Behind the ex iron curtain - 2 wheel tractor

[Sevanje]

I managed to procure a new machine that is used in the far plains of the mother Russia and around in great numbers. Except for the engine it is the same as it was 40 years ago (or so I've been told), heavy, cast iron gearbox, loud, hard to shift gears, dangerous but indestructible and quite fun to use, like a tank one might say.
The tank in question is no other than Belarus 09h.
The 2 wheel tractor is coupled to a Honda gx270 engine, so no problems there either.
Interestingly the PTO is built around quick coupling in mind, the feature that is extra/optional on our west machines the same goes for the wheel weights.
On the other hand it has some really bizarre features to it. For example, it has no dipstick to check the oil level in the gearbox, it has a plug and if the oil leaks when you unscrew the plug the gearbox has enough oil in it.

 

[ArlyA]

Sorry to say that your photos are not viewable.

 

[oosik]

I went to the Minsk Tractor Works site and checked it out. Very much like the Troy Bilt I once had. Looks to have an unlimited range of implements.

 

[Sevanje]

Now the photos should appear, I don't know what happened.
Indeed there are many implements for that machine, I managed to get only the rotary tiller and a plow for it. Even for just that the shipping and import fees were quite high.

 

[shovelmike]

Thanks for posting that, it looks like a well built machine for sure. I remember when the Belarus four wheel tractors were aggressively marketed here in the U.S.A. , they offered a lot of horsepower for a very competitive price, with the only criticism being high effort required to shift gears.
Regarding checking oil level in the gearbox, the oil level plug is very common practice on gearboxes and transmissions here in the states as well.

 

[leonz]

The gearbox oil level in my father inlaws original troy bilt is the same way; fill it in the top until the oil pours out the side plug.

 

[Sevanje]

Perhaps it is that I am not used to it being like that. It is actually not that stupid, you can't over fill the gearbox this way, which is especially important with wet clutch.

 

[JamesHW]

Earth tools cuts the dip stick off the engines they sell:

CURRENTLY USED GAS ENGINES (Honda, Yamaha, Subaru-Robin): WITH ENGINE LEVEL, FILL TO OVERFLOWING, and check every 4 to 6 hours of use. Regardless of what the owners’ manual may show, your Gas engine on your tractor does not have a “dipstick” on the oil fill cap… Why? Because we cut it off. Why did we do that? Because we like to save our customers money and trouble: The dipstick on all the engines we use (Honda, Yamaha, Subaru) is only an inch or so long, and is designed to show the minimum “safe” amount of oil in the engine with the engine operating in a level plane. The thing is, we know human nature, which is that if the person sees oil at the bottom of the dipstick, they think “Oh, it’s OK…I don’t need to go to the shed and get the oil bottle…it’s on the dipstick, so it’s SAFE, right?” But this equipment often operates at angles much too steep for that “minimum” amount of oil (mowing on a hillside, tilling to maximum depth, etc.)..and you only need to do that for a few minutes with too little oil in it, and the engine seizes up. WHOOPS. We learned a long time ago that if the oil is kept to the MAXIMUM allowable level in the engine, there is simply no chance of a low-oil failure. Therefore, we don’t give our customers a choice; we cut off the dipstick and ask that you keep it full to the overflowing point. (If the engine is level, you can’t “overfill” these gas engines, it’ll just run back out the fill hole if it’s too much.) Don’t take any chances! But make sure the engine is LEVEL before checking and filling, or you’re going to get a bad reading…this may require putting a block under the implement or something. (The above also applies to the older ACME engines that were used on BCS machines 20+ years ago.)

Use, Repair, and Maintenance - Earth Tools

 

[arie515]

Very neat tractor indeed, too bad the engine is not emissions compliant for USA/Canada. We had many farmers asking for it in USA/Canada. We specialize in the larger MTZ/Belarus tractors, so for now we made a decision not to invest into upgrades to compliant engine.
See factory page for a dozen implements available BELARUS-9Н: Минский тракторный завод
I like the trailer which converts the tractor into small transportation device.