Has been a long time since I fired up the L2500. But I needed to grade my asphalt millings driveway again after all this rain we've had. Got 4.7" on June 30-July 1.
The last time I ran the tractor was to push snow off the driveway, last February. It sits outside, with a cover over the dash/electronics.
Went to start it this time, and...nothing. Dash lit up, but starter was quiet.
This tractor has a starter safety switch on the Hi/Lo lever on the transmission. Unless the switch is depressed, tractor won't crank. With the lever in N and the switch activated, I unhooked the two wires to the switch and tested continuity - 0.2 ohms. That's good. Hooked the switch back up. I went for a hammer and gave the starter a few light taps around the mounting lugs. Cranked right up after that. Stuck solenoid. Newish starter was on there when I bought the tractor, 3 years ago. Is there a place to put a squirt of oil in there?
Tractor ran perfectly, and I had a chance to test my gear/tire ratio in 4WD. Pulled a full 7-foot Land Pride blade up a 6% slope in 4WD/granny low @2800 RPM with no tire slip. 500 lbs of beet juice in each rear tire helps, too! Took me an hour to do the steep 1/4 mile of my driveway - 4 passes. I spent about half that time scraping out the ditch, which was full of eroded millings. I need to raise the left end of the blade about an inch for it to be perfect.
More on the tire ratio/rolling circumference later. I tested it in February, and I think it is nuts-on. For each 10 turns of the rear tire, front tire goes around 16.6 times, both in 2WD and in 4WD. Need to check it again, because I couldn't believe it came out that close.
Fronts: Galaxy Agri Trac II, 7-16
Rears: Galaxy Earth Pro 45, 13.6-24 on new 12-inch rims with 40 gallons of beet juice in each. Only 3 lbs of air in the rear tires, just enough to take all the bulge out of the sidewalls. Those tires fill up the fenders! Only about 1" between the tire lugs and the fender lip. Would be a problem if I needed chains, but I don't!
I really like the idea that I'm running Galaxy tires. Because, they're manufactured by Yokohama!
I have found that the published circumferences of the Earth Pro 45 series are much larger than the measured rolling circumferences. YMMV
My rinky-dink front shaft repair that I finished a year ago seems to be holding. Used J-B Weld on the front pinion because the splines were so worn there. [New shaft and couplers.]
-Paul
The last time I ran the tractor was to push snow off the driveway, last February. It sits outside, with a cover over the dash/electronics.
Went to start it this time, and...nothing. Dash lit up, but starter was quiet.
This tractor has a starter safety switch on the Hi/Lo lever on the transmission. Unless the switch is depressed, tractor won't crank. With the lever in N and the switch activated, I unhooked the two wires to the switch and tested continuity - 0.2 ohms. That's good. Hooked the switch back up. I went for a hammer and gave the starter a few light taps around the mounting lugs. Cranked right up after that. Stuck solenoid. Newish starter was on there when I bought the tractor, 3 years ago. Is there a place to put a squirt of oil in there?
Tractor ran perfectly, and I had a chance to test my gear/tire ratio in 4WD. Pulled a full 7-foot Land Pride blade up a 6% slope in 4WD/granny low @2800 RPM with no tire slip. 500 lbs of beet juice in each rear tire helps, too! Took me an hour to do the steep 1/4 mile of my driveway - 4 passes. I spent about half that time scraping out the ditch, which was full of eroded millings. I need to raise the left end of the blade about an inch for it to be perfect.
More on the tire ratio/rolling circumference later. I tested it in February, and I think it is nuts-on. For each 10 turns of the rear tire, front tire goes around 16.6 times, both in 2WD and in 4WD. Need to check it again, because I couldn't believe it came out that close.
Fronts: Galaxy Agri Trac II, 7-16
Rears: Galaxy Earth Pro 45, 13.6-24 on new 12-inch rims with 40 gallons of beet juice in each. Only 3 lbs of air in the rear tires, just enough to take all the bulge out of the sidewalls. Those tires fill up the fenders! Only about 1" between the tire lugs and the fender lip. Would be a problem if I needed chains, but I don't!
I really like the idea that I'm running Galaxy tires. Because, they're manufactured by Yokohama!
I have found that the published circumferences of the Earth Pro 45 series are much larger than the measured rolling circumferences. YMMV
My rinky-dink front shaft repair that I finished a year ago seems to be holding. Used J-B Weld on the front pinion because the splines were so worn there. [New shaft and couplers.]
-Paul
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