[AT] Tractor stuff

[Dean Vinson]

I haven't done much wrenching on my tractors in a while, which is generally
good news:  They're running well and I can just enjoy doing stuff with them,
and save my DIY time for the long list of projects needed around the house
or woods.

 

The exception is my Ford 3600, which overheated the other day after I'd been
mowing for only 10 or 15 minutes.  That was disappointing since I'd had it
in the shop just last summer for the same thing.  Back then I'd poked around
a bit and noticed a couple other little things that needed attention and
figured "Okay, this is gonna exceed my time and patience budgets so I'll
have the shop handle it."   The shop cleaned a bunch of gunk out of the
radiator but didn't otherwise find anything wrong.  This time I skipped the
poking around part and went straight to picking up my phone.   I'm wondering
if it's a thermostat issue but will see what the shop says when they call.

 

The Farmall Super M has mostly sat in the barn this year.   Last winter I
put an alternator on it and everything works fine, but it's mostly a backup
tractor now.

 

The 3020 is my go-to tractor these days.   I've used it with a sprayer and
with a brushhog but by far the most common task is just pulling a trailer
carrying whatever tools or materials I'm working with on a given day.   For
years I used the Super M in that role, but once I got past 60 years old I
noticed the seat had somehow gotten higher, farther back, and with less
around me to grab onto if I hit rough ground than had been the case when I
was younger.   The 3020 by comparison feels like I'm nestled into a safe
little cockpit.   (Yeah, the 3600 is likewise safe and is plenty powerful
for anything I really need, but it's fun and handy to have more than one
tractor).

 

Some months ago I replaced the original Marvel-Schebler carb on the 3020
with a new Zenith from Roberts Carburetor Repair.  Tractor now starts like
it's new and runs like a top.  I'm hopeful that'll continue when the weather
turns cold, since there were some bitter days last winter when I needed the
tractor and rear blade to clear the driveway and getting it started was a
serious pain.   Once snow starts being forecast and I put the rear blade on
the 3020, the Super M will go back to being the primary tractor for whatever
trailer-hauling chore comes up.

 

For now the green tractor is still the one that gets fired up the most, such
as in this photo from a couple days ago.  

 

Dean Vinson

Saint Paris, Ohio

 



 

 

 

 

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