New member, new old L2850, intro and starting my laundry list

[Sobrbiker]

Hey y’all,
I just found this forum gearing up to get my tractor going.
I’m a mid-fifties equipment operator that’s been
clean and sober since the mid-nineties, is into Harleys, hunting, horses. This year the wife and I bought a couple and a half acres of desert to get ourselves in a better spot than renting a duplex and boarding our horses.
Of course, a tractor is necessary, and being a dirt whore by trade I wanted a real construction skiploader, but reality of my money limited me to the source of my joining this community:
a 1987 L2850 with a BF550 loader and an unknown make yellow gannon box that I just brought home yesterday.

Tractor fires up readily, runs pretty strong the hour I ran it getting used to the shifting (some mild leveling to get used to position control).
I’ve got two front tires on order already, the ones on it hold air, but the carcass is herniating on one through a hole in the sidewall. Rears are good, but left rim is rusted through right at the bead for probably a foot (combined multiple smaller spots) along circumference. Ordering new rim today.
Instrument panel is shot so I need to figure out how to wire in a temp gauge and maybe an oil pressure gauge. Might start a hunt for a new cluster, but that’ll be dependent on cost.
Trashy sight glass is a cap of sealant of some sort, so I’ll be (hopefully) able to change that out.
One lift cylinder is bleeding at the seal on the loader, hopefully I can source a rebuild.
Fuel weeps around filter area, hopefully I can change the lines and fix that easily.
Of course I need to drop and swap all the fluids/filters.
Any input and advice welcome, and I hope to be a good member that gives as much as I take where I can.
Anyway, I’ll be asking dumb stuff for sure on how to get this guy in best health I can give it.
Thanks for being here, forums are great tools!

 

[Russell King]

Welcome aboard

In reference to new rims, you should check the cost of whole goods tires an rims through your dealer SALES department compared to the cost of just the rims through the PARTS department of the dealer. The whole goods cost may be less.

Also look through the Buy, Sell and Trade section of this forum to see if anyone has what you need for sale.

The existing tires may have calcium chloride in them for ballast so they may be very heavy to handle. Also look at how to remove it and dispose of it. I believe it is somewhat toxic so it shouldn’t just be dumped into the soil.

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

Well it's nice and cool there, NOT.
I'm 14 years removed from Phoenix area and don't miss the heat for a second.
And my 2 horses cost me $23K the last year I was there, so expensive.

Look at the envelope top right for something to help you out.
Save yourself some money and buy your parts online from Coleman Equipment, save a ton of $ over AZ dealers.

 

[pigdoc]

Nice tractor! I'm envious.

I've kicked around the yards at a couple of these large multi-state used equipment dealer/auctions. One thing I noticed is that often, they have a HUGE pile of discarded tires-on-rims. I dunno, from parted out tractors? Some of them are painted Kubota orange.

In particular, this yard, MGD Equipment, just East of Lebanon, PA has quite a collection of used tires-on-rims, seen on the north edge of this satellite view:

The pile is bigger now than when this image was captured.

Anyway, I made a mental note that, if I find a good tractor but with poor rims or rubber, that's the place I'm gonna look first for what I need!

A long way from Phoenix, but I would expect this pattern to be repeated in many regions of the US...

-Paul