This is more about trying to farm and ranch with old cheap equipment. Two years ago I bought a 1992 Massey Ferguson 90 horse 4 wd cab tractor so I would have a/c when baling hay. Bought it in October so didn't get to use it until the following summer. Neighbor called and asked if I could run it down to his place to help him unload a tandem disc. So I hotfooted it down there, about 3 miles. Just as I was pulling in to his place the tractor started missing, blowing tons of black smoke, no power. Got his disc unloaded and limped it back home.
Changed fuel filter, air filter, no change. So I called a Mobil mechanic,he came out, I can't even remember how many times, took him about 6 weeks to diagnose a blow head gasket, order parts, get the head rebuilt, etc. Had to use my non cab Kubota to make hay. Almost $6000.00 later tractor is running better than ever.
Went to cut hay with it about a month ago, a/c won't get cold. Found a couple of bad hoses. I ordered a hose kit from a place called vintage air and an a/c hydraulic fitting crimping tool. Made new hoses, vacumned the system and recharged it. Blew cold air, I'm thinking we are good. Go out in the morning to hook up my haybine, a/c blowing hot air! Well d@mn! Get to checking the compressor has failed. Get new compressor and drier ordered. Put them on, vacumn, charge, blowing cold air, I'm thinking we are good again. WRONG.. get in the next morning, hot air! Hook my gauges up, nothing. So I borrow a neighbor's trailer and haul it to a diesel shop. They found that the hoses that run up through the cab are bad. They pull them out, I take the to an a/c shop and have new hoses made. $400.00 for 2 hoses! Take them back to the shop, they put them in, cold a/c!! Get it home, after another $400.00 to the shop. Hook up my cutter, and Wednesday morning I cut hay! Yea! Thursday morning I hook up my hay rake, while I am adjusting it, I look toward the tractor and it is dumping hydraulic fluid!, power steering cylinder blew a seal.
So, I am back on the non cab tractor raking and baling hay in 100 + heat.
Finally got it baled and pulled out of the field. Time to start repairs on my cutter, broke one of the 4 springs on the back that hold the cutter head up, and need to adjust the tension on my baler belts. Then pull the steering cylinder off and have it resealed.
Never ending.....
Yes, sounds familiar. Except most of my stuff is 10 t0 20 years older. The only AC I have is in the swather, but cabs on most everything else. We don't get as hot as you though. But I had to have a clutch done in my loader tractor this spring, about $3500 later it seems OK. I have minor hydraulic leaks in everything but about 3 weeks ago I blew one of the main hydraulic lines on the Case 1070 while baling, blew out about 7 gallons of oil and stopped moving in about 30 seconds. Aside from having to swap tractors to finish which is PITA, of course they didn't have the part, so had to wait 8 days for it to come. I had to work on the steering of the swather, it works with a jack screw that moves arms on the pumps for the hydrostatic drive, replaced the screw, the threaded blocks that mount to the arms and some rubber bushings on one arm, should have just done both arms because I ran it for about 4 hours when the rubber bushings went out of the other side.
Fortunately I have a neighbor who is a mechanic and runs a shop about a mile and half away, and he makes a lot of money off me.
On top of all that have been struggling with the weather to get hay done at all, and then get hurt on top of it. :eusa_wall:
Some days I'm so glad I chased this stupid stupid dream of ranching.
Those of us that eat stuff, sure appreciate the effort you guys put in to grow stuff !
I appreciate the thanks, but don't let anyone fool you, no one is doing this for anyone but themselves, because that's the only way it's worth it. Some insane desire to punish yourself for little money, just so you don't have to live next to someone.
Amen Honcho!
Sorry to hear you got hurt, Honcho, hope you're mending quickly.
I got off the line a long time ago for a lot of the reasons you've all mentioned. Aircraft maintenance is a young man's job, most people don't realize how physical it can be. A lot of the guys I know who stayed outside are paying for it now with all kinds of health issues. I enjoyed it (well, most of the time anyway) while I was doing it, but I'm glad I made the move to management. I might live a little longer now! :icon_mrgreen:
So far, all my mechanical devices are working just fine!