[AT] And Now For Something Different - A Tractor Problem

charlie hill chill8 at suddenlink.net
Mon Feb 12 03:40:43 PST 2007


Al,  In that 73 snow a local grading contractors daughter in law was due to 
have her first baby any day.  They lived about 3 miles from the hospital. 
The granddad to be got his motor grader started and drove with the blade up 
to his son's house, put down the blade and cut a path from his son's house 
to the hospital.  Then he lifted the blade back up and drove the motor 
grader back to his shop.

He wasn't interested in doing free work for the state...... just looking out 
for his family.

For others reading this our eastern NC road crews don't have hardly any snow 
removal equipment.  They can barely clear the main highways in a light snow. 
If we get more than a couple of inches it's every man for himself.

Charlie
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Al Jones" <aljones at ncfreedom.net>
To: "'Antique tractor email discussion group'" 
<at at lists.antique-tractor.com>
Sent: Sunday, February 11, 2007 11:27 PM
Subject: RE: [AT] And Now For Something Different - A Tractor Problem


> Charlie,
>
> You jogged a couple memories:
> My grandmother/great-grandmother kept a lot of stuff.  She had a front
> page clipping of the Wallace, NC Enterprise from that week, on the front
> page was a IH 504 pulling somebody out of the snow, and the most
> striking picture, a JD, probably a 3010 or 3020, chained to the front of
> one of the county ambulances in front of Duplin General Hospital.  What
> struck me about that photo is the JD dealer in Teachey (Wallace) had a
> painting of that scene hanging in his showroom.  (Tractor Content!)
>
> The thing I remember about the 1980 snow was my mother was directing a
> wedding for a former student of hers.  By then she had already taught
> the bride, and the groom's sisters.  They got married March 2, my dad's
> birthday.  It started snowing the night before, I remember standing in
> my grandparents' living room watching them pull in to get me that night
> in the '72 Bonneville and it was snowing GOOD by then.  We were out
> about a week from school, (kindergarten) when we got back it was so late
> in the winter that the teachers had started teaching about what to do
> during a tornado drill--and there was still snow on the ground!! That
> was also only one of two times I ever went to school on Saturday.
> Actually the only time as a student, the second time was after hurricane
> floyd in my 3rd year teaching.  The other thing I remember was, one of
> my great-uncles had just bought a new tractor, a little IH 484.  It was
> his "big" tractor alongside a Super A and an International (not Farmall)
> 404.  Years later, he said the first time he ever used the 484 was to
> try and blade the snow off the driveway, and he cleared a path on the
> road to the county line.
>
> Al
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: at-bounces at lists.antique-tractor.com
> [mailto:at-bounces at lists.antique-tractor.com] On Behalf Of charlie hill
> Sent: Sunday, February 11, 2007 12:20 PM
> To: Antique tractor email discussion group
> Subject: Re: [AT] And Now For Something Different - A Tractor Problem
>
> Al I think we got about 12 or 13 inches in '80.  The big one was March
> of
> '73.  There was a strecth of the road that I lived on that had tall pine
>
> trees on both sides for about 1/2 mile.   That prevented any drifting or
>
> blowing and the snow was absolutely flat and level all the way through
> that
> stretch.  I was in the first group of folks that walked out through it.
> We
> measured 19" in the middle of the roadway.  Since the road had some
> crown in
> it I suspect it would have measured deeper over on the shoulder of the
> road.
>
> Back then 4 wd vehicles were few and far between.  We walked out to US
> HWY
> 70 at a point about 7 miles east of New Bern.  There was one rut cut in
> the
> east bound lane and folks were trying to go both ways in that rut.  Cars
>
> were parked as far as you could see in both directions and everyone was
> out
> pushing.  We helped.  We would push a car off into the snow bank, then
> pull
> one coming from the other direction past it and push the first car back
> into
> the roadway where he could go about 1 car length and have to repeat the
> proceedure.  It was absolutely a waste of time but what else do you do.
> Even wreckers, oil jobber trucks, etc. were stuck.  One of the guys that
> was
> with us was part owner of a body shop and his wrecker couldn't get to
> us.
>
> There was not even a rut cut in the west bound lane.  I was standing in
> the
> roadway and happened to look to the east.  I saw this cloud of snow
> blowing
> up from the west bound lane about 2 miles down the road.  We couldn't
> figure
> out what it was but it seemed to be getting closer.  After a while we
> made
> it out.  It was a Chevy Blazer of the 68-72 vintage.  It was green and
> light
> brown 2 tone paint and had big all terain tires.  The driver and the guy
>
> riding shotgun were wearing bib overall and caps.  In the back seat was
> a
> "gentleman" wearing a top coat and holding a brief case on his knees.
> They
> were making about 40 MPH cutting their own rut over and through that 19
> inches of undisturbed snow.  I was impressed.  I knew right then I had
> to
> have a 4 wd some day.  I've owned 4wd's ever since about 84 or so and
> never
> had to use it in 4wd for snow but one time and that was about 6 months
> after
> I bought the first one.
>
> My impression was that the guy in the rear was wealthy and needed to get
>
> somewhere in a hurry and that he found those guys with that Blazer and
> payed
> them well to get him out.
>
> Charlie
>
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Al Jones" <aljones at ncfreedom.net>
> To: "'Antique tractor email discussion group'"
> <at at lists.antique-tractor.com>
> Sent: Sunday, February 11, 2007 9:45 AM
> Subject: RE: [AT] And Now For Something Different - A Tractor Problem
>
>
>> Charlie,
>>
>> How much did you get in March of '80?  I was 5 at the time, but it was
>> the first "big" (if any) snow I remember.  Lots of chicken and turkey
>> houses collapsed around here.
>>
>> We have pictures of the '73 snow, my folks lost a lot of hogs it got
>> down so cold.  That predates me by about a year ;)
>>
>> Al
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: at-bounces at lists.antique-tractor.com
>> [mailto:at-bounces at lists.antique-tractor.com] On Behalf Of charlie
> hill
>> Sent: Sunday, February 11, 2007 2:52 AM
>> To: Antique tractor email discussion group
>> Subject: Re: [AT] And Now For Something Different - A Tractor Problem
>>
>> Ralph,  I was thinking about that 8 feet of snow up in New York.
>> I've lived in Craven County NC for my entire 56 years.   I believe
> that
>> is
>> more snow than has hit the ground here TOTAL in all of that time.  We
>> did
>> have a 19 inch snow in 1973 and a couple in the 1 foot range but
> mostly
>> ours
>> are 1 to 2 inches if we get any at all.  None so far this year.
>>
>> Charlie
>> ----- Original Message ----- 
>> From: "Ralph Goff" <alfg at sasktel.net>
>> To: "Antique tractor email discussion group"
>> <at at lists.antique-tractor.com>
>> Sent: Sunday, February 11, 2007 12:42 AM
>> Subject: Re: [AT] And Now For Something Different - A Tractor Problem
>>
>>
>>> CEE VILL wrote:
>>>> I have heard of adding isopropyl (dry gas) to transmission / rear
> end
>>
>>>> units to bring moisture into suspension in the oil to prevent freeze
>> up.
>>>> Probably not a good plan for a hydraulic system. For this problem
> you
>>
>>>> might try adding Dexron.  Dexron is a premium hydraulic oil with a
>> super
>>>> all season additive package that would hopefully be compatible with
>> your
>>>> hydraulic system.  Once warmed up to emulsify the water, it might
>> keep it
>>>> mixed.
>>>> On the other hand, Ralph Goff might have some really good cold
>> weather
>>>> advise.
>>> Charlie, can't say that I have any ideas for this problem as it is
> one
>>
>>> that I have never had much trouble with. I do recall a hydraulic
>> screen
>>> plugging and collapsing from suction in the hydraulic system in the
>>> Cockshutt 50 many years ago. That was just poor maintenance as we
>> should
>>> have changed oil more frequently to eliminate the condensation. With
>> such
>>> a small hydraulic reservoir it was not a big expense compared to the
>> newer
>>> tractors that take nearly a barrel of oil to change the hyd and
> trans.
>>> I did get caught with ice in the old (non running) DC4 Case last
>> winter.
>>> Noticed a leaking valve stem on it (chloride) so I thought I'd just
>> jack
>>> it up, rotate the wheel so the stem was at the top. Surprisingly I
>> could
>>> not turn the wheel over at all. Finally realized that there must have
>> been
>>> enough condensation in the bottom of the housing that the final
> drives
>>
>>> were frozen in place. (oil drain and change on the list for when the
>>> weather warms up) :-)
>>> Today was "warmer" at +2F but still too cold for that kind of work.
>>> Sure glad we're not getting the 8 feet of snow that New York is
>> getting.
>>>
>>> Ralph in Sask.
>>>
>>>
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