I mentioned I was in a hurry Saturday morning to get the tractor out of the barn for shearing day and I couldn't get it to fire up. Well I should have went out and cut some more wood today but with the grass growing as it is and the fact that the tractor not starting bothering me I decided to get the equipment issues figured out instead.
On my way down to start in on the tractor I suddenly had a thought....
"Did I perchance shut the fuel line off on her since I knew she was going to be sitting so long while I worked on the hood and nose cone issues"?
Of course I would never do anything so stupid as to not check the fuel line. By some miraculous and divine intervention somehow the old girl fixed herself over night and fired right up on the first try. She is now back in her parking place inside the barn waiting for some nice calm, warm days so I can get the rest of her body work done.
I have no clue why she was being so temperamental yesterday morning. None at all.
The two riding mowers were a bit more stubborn. My older mower is going to need a new battery. The one that is in her won't take a charge for nothing and the engine has a sizeable oil leak somewhere. The newer mower took a bit of coaxing but after I finally got her fired up and let her run a bit seemed to be back in top condition.
So as it turns out I am sitting pretty good from the equipment standpoint now. Only one mower and one tractor that need some work. A new battery on the mower and I need to replace the exhaust manifold on the 850 I bought to use while I am restoring the 861. Everything else appears to be running fine although it's time for some oil and fluid maintenance on the log splitter when I am done with her this year too.
Looks like I am going to be mowing this week which will be the earliest I ever remember mowing to date.
Keep Prepping Everyone!!!!!!
We are not mowing yet, the Alpacas are doing a great job of keeping the grass down :-)
ReplyDeleteDM - The sheep do a good job of that where they can get too but that still leaves me a fair sized space they can't. It is shrinking though and eventually I hope to only have a small area filled with fruit trees they can't get to. Sheep and fruit trees are not a good combo :)
DeleteYes mowers always seem to need work in the spring. Ours has some issues too.
ReplyDeleteLisa - The thing that gets me is I can start em every month and run em and keep em checked out but yet that last few weeks of Winter always seems to be harder ont hem and cause issues that the other 12 weeks didn't.
DeleteOur animals are making sure that the grass in the grazing fields are kept under control, meanwhile everywhere else the grass is starting to romp away teasing the cows and sheep into trying to push their way through the fencing to get to it. Good job that fencing is strong!
ReplyDeleteVera - Ya the stuff in the yard is getting high. Now ay around it I am going to have to start mowing this week :(
DeleteI have learned to keep my hand off of the Ferguson's choke and all goes well. It should require choking in cold weather but doesn't, hard to figure. I haven't touched the mowers as they can ruin a day quickly. You will be mowing hay before long!
ReplyDeleteSf - The 8N needs very little choke most of the time. It's funny how the old tractors take ona life of their own.
DeleteGood to hear that the diesel "fixed" itself. I was feeling your pain in that previous post.
ReplyDeleteUnrelatedly, back at Spring Camp in forestry school we had a field exam. One of the stations was starting a chainsaw in, like, two minutes. After furiously pulling the starter for 1 minute and 30 seconds I noticed the ignition switch was "OFF" one pull later and she started right up. The professor was really holding back his laughter for those first 1 min, 30 sec.
John - I have a chain saw that somehow manages to flip it's own switch to off. Not sure how it does it but I know it does. I will pull and pull then notice it is flipped to off after I KNOW I flipped it to run....
DeleteSounds great, all the best with everything. Warm greetings.
ReplyDeleteBlogratti - Thank you!!!
DeletePP,
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean about the fuel line. I have a skid steer and it uses a universal john deere key... soblots of farmers have identical keys for tractors.
One particular neighbour has a history of "borrowing" my skid steer with out asking when i'm not home.
Last fall i pulled the starter fuse part way out to prevent it going for a walk. I forgot I did that when i tried to start it the other day.
Exile1981