June 14th

Okay, only one person replied. I am making this my last blog post. so here is what I did today. Spent most of the day putting together a Kuhn moco (MOwer COnditioner). Then started the split on the 4440.

June 13th

Worked on the 4440. Washed it in preparation of splitting it to replace the PTO clutch engagement piston. Worked up a quote for the customer, about 5000 to do it all. Went out on a service call to finish a 770 that I started a couple of weeks ago. Installed the injection pump and tested everything out. Everything works as it should.

June 11th and 12th

Forgot to post yesterday. Here is what happened. Finished installing the loader on the 5075M, Filled the tires with ballast, and checked out my PTO switch relocation. All was good. Reassembled the 790 front differential and tested it. Again all is good.
June 12th. Assembled the brakes on the Yanmar, finished installing the fan belt and lower radiator hose and completed the service on the tractor. Went out on a service call to replace a pump on a sprayer. Probably did not need to replace it, I think it just lost its prime. Anyway, the customer wanted a new pump, so I Installed the new pump. Brought on a 4440 to check out the PTO clutch problems.
Does anybody read these? Reply if you do.

June 8th

Worked on finishing up the 1026R with loader, mower deck and tiller.  Got it done and it was delivered this afternoon. Went back to work on installing the loader on the 5075M. The bolts ordered were the wrong lenght. Finished the PTO switch relocate on this tractor. Spent most of the afternoon working on the 1023E that I worked on a couple of days ago. Turns out that the customer was not happy with it and is trading it in on a 1026R. I had to uninstall the mower deck and hood guard and install them on the 1026R. Would not have been so bad but rust had set in on the rock shaft arms for the mower deck and it took extra long to get them apart.

June 7th

Finished servicing the 5075M and was just about ready to bring in a 1026R to put a loader and mower on it and was sent out on an "emergency" repair. Left the shop with minimal tools to go work on a New Holland that left the farmer stranded along side the road. He was bringing it back to the shop after renting it. The problem is that everything worked except the "propulsion". It would not move. This was an "automatic" transmission and it was not going into gear. After unplugging and plugging in connections and moving wires, I called the shop and fortunately our truck driver was there he came with a lowboy trailer and winched the tractor up on it and delivered it back to the shop. One of the other technicians that had worked on this tractor came in that afternoon and "slammed" the clutch pedal down and the tractor moved. Go-figure. Anyway, brought in the 1026R and am just about done installing the mower and loader.

June 6th

Lots going on today. Worked on the 5075M, still no bolts, but worked on relocating the PTO switch. Had to fabricate and route a wiring harness. Went from the right hand console to the dash board. About fifteen feet of harness. Assembled the loader as far as I could without having it mounted on the tractor. Was given a work order to install a loader and mower deck on a 1026R. Searched for about twenty minutes for the tractor only to find out that it has not come in yet. And lastly, started working on a 5055M. changing the oil and filter. Also investigating a overheating issue. found a loose radiator hose clamp and it was low on coolant.

June 5th

Further investigation on the 1023E is that it was working perfectly normal and all of the work on it was just to appease the customer which did not happen. It seems that there was nothing anybody could have done to please this customer. Anyway, started to install a loader on a 5075M only to find out that Deere did not ship the bolts to install it. My next project was a 755 compact tractor with a clunking noise in the front end. Turns out that other than the differential portion of the front end, there were only three gears out of eight that were not damaged with broken teeth. I wonder what they were doing with this tractor to create so much damage.

June 4th

Finished the 955 front axle today. I am sure that I did not come in under time but some things just cant be helped. Like bearings stuck and having to heat them to get them out. Also set up a 645 tiller for a 1023E. Not for the 1023E that I am working on that has three point hitch hydraulic problem.  Found out that I may be chasing my tail on that problem. It seems that this model has a different hydraulic control than all other tractors. It is either commanding it up or down, but not designed for intermediate control. I will have to investigate it further tomorrow when time permits.

May 31 and June 1

I had forgot to post anything on these two days. Was getting ready to go to the coast for the weekend. Both days were fairly uneventful and today being June 3rd I am not remembering much about those days. I don't remember if I mentioned that I am going through and replacing the bearings and seals in a 955 tractor front axle. Also tore the brakes off of a Yanmar 266D to send out to be relined. Cant remember much beyond that. Sorry, I will try to keep up on posts this coming week.

May 30th

Started today early. A customer had ordered a canopy, weight bracket and a motor control SCV for his 5075E tractor and I was tasked with the installation so he could get it back today. The first two went fairly easy but the third (SCV) was a pain in the butt. The location of the power beyond hydraulic hose fittings was not exactly the easiest location to get at. With lots of persistence I got the job done. After that job, I helped deliver the 3320's that I worked on last week, then on to a 1026E mower deck installation. Installed the lift arms and was just about ready to work on the mower deck when I noticed that there was no gearbox included with the kit. Work came to a screaming halt, fortunately it was 5pm and quitting time.

May 29th

First thing this morning, I was informed to load up my tools in the pick up and head for the coast. Had to go work on a JD 317 skid steer. The fuel system had some algae in it. The customer had changed the filters about ten days earlier and now he had said that he had to shoot ether to get it started every day. I ended up changing both fuel filters and the transfer pump. That transfer pump is a bear to change, difficult location and limited access. Somewhere on that skid steer is my 1/4 inch drive 2 inch extension and a 9mm socket.  I dropped it and could not locate it anywhere. I guess that's the cost of working. Got back to the shop and was given a 5055E and had to install a Farmi winch on it. I guess that the owner is going to do some logging.

May 25th

Finally finished the two 3320 compact tractors, installed a rotary mower on one of them. Looks like they will be delivered on this coming Tuesday. Delivered a riding mower and picked up a walk behind mower. Loaded the rollback with a 4005 compact with bucket and forklift forks and a flail mower for the afternoon delivery. At least the delivery was not too far from the store.  Got back to the store and found out that there was a service call to go on. It was on a 4100N that I had repaired the transmission on about two weeks ago. Somehow they had jammed two gears together again. I suggested that the farmer replace the gear shift cage (the plastic piece that that the shift lever sticks up through). This will keep the shifter from slipping out of the shift forks and jamming up. Time for the weekend......

May 24th

Today was an OK day. Only had one delivery today. Loaded a 3320 tractor with bucket and grapple, a six way push blade, a  frontier 2060 rotary cutter, a 655 tiller and a post hole auger on the two ton roll back truck. The truck was crowded. Had to put the tiller and post hole auger on the back of the truck because they had to slide off since they were not mounted to the tractor. After I was finished with the delivery, I managed to work on the two 3320's  with the loader installation. Finished the loader install and then had to put wheel weights on the rear wheels. That was a fiasco in itself. Could not put the weights on the outside of the wheel where the installation would be easy because the valve stem was in the way. Had to remove the wheel from the tractor and bolt them to the inside of the wheel. When I was attempting to remount the wheel on the tractor, I found that the wheel weight opening in the center would not go over the hub on the tractor. That meant swapping wheels between sides. If it wasn't one thing, it was something else. I guess that's the life of an AG technician.

May 22nd and 23rd

Totally spaced making an entry yesterday. That's the reason for this double entry.  Anyway, yesterday was was another uneventful day. did some pickup and delivery's in the morning and installed a belly mower on a 1023R. That was a total pain in the a$$. The instructions were very cryptic at best. It took a lot of intuitive reasoning. Anyway it is installed and the customer has their tractor back. Today was much the same. Did pick ups and delivery's in the morning and started a pair of loader installs on a pair of 3320 tractors. Just about done with both installs. Still have to install backup alarms, install wheel weights and PDI the tractors. Should be good for another afternoon.

May 21st.

Today was an easy day. Had to pick up one riding lawnmower. Finish an auxiliary power outlet install on a 1023E subcompact tractor. Started installation on a 1026R quick attach mower deck. Like I said it was an easy day. I will probably be doing pick up and delivery all week. We have one cp (consumer product) tech out this week and the "new hire" delivery driver declined the job so we are without a part time delivery driver.

May 18th and 19th

OK, so I forgot to make a blog entry yesterday and I worked Saturday so here is a combined entry.
Friday was a fairly light day. Finished removing and installing the hydraulic hard line on the 955 tractor. Then was given a 3038E that another tech had been working on and I had to finish. The other tech had started installing a grapple on the bucket and was all done except for the hydraulic lines from the power beyond valves that were added. I made two hydraulic lines 13 feet long to route from the back of the tractor to the front of the loader. Mounted the quick couplings on the loader and then connected the grapple lines to them. Started the tractor and found the lines to the grapple were too short so I had to make longer lines for the grapple.
Saturday was strictly an overtime day. I worked on lawn and garden items. Installed a bagger on a X300 and ran a drill bit into the meaty portion next to bottom of my thumbnail. Put a band aid on it and continued the install. Then it was a tune up on a walk behind push mower and putting brake pads on a LX172. With those completed I brought in another X300 to replace the blades  and do a tune up. And that completed an overtime day.

May 17th

Finished the 4100 tractor this morning. All gears and ranges worked just fine. Owner came and picked it up about 2 hours after I was finished. New projects include a 955 with a bad hydraulic line and a 1026R that needs a loader installed. Started with the 955 so I could get parts on order. The hard hydraulic line from the oil cooler to the filter housing is bad. There were two places where it was rubbed through. One was from the tachometer cable and the other was from the clamp on the front drive line shield. Started and finished installing the loader on the 1026R. That was the second install this week on a 1026R. The time for the install is getting less. I should be able to do the next one in under 2 hours. I don't know how much time is allotted but I should be able to beat that time.

May 16th

Today was a so-so day. Spent the morning doing pickup and delivery's. Delivered two riding mowers, picked up two riding mowers and a Yanmar compact tractor. The last part for my 4100 transmission came in and I spent the afternoon completing the assembly only to have to split the transmission because I put a gear in backwards and it would not shift because it would lock two gears together. Managed to get it all put together and it is bolted to the tractor. Now to complete the assembly of the tractor and get it back to the customer in the morning.

May 15th

Spent most of the day reassembling the 4100 transmission. I have it all assembled and ready to put back on the tractor with the exception of the detent balls and springs for the shifter forks. I have the springs and balls but there seems to be a "pin" missing that locks two shift rails together. I definitely do not remember it being there when I disassembled the transmission. Maybe that is why the gears meshed wrong and broke teeth off. After all this transmission had been apart before within the last year. I was also sent out on a riding lawn mower deck belt replacement on a X320. The customer was expecting a blower and bagger attachment to be brought out when I went but it seems the customers son canceled the order and did not tell his father. Mass confusion on both of our parts as my work order did not show a bagger, therefore I had no idea what the sons wife was translating (Japanese) from the customer (father) and telling me.

May 14th

Finished the grapple installation on the 6430 today. Watched it get loaded on a trailer for delivery about 30 minutes after completion. I guess that was cutting it close. Next work order was another loader installation. Only this time it was on a 1026R subcompact tractor. Same concept as the bigger tractor, but the parts are a whole lot easier to move and handle. Also takes a lot less time to install. After that install, checked my parts bin and found that all of the parts for the 4100N transmission repair had come in. Spent the rest of the day putting the transmission together. For used gears, they were in pretty good shape and did not require a lot of reconditioning. Should be able to get it all together tomorrow.

May 11th

I was sent out to work on a Yanmar compact first thing today. The customer wanted a hydraulic hose replaced and an adjustable arm put on his three point linkage for his rotary mower. Decided to tackle the three point linkage first. Removed his old non adjustable link and went to put on the adjustable link. The only problem was he had purchased the wrong pins and they would not fit his rockshaft arms. Ended up putting the original arm back on and adjusting the adjustable arm to level his rotary mower. Then on to the leaky hydraulic hose, went to remove the hose to return to the shop and have another made but found that fitting was loose and that was where it was leaking. So, my service call was to adjust the level of his mower and tighten a fitting. Back at the shop, I was given a 6430 and was tasked to finish the loader and grapple install. Got part way through the install and the owner of the 8870 that I had been working on called and said we could get to it and do our thing. I went to the job site and proceeded to drain the hydraulic tank so I could pull the filter prescreen out and see why it was hot in that area. While draining the low pressure return line, a large piece of cellophane came out of the line. This may have cause a restriction and was the reason for the excessive heat in that area. Put everything back together and filled the hydraulic tank. Started the tractor and tested, found that there was approximately a 20 to 30 degree drop in temperature. Problem solved? Will have to wait and see if the farmer agrees.

May 10th

Today was a messy day. Was working on the 8870 articulated tractor trying to diagnose a hydraulic problem. The problem that was reported was the axles were hot to the touch. While I was heating the hydraulic oil up, a hydraulic line ruptured (strictly coincidence) and proceeded to shower me and the tractor with hydraulic fluid before I could shut down the tractor. Removed the hydraulic hose and off to the shop to get a replacement made. After returning to the tractor and installing the newly made hose, I proceeded to heat the hydraulic oil up and performed temperature measurements throughout the system. I found that the filter housing and valve was heating up before anything else was. Checked the tech manual and found that there was a screen in the housing that could be plugged. I called the shop and talked with a more experienced tech about pulling the access plug for the screen and was informed that a little oil would come out when the plug was removed. I started to remove the plug and was just about drenched with hydraulic oil because there was sump pressure behind it. Needless to say I will have to drain the system to remove the screen. I guess that will be tomorrows job.

May 9th

Spent three hours on the road driving to and from the coast today. While I was at the coast, I helped a fellow technician install a loader on a 7330 at one of the local dairy's. The dairy was hauling silage all day and it was quite windy and every time a truck or tractor with trailer went by, it kicked up a lot of dust. I spent most of the morning installing the loader joystick, power beyond kit and connecting all of the hydraulic lines. We managed to get the loader installed and operational in just under six hours. Not too bad if I say so myself. Tomorrow, its off to the field again to look at the 8870 that I glanced at yesterday.

May 8th

Today was a very busy day. Went on a service call and finished the 5500 tractor. No hydraulic leaks. Then went back to the 770 to start pulling the injector pump. What a PITA. I had taken our gear pulling kit from the tool room to remove the injector timing gear, but the bolts were the wrong size. finished unbolting the injector then went back to the shop for some different bolts. Also brought back a couple different sizes of two jaw gear pullers just in case the bolts were wrong again. Well guess what, the bolts were the wrong size AND the pullers were too large to get into the cavity where the gear is to pull the gear. Time to totally improvise and get the job done. Found that if I removed two bolts from the timing cover they were the correct size and lenght to fit the gear puller that was in the tool room. To cut the story short, gear came off and injection pump is off. Bad news is that I had to park the truck about 150 yards from the tractor because the owner forgot to unlock the gate and while walking back to the truck I stumbled and threw the pump and all of the tools I had in my hands to the ground.  Well guess what, I broke one of the mounting ears off the cast aluminum pump housing. Maybe the injector shop can weld it back on. After that PITA, I went out on a hydraulic issue on a 8870 articulating tractor. Only had enough time to make a couple of pressure measurments and then found that I did not have the fittings I needed to finish the pressure readings. Back to the shop for the night. Will pass this job onto another tech as I get to go to the coast tomorrow (I think) to help install a loader on a 7730.

May 7th

Today was a very decent day. The weather was very good, not too hot of cold. Was put in a pickup for service calls. Stop number one was a service on a 770 compact tractor. Not only was it a service, but the owner complained it would not crank and start. Replaced the battery and the engine cranks just fine but it would not start. After diagnosing the problem it turns out that the injection pump is bad and not allowing fuel to flow to the injectors. Did not have the tools on hand to pull the pump so back to the shop. At the shop I was diverted to a major nursery grower in our area to work on a 5500 utility tractor. Turns out that the SCV (selective control valve, valve that controls hydraulic fluid to the implement) was leaking where it attaches to the rockshaft housing (rockshaft is the mechanical device to raise or lower the three point implement). Had to remove the seat and dress panels in the cab to get to the SCV. Got it removed and found an o-ring was missing which is why it was leaking. I had rebuilt the rockshaft about 8 months ago and I guess I had forgot to put an o-ring in it or it dropped out when assembling it. Anyway, back to the nursery tomorrow to finish the job and then back to the 770 to pull the pump tomorrow.

May 4th

Sorry about posting this a day late, but that was the way my day was yesterday. I managed to get the differential for the 855 all together and put on the tractor Was just about to finish up the paperwork and wash the tractor when my service manager sent me out at 3pm for a couple of delivery's. Had to deliver a riding mower with cart first. The location for delivery was about 20 miles from the store. Then had to backtrack 10 miles and then travel about another 8 miles to deliver a 1026R. Had to show the customer how to operate the tractor because it seems our sales person does not show the customers this. Long story short, with Friday rush hour traffic it was about 5:15pm. Actually that means I got some overtime this week with approval. I guess all-in-all it was a good day.

May 3rd

Good news, I did not do pick up and delivery today. Instead worked on removing the transmission on a 4100N (narrow) tractor. Got it off and disassembled it. I found six gears inside that had damaged or missing teeth. By the time I added the price of the gears, new bearings, seals and gaskets the bill came to about $2500. On top of that, there will be about forty hours of labor. Once I put together a parts list and turned it in to my service manager so he could call the customer, I started working on getting the 855 back together.
Also found out today that there is a quest for a part time pick up and delivery driver. I hope they hire someone soon so I will not have to do that anymore.

May 2nd

Today was a good day? Started out normal(?) with the standard pick up and delivery's. Delivered 2 new X300 riding mowers and a 2305 compact. When I got back to the shop after delivering mowers, I found a couple of sticky notes on the computer screen. Both were to call customers of past and present. The past customer wanted some of his old used PTO shaft parts back. They went on an Agric tiller. Did some dumpster diving and found them in the steel recycle dumpster. They will be delivered tomorrow by one of our service techs during a service call. The other call was from a present customer about the status of his tractor. The one that I have not had time to work on because I have been doing pick ups and delivery's. He wanted to know if it would be done by Saturday. I rather doubt it at the present rate of assembly.
 During my lunch, my service manager called me and wanted me to go out to a customers site and order parts for a 4100 transmission that was suppose to be disassembled already. The disassembly was suppose to have been done by a local "tailgater". A tailgater is one who works out of their own service truck and takes business away from our store. Back to the transmission story, long story short, the transmission had not been disassembled at all. Called the customer and he said to call the tailgater, it is the stores policy not to deal with the tailgater. Well my service manager called the customer and I went back to the shop to get the roll back tow truck to haul the tractor in for repair. Now I have two projects and no time to work on them. I guess I will have to ask my service manager how he expects them to get fixed without giving me any shop time to work on them.
I guess if I am going to give tractor numbers, I ought to give you a way to see what they are. The best web site I have found is www.tractordata.com. Just put the tractor number in the search box and pick the result that links back to tractor data web site.

May 1st

Its a new month and nothing has really changed at our store. I am still doing pick up and delivery of riding lawn mowers, not really the ag equipment that I was trained to work on. I did manage to get about an hours work in on the 855 front differential, starting the reassembly process. At the current rate of working on it, it may take about a week to get it done. Guess this is going to be a short post because there was nothing new to report.

April 30th

Semi good day today. Picked up two riding lawnmowers in the morning and worked on a 855 the rest of the day. Had to pull the front differential and totally disassemble it to replace all of the bearings. This is all because of a broken drive cover and failed bearing causing metal filings to be distributed throughout the differential. Should be able to put it together tomorrow. Will let you know.

April 27th

Did deliverys today. Put about thirty miles on our pickup and about seventy on our roll back flatbed truck. This was just to deliver three items. My other project the JD855 just grew in size. It went from investigating a strange noise in the front differential to replacing every bearing and seal in the front differential. This is because the whole thing was contaminated with metal filings from a bearing that demolished itself and took out a spindle housing. Almost one thousand dollars later and about eight hours work to get it all apart and back together. If I am not delivering on monday, I guess I know what I will be doing.

April 26th

Today was a very disappointing day. Back home at my "home" store and what was my first job for most of the day, delivering lawnmowers. I was so close to loading my tools back into my truck and calling it quits at this dealership. I guess survival overcame disappointed feelings and I am still here. Other than that, it was just deliver and pickup of riding mowers. Not a whole lot to say about that. Guess I will see what tomorrow brings.

April 25th

My involvement in the air seeder and commodity cart has come to an end. I understand it is nowhere near completed though. The customer wants to add liquid fertilizer and change the closing wheels (the wheels that close the furrow after planting the seed). I guess someone else will have to do that as I am going back to my store. As I mentioned in yesterdays entry, I did accomplish everything that was on the list. Going to have to wait and see what the new day will bring.

April 24th

It will take one more day to complete this project. It seems that every time I think I am getting close to being done another lengthy step pops up. Today's long step was getting all of the seed tubes in place. It is amazing how long it takes to position and connect 48 seed tubes. Attached the draw bar today and routed all of the hydraulic lines and electrical connections. It takes seven hydraulic lines and four electrical cables to operate this thing. Started working on the commodity cart draw bar and all of its connections. I believe that tomorrow it will definitely be completed. Still have to plumb all of the commodity cart seed delivery tubes to the interface panel in the air seed drill, finish the cart draw bar connection, tidy all of the wiring up, investigate and repair wheel bearing issues with one wheel set, grease everything up and test everything. It could be a full and busy day.

April 23rd

Today was a great day. Assembled both wings if the air seeder onto the center section. Attached the seeder raise /lower hydraulic cylinders. Hooked up to a tractor and tested. Also attached the wing trunnions (wheel assembly that the seeder rides on). Tomorrow should be my last day at this store and then back to my "home" store. Will have to hustle to get the seeder done. Still have to attach the tongue, raise/lower wing hydraulic cylinders, and all of the seed feed tubes. Anyway, tomorrow should be a good day also.

April 20th

Completed the commodity cart assembly and modifications this morning. The "inventor" of the scaling system on this commodity cart packed up his stuff and headed back to Minnesota. Moved the cart out of the shop and into the yard to make room for the air seeder portion of the assembly. The air seeder is a thirty foot seeder. That means it can plant a thirty foot wide swath with each pass, hopefully saving the farmer time and fuel.  The air seeder comes in three sections. The center section is so heavy that it was almost too much for the fork lift truck. If it was not for the four wheel drive our fork lift truck has, I would have been stuck in the parking lot when one of the rear wheels was lifted off the ground while traversing a mud puddle. Today's progress was good. Moved the center section under the back cover of the building. Unpacked the left and right wheel trundle assembly's from the wing section shipping framework and got them mounted on the center section.
Found out today that I will be in this store for at least one more day, Monday. Then back to my home store.

April 19th

Today was a good and seemingly productive day. We pulled the cart out of the shop into the rain, a fellow service tech brought his truck around and set up the crane to set the tanks in place on the commodity cart. After the tanks were in place, we pushed the cart back into the shop so it was out of the rain and I adjusted the pads (the items that the tanks actually rest on) and installed the feed tubes to the front of the cart from the metering houses (the device which permits the correct amount of seed to flow to the seed planter). I also crawled into the tanks to connect the ladders and installed plates to plug holes where the walkway used to connect to the tanks. We connected the scaling load cells to power and installed a display panel and found out that they actually work. Surprisingly after zeroing the display, I crawled up onto the tanks and found that the scales were very accurate, it displayed my weight correctly LOL.
We got all of the low pressure air plumbing to the tanks installed also. I think that all of the cutting and welding and painting is coming to a end. I sure can't see any more items that will need modified for this commodity cart to work. I think tomorrow that the cart draw tongue will get installed and the cart will be moved out into the yard and the seeder will get moved in for assembly. I'm not sure if I will be doing the assembly of the seeder, nobody seems to know.

April 18th

Well, we did not get the tanks on today. It seems that we are short a hose that needs to connect to the tanks before we can set them in place. I did get the "pads" put on the octagons today. They are the part that the tanks rest on when mounted. I was tasked with getting all of the wires from the load cells mounted on the octagons to the junction boxes. This is something that I enjoyed doing. Kinda brought back memories of my last job. Also had to run the wires from the junction box to the bundle of wires and hydraulic hoses that will be going to the seeder. these were 45 feet long. The fabrication that was done today was on the "catwalk". I had to make a brace that would support the end of the catwalk. Normally this catwalk would be supported on the tank, but since the tanks "float" for weight measurement, I had to make a support brace. Tomorrow I think we will set the tanks in place, put the tongue on the commodity cart and possibly test the scales. Again, we will have to wait and see if this comes to fruition.

April 17th

Still continuing to work on the JD1910 Commodity cart with air seeder. Finished the modification on the rear tank scaling framework and feed box. Started working on the front tank. It is almost identical to the rear tank. Still lots of welding, painting, drilling and bolting parts together. It sure seems to be going together pretty slow. I suppose it wouldn't be as slow except there are no instructions, just the "inventor" with the instructions in his head. I have to ask "what's next" all of the time just to keep busy. Oh, did I mention all of the welding, painting, drilling and bolting parts together that is needed to put this thing together? I was informed that possibly tomorrow we could get one of the tanks put on this thing. Guess I will wait and see what tomorrow brings. :)

April 16th

First day at a different store. Found out what I was sent down here to do. It seems that there is this JD 1910 air seeder that needs to be assembled, however it is modified such that it is not as easy as just following the directions to assemble. I am working with the "inventor" of the scaling system being installed and the reason for the modifications being done. Pictured below is what I am working on, currently I am working on the last section behind the tractor.

Some of the stuff I had to do today was welding together "pads" that the new scaling system will sit on, Cutting and relocating some tank (the big yellow portion pictured above) mounting pads, and welding washers on some ladder mounts for inside the tanks. There was also lots of using the forklift as a crane to position octagons (the framework that the big yellow tanks sit on) in place so we could see what needed to be cut and rewelded. Anyway, today was much better than the past few days at the other store. I am actually doing something that is ag related.   

April 13th

Today is Friday the 13th, bad luck? If not working on ag equipment is bad luck, I guess so.
Was given the task of doing pick up and delivery's today. Was not enough work to keep busy all day though. Only three delivery's, kept busy till lunch. After lunch, worked on a GT325 rider. It is the shops rider for moving the reader board from the front of the store by the road to the back of the lot. Guess what, as the shops rider it is neglected. Had to pull the carburetor off of it and clean it. It was full of water, one of the most common problems we see when mowers come into the shop.
The other repairs that I did today was to replace a carburetor on a Honda push mower and a Troybilt Horse tiller. The tiller had gas so old that it absolutely stunk. The carburetor was so gummed up, that the needle and seat metal was green and the float was waterlogged. Put the carburetor through the cleaner and with a few new parts it should be good to go. Its just too bad that I will not be able to see it run. I loaded up my tools and moved them to one of our other stores where I start working on Monday for about a week. It looks like it will be an interesting week. Stay tuned and I will let you know.

April12th

First thing this morning, I was sent out on a service call to follow up on a tractor that I had worked on in the shop a few weeks ago. It seems that the tractor would turn sharper to the right than the left. Well, I checked toe-in and it was good. Checked out the power steering assist cylinders (one on each side of the tractor). Sure enough, the cylinder on the the right side was shorter when extended. Unbolted both cylinders clamping bolts (clamped to the radius rods) and positioned then so that both cylinders were extending the same. Had the customer check it out and he was very happy.
Sorry to report, but still no tractors to work on ion the shop. Did work on three Sthil string trimmers, a craftsman riding mower, which is in very sad shape, and three push mowers.
Will wait and see what is in store for me tomorrow.

April 11th

Still no Ag work. Sure am getting tired of not having any "work".  I guess I don't consider working on riding mowers, push mowers and power washers work, which I did today. I have to admit that it all pays the same and it occupies my time, but it just isn't the same as working on tractors.
Its official, I will be working in another store next week. I have been told that I will be working on 5 and 6000 series tractors. Looking forward to that.
Going to keep this post short. It's just because I am not sure how to embellish the fact that I did some services on push and riding mowers and a pressure washer. You know, change the oil, oil filter, spark plug, air filter and grease the machine and sharpen the blades. How can you expound on that?

April 10th

Well, what can I say, it is still slow. Even though we have had a couple of days without rain, we just don't seem to be getting any business brought in. The lack of rain has increased the CP business some. Seems like everyone wants their mowers fixed right now since they can get out and mow. Since we still do not have any Ag business coming in, I am now working on a F930. That is a front mower with a 60 inch mower deck. A front mower is when the mower is in front of the tractor instead of underneath it. I am just doing a service on it. During the service, I found that one idler pulley was bad on the mower deck and the fuel pump was not holding its prime. Ordered both and now waiting for them to come in. Also worked on a X585 riding mower. Had to replace the battery along with doing a service. Since I have parts on order for the F930 and the service on the X585 is complete, up next is a Honda walk behind mower. This on is not even a service, just replace a governor spring, spark plug and change oil. Will probably finish that one within the first half an hour tomorrow. Did I mention that I may be temporarily reassigned to another store within our dealership? If I am, I would be working on Ag equipment, Yippee. Will know more tomorrow. Stay tuned....

April 9th

Another slow day, performed a service on a X585, nothing out of the ordinary except that it still is a consumer product (cp) and not an agriculture product. This was pretty much what occupied the morning hours. The afternoon hours was a little better. Performed a PDI (predelivery inspection) on a 6140D tractor. Again, it is not anything exciting, but at least it is on an AG product, something I was trained to work on. Sorry for the short post, but when you don't work on a lot of equipment and do repairs, there is not really much to write about.

April 6th

Well today was slightly better than the past few days. I finished the service on the X300 and completed another service on a X324 riding mower. About half way through the service on the X324, I was handed two work orders to assemble some new equipment. When I finished the service on the X324, I cleaned my work area in preparation for the assembly of a three point chipper and a log splitter.

Went looking for the forklift and found that one of out parts specialist was using it. Since he was using it and was going to go past my chipper empty, I talked him into bringing it into the shop for me. That's the way, delegate. Also managed to talk him into bringing in the log splitter at the same time.

Uncrated the chipper and put the discharge chute on it. Other than attaching the PTO drive shaft that was the extent of assembly. Just to be on the safe side, I greased the machine also. I know that they usually come in pregreased, but ........

The log splitter was a different story, there was more assembly required for this. I mean, like putting the wheels and fenders on it, attaching the draw bar to the motor and hydraulic tank assembly and then attaching the splitter hydraulic ram and rails to the drawbar and motor assembly. Topped of the hydraulic tank, engine oil and fuel tank. Started the motor and purged the air from the hydraulic system. Assembly completed, but now to cut up the shipping crates with a chainsaw in the shop and throw all of the pieces into the dumpster. Cleaned up the wood chips and clocked out for the day.  Monday looks like a X585 garden tractor is in need of servicing.

April 5th

Again another slow day. As I mentioned yesterday, I cleaned the water maze. Today I got to clean another part of the filtration system, the sump screen. This is where all of the larger "crap" is captured before it goes into the maze for "purification". If we had a backhoe on site I probably would have had to clean the "pit" which is sorta like a septic tank. All of the heavy "crap" settles to the bottom and the liquid flows off for "purification". 

After that job, I started working on a John Deere X500 riding mower. It is a relatively simple task, just a service (similar to a lube, oil, filter change on a car), tire repair and a pulley replacement on the mower deck. Oh-did I mention that the deck had about 50 pounds of grass clippings on it. It just about filled a garbage can. I will probably finish this mower tomorrow.

About half way through the mower service, I was sent out to deliver a rotary disk mower about 20 miles away. Before leaving, I was given the instruction manual and spare blades for the mower. Guess what, I forgot to take them with me. I guess the salesman will have to take it to the owner. Oh-well.

When I got back from the delivery, I found out that there was a production crew in the store creating a video for the stores website. Ten minutes before they wanted to video the shop area it suddenly became urgent that I was to fill the shop with tractors. Well because we are slow we don't have a lot of tractors in the shop, so I brought every customers tractor in. This amounted to two compact tractors, two new tractors with boom mowers attached and a New Holland articulated tractor. Ten minutes later, out they go.

Now back to the X500 for about twenty minutes before end of the day. This was just enough time to sharpen the mower blades and get them installed.

April 4th

Today was a slow day. Took the two ton rollback tow truck out and picked up a 4320 tractor. Brought it back to the shop hoping that my service manager would let me do the repairs on it. No such luck. It was given to the "senior" technician. Finished doing a tune up and blade sharpening service on a LA115 riding mower. Installed a Bogie wheel kit on a Kuhn hay rake. A bogie wheel kit is basically dual wheels in place of the single wheels. That was the extent of repairs and wrench turning. Was given the task of cleaning the water maze. The water maze is the contraption that takes the runoff water from washing the tractors and "purifies" it enough to flush it down the sewer. There are several stamped plastic sheets that fit together to form a sieve or screen to capture the "crap". You have to pull these plastic sheets out of a tank and clean then put them back in. Just for a little background, we service tractors that are from dairy's and they usually come in covered with cow manure. So you can just imagine what these plastic sheets are covered with and how they smell. Wonderful day.

A day in the life of a John Deere Technician

The purpose of this blog is to document my life as a John Deere Technician. I decided to create this page to show all of the budding technicians what the ups and downs of a technician are.

Having been through the winter months, I have been told that there should be a lot of work rolling into the shop soon. I certainly hope so.