Good morning!!!!

[toppop52]

I got the tractor disassembled, partially anyway. I had to detach the dash /cowl to be able to lift the fenders / floorboard high enough to get access to the trans. I am glad I decided to change the fluid.... it was all 'yucky' looking, a little foamy too. The tractor is 14 years old and the trans has never been serviced (supposed to be "non-serviceable" according to Tuff Torq and the owners manual).

After BEF was rebuilding his, I started looking into doing mine. That's when I found out the K66 is a heavy duty and used in a lot of commercial mowers. They recommend changing the fluid at 50 hours then every 200! SOOOO,.... we'll just let the homeowner ones just burn up so they have to buy another mower.....

Anyway, I gained access and cleaned everything up, no leaks noticed, even all the original stickers were still on. When I was ready to refill the oil, Thankfully I noticed I bought the wrong oil for it.... should be 5w50.... I got 20w50.... none to be had locally, so ordered online through NAPA. I can pick it up in the big city tomorrow. I will be going in to the city anyway for a Dr's appointment, so I will pick it up on the way home.

So, cleaned the mower deck and sharpened the blades instead. Finished up and called it an earlier day. Here's a few pics of the 'pile' of tractor parts.

What model Craftsman is that? I had a GT5000 that I put a Johnny bucket on and beat in it for years, sold and the you re still using it.

 

[toppop52]

“Randy and why did the plasma run out, what were you feeding it?”

Mostly, large quantities of electrons!

 

[toppop52]

Good morning all. Two more days of dry weather to come with a high of 21C/70F, after that the rain will be here to give me a break from brick work :dance1:

Catching up on here, I read a few posts about large European churches. We live on the outskirts of a small town - Whitchurch, Shropshire - and with a name like that, it is not surprising that the skyline is dominated by a church tower. St Alkmunds is not as big as some, but is still a very impressive building. This "latest" Whitchurch church one was built way back in 1712, after the earlier one had collapsed. That does not imply any shoddy workmanship, as the original had been giving service since the year 912.

St. Alkmund’s Church – Whitchurch, Shropshire

I regularly use the church as an aiming mark, though not for shooting! The route of the footpath that crosses several of our fields is not obvious where it passes over the undulating landscape, so if I am out topping, I will cut a path to guide new walkers, the very top of the church tower showing me which way to steer the Iseki. Of course this is no coincidence, as the original purpose of many footpaths is as a direct route to church.

Your churches only last 800 years?!

 

[ronjhall]

Very colorful this morning, Ron. Is that one off a tulip tree?

It's a Maple Leaf. I think some bugs have been chewing on it.

 

[ronjhall]

Very colorful this morning, Ron. Is that one off a tulip tree?

It's a Maple Leaf. I think some bugs have been chewing on it.

 

[txdon]

All that just for an oil change, Ted? You're a more patient man than I!

Says the man with the 13 year restoration Volkswagen Vanagon project. :biggrin::wink:

Ahh! now the Fall pics, can't wait. Fall officially starts Tomorrow but a Ron preview today. Fall is my favorite time of the year.

Eric, I think the picture on the hillside made your straight line to the church look like a curved line. (Stick to that story).

Good morning! Temp range today 68˚F to 70˚F with a little bit of a sprinkle this morning, .01". Cloudy with on and off small rain showers today, we are predicted to get 1.5" over the next 2 days from TS Beta as it heads right toward us and then tomorrow runs away from us.

Still waiting for the small seedling in the garage to sprout. Watching the rain is on the agenda today.

 

[LS Tractor Owner]

Good morning to all! Low of 48, high today should be around 82 again. Smokey haze.

Randy, the tractor is a DGS6500. It too has been used and abused. Keeps on going. The engine is the Kohler 26 HP twin.

Drew, yes, the oil cooler is a biggin'.... with the hot dusty climate out here, I figured it could really use the extra oil capacity (essentially doubled it). I had all the components left over from the Jeep and VW bug projects, so why not put it to good use!

Just to clarify, changing the engine oil is a piece of cake / easy peasy. All this disassembly is to get to the transmission.... supposed to be "maintenance free", but found out that it CAN be serviced, extending its life considerably. I am glad that it only should be done every 200 hours. This will probably be the only time it has to be done.... by me anyway

Today is errand day, with a Dr's appointment thrown in the mix. Hopefully they won't be backed up like usual.

Ron, nice pic of the 'first leaf of fall' , I presume. Spring and Fall are my favorite times of the year.

Drew, good luck with the possible sale of the RV. Hopefully the dealer will realize he should make a better offer this time!

Everyone have a great day and start to the week!

 

[toppop52]

Good morning to all! Low of 48, high today should be around 82 again. Smokey haze.

Randy, the tractor is a DGS6500. It too has been used and abused. Keeps on going. The engine is the Kohler 26 HP twin.

Drew, yes, the oil cooler is a biggin'.... with the hot dusty climate out here, I figured it could really use the extra oil capacity (essentially doubled it). I had all the components left over from the Jeep and VW bug projects, so why not put it to good use!

Just to clarify, changing the engine oil is a piece of cake / easy peasy. All this disassembly is to get to the transmission.... supposed to be "maintenance free", but found out that it CAN be serviced, extending its life considerably. I am glad that it only should be done every 200 hours. This will probably be the only time it has to be done.... by me anyway

Today is errand day, with a Dr's appointment thrown in the mix. Hopefully they won't be backed up like usual.

Ron, nice pic of the 'first leaf of fall' , I presume. Spring and Fall are my favorite times of the year.

Drew, good luck with the possible sale of the RV. Hopefully the dealer will realize he should make a better offer this time!

Everyone have a great day and start to the week!

Mine had a B&S 26hp. The only problem I had was the steering sector is weak in them and I replaced front wheel bushings with bearings to support the bucket that was often well overloaded.

 

[LS Tractor Owner]

Luckily, the 6500 came with greaseable wheel bearings. It was the heaviest built tractor in the Craftsman lineup at the time. There were a couple "upgrades" which just added foo-foo Stuff like bright yellow bumpers and cloth canopy.

These tractors were no comparison to the '72 Wheelhorse "14 Automatic" that I had. It was built like a tank, but parts were becoming really scarce and pricey.

 

[LS Tractor Owner]

Now if they only made wheelhorses like this today.....