Good morning!!!!

[PJSprog]

46°F and light rain this morning, going up to 55° today. Just when I thought we were going to be steadily warming, I see a snowflake on the iThingie weather widget for next Tuesday.

Missed quite a bit by not coming here for a few days. Happy (belated) birthdays to all.

Shifted my hours at work ahead an hour this week to cover for my boss, who's spending the week in Mexico with his family. He rarely takes vacations. As much as I'm not a fan of getting up even earlier to get here an hour early, I can say that I don't hate the traffic difference.

Wife is making plans to go spend a weekend visiting her oldest son in San Marcos TX. Best she can find for a reasonable flight from STL to San Antonio is via a stop over in Atlanta. How on earth do these airlines make any money by flying people so far out of the way? I'll never understand the (lack of) logic in that.

 

[jbrumberg]

Good Morning Everyone!!!!

Today’s low was 18ºF; 38ºF now; 48ºF anticipated. Another harbinger of Spring at the feeders today- 1 rudder tailed grackle . Too warm to fire up the wood stove today

Farmer- Thank you for the video link. Another example of someone dealing with catastrophic losses better than I probably would. Truly humbling; a gift. Good luck with the seed drill.

David- I am sorry to read about your tractor damage. Hopefully the replacement part will arrive quicker than anticipated.

Eric- I am sorry to read about your lamb. You had posted about this happening previously.

Drew- I hope your tests go ok.Good luck with the coffee and the arthritis meds.
. I hope the new stabilizers fit.

Buppies- I am sorry to read about your fall. I am happy you were not hurt more seriously. Good luck with the orthopedist. I too do not “pick up” the low blood sugars until I am seriously hypoglycemic (<40). It’s surprising how fast the BS’s drop. I’ve come real close …………. Now I always take my BS’s before operating the tractor and/or power tools.

Billy- I am happy to read that your Mom is ok.

RonJH- I am happy to read the PSA is low and the CA is stable.

Ted- I hope your shake your illness quickly. Stay hydrated. Take care. Hang in there.

Paul- I wish your wife a safe trip and great time with her son.

I hope that everyone is having a decent day.

"…. I'm thankful for each day on this earth"- Drew

My + thoughts, prayers, and wishes.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

Rough day for everyone. Busted tractor is no fun, neither are the bad knees, sickness, poor lamb, etc. Missing a step canreally hurt the body.
Nice to hear from farmer.
Since the time change, ive been working later to avoid the low sun driving east in the AM. Trafficis lighter is i get in by 9, instead of 7 or 8.
I was messing with a misbehaving treadmill last night. Discovered the display is an android wifi tablet. The app was not starting. All i could do was keep power cycling it, it finally started working on a repeated basis. Also reset the network settings. After that was too tired to use it, lol.

 

[lostcreekranch]

It was 48°F this morning and almost cloudless sky. Forecast says 73°F this afternoon. An almost perfect day to do almost anything.

The Spring Equinox occurs this afternoon at 4:58 p.m. CDT. 12 hours of light, 12 hours of dark.

I got a lot of mowing done, in the 9 acres around the house that we call the "yard" yesterday. But when I went to get back on the Kubota ZT, after lunch, it had a very low rear tire. When I tried to move it, closer to an air hose, I managed to break the bead so, had to jack it up, with a floor jack, in a soft grassy area. Got it jacked up, tire removed and spent 20 minutes trying to get the beads, both sides, to reseat, so I could find leak. I had to use a 2" ratchet strap, around tire circumference but, finally got it to take air and reseat both beads. Put the tire in a was tub, but never could find a leak so ..... a trip to local tire center and it took them a while to find it too but they finally located hole and repaired it. So ... 2+ lost hours in mid afternoon prime time.

I'm trying to finish up several small projects today, then mix up some Glyphosate / surfactant and spray our fence lines etc. tomorrow, before forecast rain this weekend.

Got a jury duty notice in mail today, for this Monday. I think this is 4th time I've been called since buying this property in Colorado County, and they've been cancelled, day before, all previous times. Hope I can keep my string alive.

Hope everyone enjoys a first day of Spring and Hump Day.

Prayers to all.

 

[RedNeckGeek]

Would like to find a way to bypass filter just so I can drive tractor to better area to work on.

Would a pipe union work as a temporary solution? Low pressure versions are available at HD...

 

[sodamo]

64°F and no rain.
Tracking says my filter assembly will be here Sat 3/23. That’s good news. Now if I can get it to a more work friendly location , currently on slight slope of uneven grass covered ground. Will have to spend some time pondering that today.

Prayers for all
Be safe
Have a great day

 

[sodamo]

Drew, quite correct, my timing sux

As I was prepping for this work, I mentally noted about the filter as it protrudes from the underside and have dented it in past. I managed to work about 2 hours before the incident.

 

[sodamo]

Would a pipe union work as a temporary solution? Low pressure versions are available at HD...

That was my original thought as well.
Seems to be solid lines and I don’t see how

I don’t even see how it is attached.
More investigating.
Unfortunately this repair isnt discussed or even pictured well in the workshop manual. Best pic I’ve found is the parts diagram at Michigan Iron & Equipment. #4

 

[RedNeckGeek]

Looks like Kioti used "banjo" fittings to attach the steel lines to the oil filter housing. Short of making up an aluminum block with through holes threaded for the banjo bolts, looks like a new filter housing is the way out. I'd expect to find a couple of bolts holding the housing to a bracket somewhere above it.

FWIW, my BMW motorcycles use a similar scheme for their oil cooler, and I carry such a block in my spares kit to use as a bypass should the lines or oil cooler spring a leak. And yes, I've had to use it before.

Typically, the banjos seal using soft copper or aluminum washers on either side of the banjo, two required per fitting. They should be replaced every time the fittings are loosened. If Koiti used copper fittings, though, they can be heated to a dull red and quenched in water to soften them, but you'll have to clean them up with fine abrasive paper or steel wool to get the oxide off. Hopefully new ones are available at the dealer?

 

[LouNY]

Put your range transmission in neutral and start towing or dragging it.

Some times you can actually remove that broken off piece in the center,
it may well be a close threaded nipple, many are.

Good Luck