[AT] Pasture cleanup day

[Dean VP]

Dean,

When and if you take the temp gauge out I would suggest one final test before ordering a new one.
Bring some water to boil and insert the sensor end into the boiling water and see what the gauge
reads. When I first got my 620 I too thought that the temperature gauge wasn't working. I found out
later that the thermostat had been removed and a replacement had never been inserted. It took plowing
with a 3 bottom plow in heavy soil in hot weather to get the gauge to move. The gauge was fine. The
tractor was just running too cool. Not good for the engine.  You might also want to check what the
coolant temperature really is with a thermometer at the radiator cap and see what temperature the
tractor is really running at. The 620 has a water pump and the cooling system is pretty efficient if
the system/radiator is in good shape. 

Dean VP
Snohomish, WA

The real art of conversation is not only to say the right thing at the right time, but also to leave
unsaid  the wrong thing at the tempting moment.


-----Original Message-----
From: at-bounces at lists.antique-tractor.com [mailto:at-bounces at lists.antique-tractor.com] On Behalf Of
Dean Vinson
Sent: Tuesday, October 14, 2014 3:49 PM
To: 'Antique tractor email discussion group'
Subject: Re: [AT] Pasture cleanup day

Dean, you're correct, the 620 just uses engine oil for the hydraulic system.
I already have bunch on hand, after stocking up a month or two ago at a
local auto parts store that was running a sale.

The brush hog is a 6' model, but yes, pretty light for the tractor and it
doesn't pick up the wheel tracks as well as I'd like.   But it gets the job
done and is pretty convenient to store and move around, and it came with the
tractor.  I was watching a JD MX8 8' cutter for sale on Craigslist for
awhile, but have already spent more on equipment this year than I'd planned
so I let it go past.  Can't do everything at once.   

Charlie, I was running in 2nd gear, so 2-1/2 mph ground speed according to
the manual.  I use 1st gear for heavier stuff or tight spaces where I want
to get close to a fencerow or something without hitting it.   Really nice
having live power... all my previous brush-hogging experience was with older
tractors without it, including some scary times as a young man on a tractor
without even an overrunning clutch.  (Wouldn't make that mistake again, you
betcha.)

Dean Vinson
Saint Paris, Ohio


-----Original Message-----
From: at-bounces at lists.antique-tractor.com
[mailto:at-bounces at lists.antique-tractor.com] On Behalf Of Dean VP
Sent: Tuesday, October 14, 2014 2:57 PM
To: 'Antique tractor email discussion group'
Subject: Re: [AT] Pasture cleanup day

Charlie/Dean,

Check your 620 Operators manual but I believe the correct oil for the 1958
JD 620 Hydraulic system is the same oil as is used in the engine crankcase.
I've misplaced my 620 manual right now or I'd look it up myself. Hang on to
your wallet. It takes several quarts. Be careful to get the right drain
plug.
The drain plug for the rear end differential isn't very far away.  Use a
good quality oil.  Might be worth checking what the rear end differential
fluid looks like too.

My guess is the brush cutter is about a 5' version and the 620 should play
with that unless one gets into really tall heavy wet stuff. I have a 5'
brush cutter on my JD 750 3 cylinder diesel which has only 19 HP and it
works its' butt off at times. 

Dean VP
Snohomish, WA

The real art of conversation is not only to say the right thing at the right
time, but also to leave unsaid  the wrong thing at the tempting moment.


-----Original Message-----
From: at-bounces at lists.antique-tractor.com
[mailto:at-bounces at lists.antique-tractor.com] On Behalf Of charlie hill
Sent: Tuesday, October 14, 2014 6:59 AM
To: Antique tractor email discussion group
Subject: Re: [AT] Pasture cleanup day

Dean, if you have a Tractor Supply store near you, they had their tractor
hydraulic oils on sale over the weekend.  I don't know when the sale ends or
if they have something JD compatible but it's worth checking.

Your 620 sure seems to loaf along with that brush cutter!  Do you have a
good idea of your ground speed?  It's hard to tell from the video but it
seems like you are moving right along.

Charlie

-----Original Message-----
From: Dean Vinson
Sent: Monday, October 13, 2014 8:32 PM
To: 'Antique tractor email discussion group'
Subject: Re: [AT] Pasture cleanup day

Hi Dean, and thanks!   It's fair to say that I'm enjoying this tractor.  :)

I toyed with the idea of calling Detwiler's today about that muffler, but
you're correct that it's not too high on my to-do list.  I get that it
doesn't look right, but it almost certainly came from and/or was installed
by the same (now-closed) JD dealership that sold the tractor new to the
fellow I bought it from, and obviously served him well enough.   So we'll
see.  (The "620" decal right on the front of the grille has got to go,
though).

I also want to change the hydraulic oil on general principle, no idea how
long it's been since that was done, and I've discovered that the temperature
gauge doesn't work and one of the headlights is out.  I have a new headlight
on hand already but the cost of the new temp gauge put me off for a bit so I
decided I'd get the old one out and see if cleaning it up has any positive
effect.  It seems, however, that removing the hood on a 620 is not an
insignificant task so I haven't made any real forward motion there.

You may recall from the photos I'd posted when I bought the tractor that it
only has a wheel weight on the left rear wheel.   The original owner had
another set of rear weights and one front weight and they were part of my
purchase transaction, but he said they'd been laying in his barn for many
years and he couldn't remember if they were for the 620 or his old 4010.   I
finally got around to going back to pick them up this past Saturday, and it
turns out one rear weight matches the one I already have on the tractor, so
I'll get it put on.  The other one is slightly different and I assume was
from the 4010.  The front weight I'm sure is from the 4010.

And of course there's a giant list of other things to do in the house,
barns, woods, on the fence rows, etc.   No rush, though, and it'll be fun
working on it.

Dean Vinson
Saint Paris, Ohio


-----Original Message-----
From: at-bounces at lists.antique-tractor.com
[mailto:at-bounces at lists.antique-tractor.com] On Behalf Of Dean VP
Sent: Sunday, October 12, 2014 9:19 PM
To: 'Antique tractor email discussion group'
Subject: Re: [AT] Pasture cleanup day

Dean,

Man am I jealous. I love to hear that 620 work. Music to my ears. And that
Brush cutter is really doing a good job. What are the tall plants called?
After a few years I have my 3 plus acres of pasture in such good shape I mow
it with the Garden tractor rather than with my brush cutter so I don't get
to
work my 620 that way.   But I just have to inform you that you just have to
get that muffler with a
dent off of that 620 and put the correct muffler without a dent on it. The
John Deere "Correct Police"
will go apoplectic if they see that. :-)  The muffler with the dent is for
the JD  letter series tractors and if used too long will cause the 620
decals to turn into alpha characters. :-)  JD used to sell that muffler as a
universal muffler for all two cylinder tractors. I don't know if they still
do.
You cannot trust JD Dealers to sell you the correct part any more even if
you ask for the correct part number. Aftermarket dealers such as Detwieler
Tractor Parts do sell the correct version.

http://detwilertractor.com/products/view.php?nm=21&md=26&sr=6201350

However, I suspect and correctly so, there are many other things on your "to
do" list that are much higher priority!  :-)  Just pulling your chain a
little!

Dean VP
Snohomish, WA

The real art of conversation is not only to say the right thing at the right
time, but also to leave unsaid  the wrong thing at the tempting moment.


-----Original Message-----
From: at-bounces at lists.antique-tractor.com
[mailto:at-bounces at lists.antique-tractor.com] On Behalf Of Dean Vinson
Sent: Sunday, October 12, 2014 5:42 PM
To: 'Antique tractor email discussion group'
Subject: [AT] Pasture cleanup day

My south pasture is home to a few buck goats, belonging to the guy who
leases the pasture and some of the barns.  This weekend he moved the goats
temporarily, and the vegetation had thinned out enough to make it feasible
to spot dead-fall branches or other unexpected hazards on the ground, so I
got the 620 and brush hog out.    There ended up being enough wood on the
ground for two pretty good-size bonfires, but the pasture is now mowed and
next summer I can cut it again without worrying so much about what's on the
ground.

Wobbly hand-held video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ydtMZ9_Ggcc.

Dean Vinson
Saint Paris, Ohio



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