Haystack Posted October 27 Posted October 27 Been messing with a few little odds and ends lately and it got me thinking. Sometimes the small fixes make more difference than the big ones. New seat bushings, decent battery cables, cleaning up sticky linkages, fixing a sloppy throttle, stuff like that. None of it is exciting, but it sure makes an old tractor or machine feel less wore out when you actually go use it. I used to put those jobs off because they didn’t stop anything from running. I've been finding a lot of these random small replacement parts on FridayParts for cheap, and it beats driving to the dealer every time. Anybody else have small fixes that made a machine way nicer to run? 5 Quote
naedlaen Posted October 27 Posted October 27 I know what you mean as I recently renewed the knee bushings and thrust bearings on the Schwartz wide front under the F460. Even without messing with the ball joints it really tightened up the steering. Neal Quote
billonthefarm Posted October 27 Posted October 27 I love to fix all those little things that you mentioned. Makes the difference in enjoying old equipment and tolerating it! Lots of people complain but never make these little repairs. It’s a big deal and makes life so much better and if you keep up with your repairs it’s not a big deal. 4 Quote
farmallcubkid Posted October 27 Posted October 27 Good batteries and a 12 volt conversion with a gm one wire makes a great difference for me. Not really fixing any thing but improving I guess. Sure makes em start better! 3 Quote
sandhiller Posted October 27 Posted October 27 Anytime I need to replace batt cables, I make my own with 2/0 welding cable, gets the most out of my batteries and I would think helps starter life And you asked for little things, so here goes..................... These are all very small things but help to make a long day just a bit shorter I"ve probably seen more 560's without shift knobs than with, both of mine came without, I like having something that fills my hand when I shift I extended the hyd levers on my 966. Don't have to bend forward and reach down for them, just slide my hand forward off the armrest and they are right there Probably doesn't help a lot but these make me smile in the 1486 and thinking of the gentleman that made em for me no charge. "Just give a little extra in the collection plate next Sunday". RIP OT Extended the pto lever on the mower M so I don't have to reach down for it, just swing my arm around and it is right there 9 Quote
1256pickett Posted October 27 Posted October 27 9 minutes ago, sandhiller said: Anytime I need to replace batt cables, I make my own with 2/0 welding cable, gets the most out of my batteries and I would think helps starter life And you asked for little things, so here goes..................... These are all very small things but help to make a long day just a bit shorter I"ve probably seen more 560's without shift knobs than with, both of mine came without, I like having something that fills my hand when I shift I extended the hyd levers on my 966. Don't have to bend forward and reach down for them, just slide my hand forward off the armrest and they are right there Probably doesn't help a lot but these make me smile in the 1486 and thinking of the gentleman that made em for me no charge. "Just give a little extra in the collection plate next Sunday". RIP OT Extended the pto lever on the mower M so I don't have to reach down for it, just swing my arm around and it is right there X2 on the battery cables. Years ago I needed new cables on a dump truck, buddy told me to just buy the cable and some ends he’d help me make em. Fairly easy and cheap, I bought my own crimper soon after and almost anytime I think the cables look even slightly (and I mean slightly) old I make new ones. Often new batteries mean new cables. As far as little things, I do tend to ignore them but when I dive into something I try to fix anything associated with what I’m fixing, so that’s when I hit the little things. I often say after, why didn’t I do that sooner. 3 Quote
MacAR Posted October 27 Posted October 27 I agree, just makes life so much easier. I have a couple little extras on the H: This PTO lever came from Ebay for I believe $30 or $40; very handy when using the 101 corn picker. The foot starter was nice but I kept catching my foot on it, so moved it up on the steering post for easier access. The brake lever extension I built myself from scrap around the shop. This is the second one I've built; the first is on the 300 and much nicer to look at. This toolbox was another Ebay find (or steal rather) for $90 shipped; the friction throttle came on the tractor but kept slipping... it's been replaced with a standard throttle. Peep the "custom" steering wheel... that also came with the tractor. Thought it was a pretty cool "farmer fix" to keep from buying a new wheel. Here are a couple shots of the replumbed remotes on the 300; the PO had a gommed up mess that worked but were just un-handy... so after a couple years of fighting with them I decided they needed re-routing and new hoses/connections. In the photo below, you'll notice a notch in the sheet metal over the hydraulic check plug.... hated to do it but I was tired of having to take the hood side off to check or fill the hydraulics! And my last little modification really isn't all that special but darned handy. You'll notice the H and 300 both carry pitchforks on their sides; a loop of baling wire around the air cleaner and a tine through a hitch pin on the 300 (the H has a ringbolt) sure does beat throwing broken bales back in the baler by hand. I do admit, I can't take credit for the idea though. I got that from a member of YT forums years ago. Sorry for the long rambling post... I really didn't mean for it drag out this far! 7 Quote
Alan Dinan Posted October 27 Posted October 27 Dad decided to fix the brakes on one of the Steigers when he decided to sell it. Ran it for 3 years without any brakes! 1 4 Quote
New Englander Posted October 27 Posted October 27 7 hours ago, sandhiller said: batt cables West Marine tinned extra flexible like welding cable in red or black for ground cables. They have Ancor brand lugs with extra heavy corrosion protection for salt water. They also have extra heavy adhesive type heat shrink. We're in the salt belt. Both my kids have BMWs with open woven ground cables between the frame and engine which rotted out resulting in a no-start. They now have 2-0 boat type cables I made. and they're just as flexible. Quote
DT Fan Posted October 27 Posted October 27 I'm on board! Make battery cables as needed, 2/0. Here's one that hasn't been mentioned and easy to do. Control cables; First one I did was the hydraulic control on the Grain-truck. It was really hard to move, either direction. Pull the wire out of the sheath, wipe down with brake clean, Spray some in the outer part and blow out with air, lube with Justice Brothers chain lube and reassemble. Works like butter! Did the same with the choke cable on the 756 gas. 20 minute job, maybe? You use these controls all the time, so much nicer when they work like they should! 3 Quote
Mark (EC,IN) Posted October 27 Posted October 27 I'm over the top about making things work as they should. A few years ago, I fixed the cigarette lighter on my 1086. I don't smoke. 3 2 Quote
DT Fan Posted October 27 Posted October 27 7 minutes ago, Mark (EC,IN) said: I'm over the top about making things work as they should. A few years ago, I fixed the cigarette lighter on my 1086. I don't smoke. That is over the top! I would have let that go, other more important things to fix. Quote
twostepn2001 Posted October 27 Posted October 27 28 minutes ago, DT Fan said: 'm over the top about making things work as they should. A few years ago, I fixed the cigarette lighter on my 1086. I don't smoke. Years ago l worked for a road construction co. running a Cat 631-C scraper. l got there early on morning and the mechanic was working on my scraper. Said he was fixing the lights. l asked him why, we never ran after dark. His answer was "lf Caterpillar in their infinite wisdom put it on the machine when it was built then it's supposed to work." 2 Quote
1965Dennis Posted October 27 Posted October 27 MacAR fix for the PTO lever reminded me of a fix dad did on the H. A seed corn customer lost both hands, a few years apart, from reaching down for the factory lever to the pulley. For the picker, the pulley is replaced with a sprocket to run the picker. Our H had that upgrade from the early 50's until it sold somewhere around 2000. Quote
pt756 Posted October 27 Posted October 27 I like to have the shifting linkages working and tight, lights, sloppy clutch pedals, 3 points all loose, front ends tight, and decent seats and suspensions, bigger stuff goes down the road, these small things I can usually get done, Quote
Rawleigh99 Posted October 27 Posted October 27 5 hours ago, New Englander said: West Marine tinned extra flexible like welding cable in red or black for ground cables. They have Ancor brand lugs with extra heavy corrosion protection for salt water. They also have extra heavy adhesive type heat shrink. We're in the salt belt. Both my kids have BMWs with open woven ground cables between the frame and engine which rotted out resulting in a no-start. They now have 2-0 boat type cables I made. and they're just as flexible. I don't know NE, with a boating background I used to swear by ancor cable, but I redid the overhead panel in the cab of my case 930 all in ancor wire, including a main power lead of 10-2 with the outer sheath, and I have never seen the mice like anything so much. They ate the insulation off of all that wire one winter, and I'm surprised it did not burn the tractor down. I don't know if they have soy oil in that flexible sheathing or not, but the mice loved it. They left foot long area stripped down to the bare wires. Maybe the battery cables are different, but I'm just going with welding wire. I thought I was doing good by putting in that expensive tinned flexible cable, but it didn't last one winter! Lord I hate mice. 1 2 Quote
TomH Posted October 27 Posted October 27 12 volts and replacing wiring makes such a difference, my log splitter lives on my H and it and my BN fire up so easily even when they have sat for a month or more and it’s cold. I replaced the bulbs in the BN with LED’s , they look just like the incandescents when lit. The reduction in power means there is very little drain, so much so that; someone who will remain nameless went to use it and discovered that the lights were on from the previous day. It started right up! 4 Quote
MacAR Posted October 27 Posted October 27 6 hours ago, Mark (EC,IN) said: I'm over the top about making things work as they should. A few years ago, I fixed the cigarette lighter on my 1086. I don't smoke. I do smoke, and have purposely not fixes the lighters on the 450 or 300... I'm distracted enough as it is without trying to smoke and run a machine! 5 hours ago, 1965Dennis said: MacAR fix for the PTO lever reminded me of a fix dad did on the H. A seed corn customer lost both hands, a few years apart, from reaching down for the factory lever to the pulley. For the picker, the pulley is replaced with a sprocket to run the picker. Our H had that upgrade from the early 50's until it sold somewhere around 2000. Interesting... I didn't know there were any pickers that ran off the pulley. This lever is very handy, but I wish it was a shade longer and one the right hand side like the 300/450. Quote
dale560 Posted October 27 Posted October 27 A good set of steps and handles makes a world of difference on those older tractors. 6 Quote
brahamfireman Posted October 28 Posted October 28 LED lights, new speakers and electronic radio. Quote
brahamfireman Posted October 28 Posted October 28 12 hours ago, Mark (EC,IN) said: I'm over the top about making things work as they should. A few years ago, I fixed the cigarette lighter on my 1086. I don't smoke. I scour junk yards looking for combines that still have the cigarette lighters in them so I can plug the hole in the dash!! Quote
drglinski Posted October 28 Posted October 28 13 hours ago, Mark (EC,IN) said: I'm over the top about making things work as they should. A few years ago, I fixed the cigarette lighter on my 1086. I don't smoke. Yeah, I'm there with you. If it's there it outta work as designed, even if you don't use it, or seldom. Quote
MT Matt Posted October 28 Posted October 28 I have converted almost all of my Letter tractors to 12 volt. So easy to start. When the 6 volt batteries die on the last two, they will get switched also. Changed the pan seat on my Super MTA to an 06 seat. So much better to have arm rests and back support. That tractor also got sealed LED lights, power steering, two tool boxes and a brake lock pull lever. I’m usually on that tractor for three months of the year making hay so it matters. I’d like to put a fast hitch on it, just have to find one. With live hydraulics and IPTO, it has everything I need. On my W-4, -6 and -9, the pipe seats went in the scrap pile. Well the W-9 already had an aftermarket seat on it. The pipe seats bottom out, no thanks. I built a seat similar to a 650 on the W-4 from a JD seat frame and a Super C spring base. It rotates to the side to get on easy. Rubber shift knobs are cheap, no reason to have a bare handle. I’ve put some grip tread on the floor pans too. 7 Quote
Haystack Posted October 28 Author Posted October 28 honestly this thread made me feel a lot better. i was half worried i was just throwing money at old iron, but sounds like most of this stuff costs next to nothing. a roll of welding cable, some chain lube, a cheap lever off ebay... and the thing runs like it's 20 yrs younger. way cheaper than chasing a big repair later or trading up imo. guess i'll quit feeling guilty about my parts pile lol 1 Quote
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.