tractor again !!!


Dad and I spent WAY too much time lining up the trans/clutch shafts when we put the two halves back together !!! It took an amazing amount of time but we got it. Pretty much all that is left is the wiring harness and a few odds and ends. Oh and we need to put all the various fluids in it again !!

 

[Muzzy]

Looking good!

 

[Higgins]

Looks like an amazing week.

Nice idea that parents have an opportunity to spend a day in class with their kid. What a hoot. And the kids will get to learn what other parents do!

What a wonderful tractor project. Once completed that sucker will be running another 50-60 yrs. Be glad that your doing that at your age. If i was to tackle a project like that at my age, 72, it would take yrs to complete as i would have forgotten where a lot of the parts go, and probably have a few left over. LOL

I'm sooooo envious that you have a Menards to go to! Last yr. we moved to a mountain top down in TN. We love it here, EXCEPT we only have a Lowes and it *****! Ranging from they don't carry products that other Lowes does, staff and management attitudes ****, and the stores are a pig pen. So we end up driving 1 1/2 - 2 hrs to get to either a HD or Menards. So I end up purchasing a lot of stuff on line!

AL

 

[oldironfarmer]

Putting any tractor together with double shafts can be a challenge. Glad you got it.

Did you forget anything and need to split it again?

I guess it is not surprising but as they change models the designers typically use what they can from the last model. Changes in sheet metal make them look different. That clutch release design lasted a long time. And the M rear end lasted too long.

 

[jblnut]

Looking good!

Thanks, you too !!!

Looks like an amazing week.
It seems like every time I think I can't get any busier I have a jam packed full week !!!

Nice idea that parents have an opportunity to spend a day in class with their kid. What a hoot. And the kids will get to learn what other parents do!
It was fun to have lunch with her. We chose to send her (and the others in due time) to the same local Catholic school I attended. There is definitely a family atmosphere in the classroom and meal time was a blast !!

What a wonderful tractor project. Once completed that sucker will be running another 50-60 yrs. Be glad that your doing that at your age. If i was to tackle a project like that at my age, 72, it would take yrs to complete as i would have forgotten where a lot of the parts go, and probably have a few left over. LOL
I put all the nuts and bolts in zip locks and took lots of pictures during disassembly to make things easier for reassembly. So far it's working very well. I do the same at work when replacing things and its always saved me a lot of frustration !!

I'm sooooo envious that you have a Menards to go to! Last yr. we moved to a mountain top down in TN. We love it here, EXCEPT we only have a Lowes and it *****! Ranging from they don't carry products that other Lowes does, staff and management attitudes ****, and the stores are a pig pen. So we end up driving 1 1/2 - 2 hrs to get to either a HD or Menards. So I end up purchasing a lot of stuff on line!
I've been to a Lowes and it's just a blue themed Home Depot. Menards gets my vote every time

AL

Thanks for stopping by !!

Putting any tractor together with double shafts can be a challenge. Glad you got it.

Did you forget anything and need to split it again?

I guess it is not surprising but as they change models the designers typically use what they can from the last model. Changes in sheet metal make them look different. That clutch release design lasted a long time. And the M rear end lasted too long.

I'm running short of baggies of hardware so we must be getting close to the end !! I sure hope it doesn't have to come apart again. That would kind of **** ....

Back in the days of the H & M's going through the 460's & 560's there was a TON of cross over from one model to the next. "Hey George, what are we going to do with all these leftover parts from these Super M's now that the 400's are going down the production line?" "Gee Bill, just wait a few months and throw them in a few at a time, no one will notice !!"


I have a little man on my lap taking a nap right now and have typed this all with only my right hand. Bob, I don't know how you do it.

 

[gilr]

Now all you need to do is haul it to Don Long in California and have him paint it. Just think, a show tractor! But then, I guess it would be "too pretty" to use once he did his magic on it..

 

[Muzzy]

Thanks, you too !!!

Well I meant the tractor! But my wife thought you and your daughter at school was cute. Thanks for sharing both the home and the farm with us.

Hopefully one of these years I can show a similar tear down on an Oliver.

 

[jblnut]

Now all you need to do is haul it to Don Long in California and have him paint it. Just think, a show tractor! But then, I guess it would be "too pretty" to use once he did his magic on it..

Oh boy I don't think this would be a good candiate for Don to paint. The tin is really rough and there are a number of other things that need to be fixed up before it's back to 100% mechanically sound again. One day if I ever get my 1938 John Deere Unstyled G purchased and fixed up I'd be honored if someone with a list of resto's under his belt like him would want to paint it

Well I meant the tractor! But my wife thought you and your daughter at school was cute. Thanks for sharing both the home and the farm with us.

Hopefully one of these years I can show a similar tear down on an Oliver.

I enjoying sharing what we do out here. I promise you there are MANY more pictures that never make into this thread. Tons of candid shots of the kiddos doing silly stuff and plenty of oddball things around the farm that seem interesting to me but I doubt would be to anyone else.

Oh I'd be in to see an Oliver get fixed up and pretty !!!

 

[jblnut]

Center console is on and the wiring needs to be run. I ended up taking 100% of the old dried out tape off and re-wrapped the entire harness. It turned out pretty nice but I failed to capture my handiwork in a photo ....


Wiring harness is run and the battery tray is painted and installed. The battery tray was really pitted and rusted up so I hit it with some rust converter and a coat of good ol' black Rustoleum spray paint.


I dropped a wrench and noticed the alternator was all wonky when I went to pick it up. I moved a few washers around to offset it a bit and it's back in line again. I failed to photograph that wondrous achievement so you'll have to take my word for it


Pretty much everything needed to run the tractor was done so we went over to get some oils. 9gal of JD HyTrans and 2.75gal of 15w40 engine oil go in this ol' girl. The bulk oil totes are at Dads place and are out in the cold. It took A LONG time to get all the oil into jugs


Dad - "We should start it and check for leaks"
Me - "Boy that'll make a smokey mess in here !!"
Dad - "Oh it won't be that bad"


Out for a test drive. It was quite exciting to see it moving again !!


No leaks found and the T/A and clutch seem WAY stronger. We put it back in the shed-in-a-shed until it'll be needed in the chicken barn in a few weeks. We left the hood off to check for leaks again once it gets run hard while cleaning the chicken barn out.


After the tractor was moved around I went out to move some snow around. I took a tape measure and measured 22" of snow on the ground. It's been a LONG time since we had this much snow !!


Everytime I moved the bucket I heard an unusual clunk. After a bit of investigation I found one of the bucket cylinders was loose.


Tightened up and ready for more fun in the snow !!!!!


Seems the heat from the chicken barn is melting the snow in front of the fan ......


I wonder how long it'd take to melt all the snow I have out here doing it one bucket at a time

 

[oldironfarmer]

WOW! Fancy snow melting machine! Maybe you'll have a pile of ice there...

Great job getting the tractor up and running.

 

[drivesitfar]

JBL: looks like you've got everything running smoothly again. Tractor looks great, Bobcat scooping snow, new van loaded and a new snow melting process.

I used to love going to elementary school functions for our kids. when they got in middle school parents weren't as cool, but then when they got in high school we were cool again so we went to all the school's games whether our kids were playing or just watching.

keep up the great work on the farm and maybe you'll get some warm weather soon.

cheers

 

[jblnut]

WOW! Fancy snow melting machine! Maybe you'll have a pile of ice there...

Great job getting the tractor up and running.

There is a large puddle there already that I'm sure will freeze solid as soon as the fan is shut off when the chickens leave. The ground is thawed there as well as I almost got stuck in the mud when I backed out !!

I need to add up the cost of all the parts now to see if I actually saved any money doing it myself. It seemed as if everytime I ran for parts it was a couple hundred dollars and the initial parts order was well over a grand.

JBL: looks like you've got everything running smoothly again. Tractor looks great, Bobcat scooping snow, new van loaded and a new snow melting process.

I used to love going to elementary school functions for our kids. when they got in middle school parents weren't as cool, but then when they got in high school we were cool again so we went to all the school's games whether our kids were playing or just watching.

keep up the great work on the farm and maybe you'll get some warm weather soon.

cheers

I'm going to enjoy as much stuff as I can that the little people want me involved in. You were cool again in high school because they figured out you had more $$$$$ than they did.

 

[jblnut]

After putting the tractor back in its shed we put the new cattle alleyway in the shop. I need to find a way to make the sliding gate fit in the front so we can start using it !! Once this is done I can set up my new tool chest !!

 

[red]

Congrats on the tractor!

Pretty sure the dealer wouldn't have done the extra work & parts.
And if they asked about doing the extra work it would have been reflected in the final price.

After checking for leaks you may want to install the covers before getting it dirty in the chicken barn.

 

[Bob Heine]

I have a little man on my lap taking a nap right now and have typed this all with only my right hand. Bob, I don't know how you do it.

JBLnut, it's a combination of patience and lack of alternatives. People wish for a third arm on the tough jobs -- I'd settle for two -- but I'm happy to have one.

GJ is upsetting Liane. She asks me why I'm smiling. When I tell her it's something I read on Garage Journal I see a little green around her gills.

 

[jblnut]

Congrats on the tractor!

Pretty sure the dealer wouldn't have done the extra work & parts.
And if they asked about doing the extra work it would have been reflected in the final price.

After checking for leaks you may want to install the covers before getting it dirty in the chicken barn.

The local CaseIH Dealer (Arnold's of St. Martin) has a $130/hr labor rate. If I had to venture a guess I'd say we have 50-60hrs in this project so that'd be $6,500 - $7,800 in labor alone I'm saving. Pretty sure they'd have done it faster but even at half my time invested that's still almost $4,000 saved.

The entire tractor gets covered top to bottom in dust anyway so I'm not sure if having the shields on and hood on will really stop it from getting any dirtier. There are a few large dents in the hood and I was going to try my hand at a bit of body work to see if'fin I can't get them to be a little less denty ....

JBLnut, it's a combination of patience and lack of alternatives. People wish for a third arm on the tough jobs -- I'd settle for two -- but I'm happy to have one.

GJ is upsetting Liane. She asks me why I'm smiling. When I tell her it's something I read on Garage Journal I see a little green around her gills.

One does not realize all the good things in life until they are removed. The one thing that cannot be removed by anyone but yourself is a positive attitude. I tell that to myself every morning when I wake up, kiss my beautiful bride, BANG on the kids doors and start the coffee.

Tell Liane it's better to be smiling at something on GJ than to be out in the wild causing a raucous and getting in trouble

 

[jblnut]

Good grief I'm getting sick of winter. We haven't had this much snow in a LONG time. I pushed it all away from the chicken barn driveway with the skiddy so it'd quit putting 4' deep drifts in the way. This picture does nothing for how it actually looks !!

We had a good ol' Minnesota winter Sunday today. We watched a few movies (Ralph Wrecks the Internet, Incredibles 1 & 2) and had some popcorn. Once the kiddos were sleeping and chores were done it was time to start and finish the mods to the alley so I could put the sliding gate on it. I started by flap sander-ing the paint off the parts that would be welded on. Paint stinks and makes for cruddy welds. 1,500lb steers are going to be banging into this stuff so I need it as strong as possible !!

I built a little jig on my makeshift welding table so I'd get all the new hinges the same.

Oh boy they look nice

Ok well they're not hinges, rather they're mounting points that'll have a rod through them to pin them to the alley.

I grew up using the monster arc welder on the farm and once they got a Miller 185 I thought that was the cat's pajamas. They had straight CO2 in it for welding dirty heavy metal and I decided to put an Argon mix in my tank. Oh my garwsh this welds SOOOOOO smooth with very little effort. The metal really needs to be clean to get a smooth even weld but it is much easier to use.

The scale was a touch wide so I had to cut off a little stopper post to get it to fit. I cut a nice little piece out of a piece of heavy wall 2" tubing to replace it. This is the first time I've used this neat magnetic 90 and it sure is nice !!

A little primer and some paint and you'd never know it wasn't factory done

 

[ripperd]

We had that same wind, and it really whipps off the farm field into our end of the neighborhood. Bottom of our driveway was drifted over twice yesterday, and once this morning. Cleared it 3 times! And still have more to do tonight, this morning I did just enough for the wife and I to get out. We are the 3rd house from the farm field. This shot is looking out a front window. Cul-de-sac snow berm is about 6' tall. The picture doesn't really do it justice on how much snow there is.

I did get out for a quick rip on the snowmobile yesterday. The wind was a little annoying, but the snow that was blowing stayed near the ground so most of the time it didn't actually hurt visibility. It was like riding in sand dunes or the ocean. The snowplow wash was pretty firm, and makes for a good spot to stop without getting stuck at all.

 

[Farmall450]

All fun and games melting snow until you slip and fall a few feet away on all the ice lol

 

[XJSuperman]

Yeah, the weather really sucked this weekend. Saturday rain followed by a **** ton of snow overnight, thus stranding me in Webster City until late afternoon when I finally ventured out taking smaller highways down to Ames. They closed i35 from Ames to MN, declared a State of Emergency, and closed i69 too! 35 was still closed this morning when I was heading to work....good thing I wasn't going north.

One day if I ever get my 1938 John Deere Unstyled G purchased and fixed up I'd be honored if someone with a list of resto's under his belt like him would want to paint it

An unstyled G you say? Planning on getting into tractor pulling or just want a nice stock one? Dad's got a '49 bored .090 over that we use to farm, play, and pull with. The model G definitely has a special place in my heart. Word of advice: find a later "tall radiator" model as the "low radiator" early models fetch a nice collector's price due to rarity.

 

[cliftonbros89]

. One day if I ever get my 1938 John Deere Unstyled G purchased and fixed up I'd be honored if someone with a list of resto's under his belt like him would want to paint

We have a ‘38 G that dad has built for pulling. Over 100 horse. Billet block, head and pistons. Pistons are 7” in diameter.

I’d kind of like to just have it original though.

 

[drivesitfar]

JBL: love the welding lessons and I bet your modification really will work well. nice job!!

as far as our kids maybe why they didn't like us as much in middle school cause when they asked for stuff we made them do chores or go babysitting or mowing lawns or working for the cash to fund their toys. by the time they got to High School they probably had more spending money available for fun stuff than we did so they were grateful and liked having us around again.

that said if they kept their grades up we did buy them a used car and paid their insurance and if their grades dropped they had to make the payments. we were raising adults I guess you could say hence all of our kids participating in the world while other kids their age are still living with their parents and complaining about life in general.

keep up the great work and I bet you smile every morning cause if you didn't no way you'd get all that stuff done that you do. that said I think you are just trying to keep pace with young LEO.

cheers

 

[RickP]

Nice work on the tractor repairs - you made that look easy! Well, maybe not easy - it looked like it was a ton of work. But you must be pretty happy it went back together without any major problems.

I've been putting off a transmission repair on mine for a while now, just because I'm not looking forward to splitting the tractor. So I was following along with yours while you did all this work on it, and hoping to learn a little. Now I can see why the dealers charge so much for a clutch replacement.

 

[jblnut]

We had that same wind, and it really whips off the farm field into our end of the neighborhood. Bottom of our driveway was drifted over twice yesterday, and once this morning. Cleared it 3 times! And still have more to do tonight, this morning I did just enough for the wife and I to get out. We are the 3rd house from the farm field. This shot is looking out a front window. Cul-de-sac snow berm is about 6' tall. The picture doesn't really do it justice on how much snow there is.

I did get out for a quick rip on the snowmobile yesterday. The wind was a little annoying, but the snow that was blowing stayed near the ground so most of the time it didn't actually hurt visibility. It was like riding in sand dunes or the ocean. The snowplow wash was pretty firm, and makes for a good spot to stop without getting stuck at all.

It is unbelievable how much snow there is this year. I have a feeling it's going to warm up and make a HUGE mess in a quick hurry !!

All fun and games melting snow until you slip and fall a few feet away on all the ice lol

Yeah, it worked very well but made a huge skating rink so no more snow melting projects any time soon

Yeah, the weather really sucked this weekend. Saturday rain followed by a **** ton of snow overnight, thus stranding me in Webster City until late afternoon when I finally ventured out taking smaller highways down to Ames. They closed i35 from Ames to MN, declared a State of Emergency, and closed i69 too! 35 was still closed this morning when I was heading to work....good thing I wasn't going north.

An unstyled G you say? Planning on getting into tractor pulling or just want a nice stock one? Dad's got a '49 bored .090 over that we use to farm, play, and pull with. The model G definitely has a special place in my heart. Word of advice: find a later "tall radiator" model as the "low radiator" early models fetch a nice collector's price due to rarity.

An Unstyled GW to be exact. Not sure why, just really like how they look. No desire to pull it professionally but it might go once or twice. It'd be a fun tractor to have and tinker with !!

We have a ‘38 G that dad has built for pulling. Over 100 horse. Billet block, head and pistons. Pistons are 7” in diameter.

I’d kind of like to just have it original though.

100hp out of a G ?!?! Yikes what a monster !! I have a neighbor that uses a Deere 830 Diesel on his Penta 6030 TMR. It looks ridiculous but he says it handles it better than their Deere 7210

JBL: love the welding lessons and I bet your modification really will work well. nice job!!I hope they work well. It's been so cold lately we haven't been able to try it out !!

as far as our kids maybe why they didn't like us as much in middle school cause when they asked for stuff we made them do chores or go babysitting or mowing lawns or working for the cash to fund their toys. by the time they got to High School they probably had more spending money available for fun stuff than we did so they were grateful and liked having us around again. I was brought up doing chores and things in order to get something I thought I needed. It seemed like a fair trade at the time and is how we're raising our kids today.

that said if they kept their grades up we did buy them a used car and paid their insurance and if their grades dropped they had to make the payments. we were raising adults I guess you could say hence all of our kids participating in the world while other kids their age are still living with their parents and complaining about life in general.There are too many parents that want their kids to succeed SOOOO badly that they help them every step of the way. They don't learn anything that way and will never fly when pushed out of the nest !!

keep up the great work and I bet you smile every morning cause if you didn't no way you'd get all that stuff done that you do. that said I think you are just trying to keep pace with young LEO.I wish I had 25% of the energy that Leo has. That kid just seems to be always moving !!

cheers

Nice work on the tractor repairs - you made that look easy! Well, maybe not easy - it looked like it was a ton of work. But you must be pretty happy it went back together without any major problems.

I've been putting off a transmission repair on mine for a while now, just because I'm not looking forward to splitting the tractor. So I was following along with yours while you did all this work on it, and hoping to learn a little. Now I can see why the dealers charge so much for a clutch replacement.

The repairs really weren't all that hard. I purchased the IT service manuals before hand and read though them so I knew what I was getting into. While dissembling I took lots of pictures and put the nuts and bolts in labeled bags. Both of those things helped TREMENDOUSLY !!

The clutch replacement by itself would have been a piece of cake. Getting the T/A out and back in was the challenge as the entire trans needed to come off and apart. All in all it went well and we're going to put it through it's paces in the chicken barn in a week when the chickens go on vacation at a grocery store near you

 

[jblnut]

One of our customers had the misfortune of having a section of one barn roof fail and collapse due to a TREMENDOUS amount of snow blowing in over a few days. We had ran wires for the Activity monitoring system through the rafters that are no longer there and needed to re-run them to get his system back online. Luckily they were milking out of a different barn at the time of the collapse so no animals and no people were even in the area that feel down.

A piece of very frozen rope makes for a good spool holder

When working in adverse conditions I always tell myself it could always be worse. Well it was crazy windy in this area with the roof missing and the temp was hovering around -5F. I think the only way it could have been worse is if it was also dark ...

It never fails. The Milwaukee Inkzall writes perfectly at -5F !!

After that fun was over I got to work in a brand new barn. I'll be installing a full camera/WiFi system here !!

Friday March 1st we recieved another 6" of snow and it has since plummeted to -15F again and will be cold until the end of the week. It's March !!! No more cold !!!

My poor house roof looked like it had too much snow so I headed up there with a shovel to remedy that. Turns out there was almost 5' in a few places

Look at all that snow

-19F air hitting 71F air in the chicken barn makes for a foggy mess. The chickens don't seem to care one bit but it is hard to look at them all through all the fog !!

Since I don't have #1 diesel over here I need to make sure I fill the skiddy up before I park in in the warm shed. That way all the fuel is warm before I take it out in the cold. Never had an issue doing this even while having it out and running for a few hours in -0F temps.