TractormanMike.mb

Aluminum head so welding won't work. What model atv, engine size?

You mentioned something about building a pulling sled?

There are threaded holes on either side of the grease fitting that you can thread bolts into if you haven't already found them. Usually if you remove the grease fitting and thread bolts into those holes with some kind of bridge plate you can nudge them out with a long pry bar. If not a puller can be made by welding the bridge plate to a short length of pipe and using threaded rod to pull the pins. Usually, the pry bar method has worked for me.

Ill elaborate more from my earlier post. The 800 cyclo I planted with originally had the big 540 pump. The inner splined coupled on the pump wore out and it was cheaper to replace it with a 1000 rpm pump, the one with the long cylindrical reservoir on the back of the pump. Those pumps always seemed to vibrate and shake. We ended up with two of them just so we would have a spare and usually had to switch at some point during the season. Those pumps got so worn out that we went with another pump, I think it was from a 1200 series planter, that needed a separate reservoir. That pump worked better but it would still wear the splines on both the pump coupler and the tractor pto shaft. It didn't matter how tight I had the pinch bolt tightened. I even made a bracket to support the pump from the draw bar support but that made it harder and took more time to switch to end wise transport. The last few years I ran that planter we were pulling it with a 4650. I used the pto pump for the first couple years but by now that pump was pushing ten years old and I was having a hard time getting enough out put, especially towards the afternoon when things got good and warmed up. I usually had to close the bypass valve to put full flow to the planter and even then would have just enough air pressure to plant. I knew a 4650 has enough hydraulic capacity to run that planter so finally when I was setting it up one spring I removed the pump and extended the pressure hose to reach one of the remotes. I returned the oil through a case drain I made by utilizing a plug at the rear of the tractor. I put a female pioneer fitting on the planter side of the return hose so I could couple the hoses together for storage or when going to transport. From the first day I knew that I should have ran it direct long ago. I could run the tractor at 1300 engine rpms and the planter would hold steady pressure all day. Need more rpms for climbing a hill or a tough spot, it wouldn't effect the planter one bit. I would the planter all day and I never had a problem with the hydraulic oil getting too hot. These are my recollections of my experiences, hope it helps. The last couple years I ran that planter I was planting over 1000 acres of corn with it.

What tractor do you plant with and does it have enough hydraulic capacity to run the planter off the remotes. Once you make the switch you will never look back.

Reading this thread I'm realizing how little I know about computers.

Another thing to note is that 2+2 tractors have quite a bit more transmission noise compared to other tractors. Is the oil level in the sight glass?

I sure some on here are guilty of this one. An articulated tractor is a large tractor that pivots in the center to turn. If somebody is articulate, that usually means that they are well spoken. Does that mean when somebody says they did some work with their articulate tractor their tractor is well spoken?

My opinion, unless you are playing in the mountains out west with a long, deep cleated paddle track there really isn't a need for that much power. I've gone riding with guy that take their mountain sleds, as I call them, trail riding. Yes, they can leave a corner like a shot out of a gun but then they have to slow way down at the next turn and struggle and use lots of English to try and turn. Then they also have to mess with the scratchers also. Meanwhile I just sit on mine and enjoy the ride. Not to mention the damage it does to the trail. The last few years we just haven't gotten enough snow locally, unless you get out early enough to get out after the groomer went through most of the corners are spun down to bare dirt.

An L&M fleet supply opened near us a couple months back. Today was the first time I finally got a chance to check it out. Wow! That store has everything I need and then some. I would describe it as if tractor supply, Dunhams and Menards got together L&M fleet supply would be the outcome.

The carbs were all out of wack when I bought my 580. The first trail ride I took with it I went 40 miles on a tank of gas, the tank is nearly ten gallons by the way. I'm surprised the thing even ran. Besides that, fuel injected sleds and carbureted sleds take a different drive belt, the fuel injected belt is longer and at some point someone got the numbers crossed and put the wrong belt on. I was turning seven to eight thousand rpms at cruising speed. I spent some time getting the carbs tuned, put the right belt on and serviced the clutches and now I can get about 80 or 100 miles out of a full tank of fuel depending on the riding we are doing.

My zr580 cat is a retativly low mile sled, story I heard was the original owner bought it for his wife to ride and it never got much use. The friend I bought it from didn't ride it much, he could never get it to run right. Anyone who ever owned a carbureted Arctic cat would also know that it might have been due to the fact that it costs a small fortune to keep gas in the tank, those sleds are thirsty.

Looks nice. Looks like it was either never trailered or washed good if it was.

As long as its short haul, under 150 miles, you should be ok.

All this talk about snakes makes me even happier I live in a cold weather state.