How stupid can I be?

[Champy]

So I was bush hogging on the tree farm today. Stopped to take a water break, etc....then hopped on the JD; start it up; engage the PTO; put it in gear......and nothing. IT WON'T MOVE!

So I proceed to check the: Parking Brake; is the Bush Hog hung up; start it up again after each check.....nothing. Try every gear....nothing. Now go under the tractor (don't worry its off)....looking for broken linkages; transmission parts; fluid spewing.........still nothing. Wait, lets try 4WD, maybe the front end will pull if something's wrong in the back........nope. Each time I put it into gear I get nothing but a click-click-click from the tranny...........**** I musta busted something.

Now some of you may already know the solution, but for those of you who need to learn these things the hard way (like me)....here's what was wrong with my JD990 - IT WAS THE RANGE SELECTOR! AGHHHHH! What a Charlie Brown move.....I musta bumped it inbetween ranges and a range was not properly selected....hence the click-click-click.

Now I am wondering if: 1) have I already done this before?; and 2) how long before I do it again? Stupid, stupid, stupid man......

 

[Sunrise-Acres]

It can happen to us Hydro guys also!

 

[Farmwithjunk]

Don't call yourself stupid, 'er you just called ME stupid


A few summers past, I had just bought my very first gooseneck trailer. I was hunting for a reason to use it. A friend bought a barn full of baled straw. I agreed to help haul it.

I've always owned 4wd trucks. They're just plain too handy on a farm. My new gooseneck was hooked to an ALMOST new Dodge 4wd. I had just swapped it for a Ford, and wasn't all too familiar with the transfer case shifter just yet.

OK.... Where we picked up the straw, I had to pull out of a dirt road onto a fairly busy state hiway. I wheeled out onto the road with the truck in low/4, shifted into neutral, slapped the transfer case shifter into H/2, put the tranny back in gear and hit thegas peddle. VVVVVVVVVVRRRRRRRRRRRRROOOOOOOOOOmmmmmmmm. (with no "go")


Hmmmmmmm! What in the..........? I fiddled around for a couple seconds, then hit the emergency flashers. I just KNEW I'd wasted the transmission or something "expensive". After upsetting the delicate balance of nature by blocking traffic for a few minutes, causing several horns to blow and middle fingers to elevate, I noticed the transfer case shifter was in between 4w/h and 2w/h..... IN NEUTRAL.


Oooooooooooops!


Never told anyone about this until now. So if you don't mind, don't tell anyone else

 

[shvl73]

I do something stupid every day, just not on purpose!
Welcome to the club. If thats the worst that you do, your much better off than me! My mistakes usually cost me money!

 

[CCWKen]

LOL... That can happen to anyone. I earned my badge on a newly acquired Ford. The "newer" Fords won't start unless the range selector is IN neutral. Try spending an hour chasing down what you think to be a dead battery or bad wire connection.

Did you look around to see if anyone was watching?

 

[teg]

The old farmer I bought a 3ph backhoe from was going to get a mechanic out to look at his full size backhoe because it would not move... I asked about the high/low shifter and he said he never touches that one ...played with it and put it back in gear and all was well.

 

[john_bud]

"how stupid can I be?"

I don't know, it seems I am always plumbing new depths of stupidity, with no end in site!

jb

 

[LBrown59]

Never told anyone about this until now. So if you don't mind, don't tell anyone else

To Late

 

[flusher]

So I was bush hogging on the tree farm today. Stopped to take a water break, etc....then hopped on the JD; start it up; engage the PTO; put it in gear......and nothing. IT WON'T MOVE!

So I proceed to check the: Parking Brake; is the Bush Hog hung up; start it up again after each check.....nothing. Try every gear....nothing. Now go under the tractor (don't worry its off)....looking for broken linkages; transmission parts; fluid spewing.........still nothing. Wait, lets try 4WD, maybe the front end will pull if something's wrong in the back........nope. Each time I put it into gear I get nothing but a click-click-click from the tranny...........**** I musta busted something.

Now some of you may already know the solution, but for those of you who need to learn these things the hard way (like me)....here's what was wrong with my JD990 - IT WAS THE RANGE SELECTOR! AGHHHHH! What a Charlie Brown move.....I musta bumped it inbetween ranges and a range was not properly selected....hence the click-click-click.

Now I am wondering if: 1) have I already done this before?; and 2) how long before I do it again? Stupid, stupid, stupid man......

Don't feel like the Lone Ranger. That happens to most of us TBNers.
I bumped the PTO lever on my Kubota B7510HST a week or se after it was delivered. Spent 10 minutes scratching my head before I figured out the problem was that the interlock on the PTO lever wasn't satisfied so the tractor would not start.

 

[asylum575]

Ok,
Here's one, so you don't feel bad.
I performed my 50 hour service on my BX24 yesterday. Went over everything before to get a plan. Plan was, fuel filters first, air filter, engine oil and filter, hydraulic oil and filter, then axle gear oil last. Well I was up to the engine oil and drained it. I slid my collection pan over, so I could remove the oil filter and catch any oil with the pan. I had the cap style oil filter removers, you know, the type that use a 1/4" ratchet. Well, every time I tried the cap slipped on the filter. It(the filter) was on there good. Tried for a while and decided to take a ride to Autozone. Picked up an oil filter plier and went back home. Filter came right off. Great, right. Well I installed the new filter and started filling the engine. I got about half a quart in and got that oh, oh feeling. Anyone, anyone.
Yep, I forgot to put the drain plug back in the engine. Darn. I saw some nice clean oil coming out. Popped the plug in and everthing else went well.
Could I get by with telling people, it's a new way to flush the engine with fresh oil. Probably not.

 

[frank_f15]

DON'T WORRY ABOUT IT . JUST THE other day i was using the finish mower, on my corner field, had to go in to take a BREAK got back on started the tractor and engage the PTO AND NOTHING JUST A LIGHT SOUND, mower did not engage what the heck was running fine when i shut down???? then realized i engaged the mid pto not the rear pto.

 

[hosejockey2002]

Well, at least you figured it out before you poured in all the oil and then started the engine....

 

[irvingj]

I once had the "no go" experience in my 72 Blazer... Had been at a conference, parked in a parking garage, got there about 7AM and went to leave shortly after noon....

Started truck, put in reverse, no move-- what the?-- checked stick, made sure I hit the gear, let clutch up, no move.... ?? Oh-- musta bumped the transfer case lever! Wiggled back & forth, 4 hi, 4 lo, back to neutral, back into 2 hi, the carefully into reverse, let clutch pedal up, STILL NO MOVE!!

Got out, engine running & in gear, slid under center section, and saw transfer case tailpiece sitting there in mid air, spinning quietly, WITH NO REAR DRIVESHAFT ATTACHED!!!

This was the day before VT deer hunting season started- it seems someone thought they needed my rear driveshaft more than I did. I still get PO'd when I think about it.

Ended up having to have one custom made to fit- apparently all junkyards in the northeast were fresh out of driveshafts for that model..."Yeah-- had a guy from VT call just the other day looking for one just like that...."

 

[jbrumberg]

"how stupid can I be?"

I don't know, it seems I am always plumbing new depths of stupidity, with no end in site!

jb

Ditto- Jay

 

[wedge40]

Its been years since this happened to me. I have a 12hp cub cadet and snow blower I can put on the front. Back then the Cub was always in the garage and the blower was stored in the barn. (Barn had no doors so it was just a shelter) I have a major in procrastination so I usually didn't put the blower on until after the first snow. Well we had got about 6 inches of snow and I put the wheel weights and chain on the Cub and headed out to the barn. Putting the blower on by yourself can be done but it's a pain in the backside to do it. Got it lined up and went to pull the tractor forward. Turned the key and nothing. Did I mention it was about 10 degrees outside at the time. I spent the next couple of hours trying to figure it out. Finally in frustration I went back into the house. Next day I ran and extension cord out the barn with a 500 watt halogen lamp to maybe warm things up. I wasn't getting anything, no click nothing. After about two days of playing around I sat in the seat and notice the switch for the PTO was engaged. Hmm that's not right. Flipped the switch off and started the tractor and away I went. Believe me every time I get on that tractor I check the switch, cause it wont start if it's on.


Wedge

 

[CFHartman]

Ok,
Here's one, so you don't feel bad.
I performed my 50 hour service on my BX24 yesterday. Went over everything before to get a plan. Plan was, fuel filters first, air filter, engine oil and filter, hydraulic oil and filter, then axle gear oil last. Well I was up to the engine oil and drained it. I slid my collection pan over, so I could remove the oil filter and catch any oil with the pan. I had the cap style oil filter removers, you know, the type that use a 1/4" ratchet. Well, every time I tried the cap slipped on the filter. It(the filter) was on there good. Tried for a while and decided to take a ride to Autozone. Picked up an oil filter plier and went back home. Filter came right off. Great, right. Well I installed the new filter and started filling the engine. I got about half a quart in and got that oh, oh feeling. Anyone, anyone.
Yep, I forgot to put the drain plug back in the engine. Darn. I saw some nice clean oil coming out. Popped the plug in and everthing else went well.
Could I get by with telling people, it's a new way to flush the engine with fresh oil. Probably not.

That 50 hr service is a killer. I did the same thing on a JD 2210 only I used hydraulic fluid. And I didn遞 catch it till I had all that it was suppose to hold in and it was not showing in the site glass

 

[Mike058]

That 50 hr service is a killer. I did the same thing on a JD 2210 only I used hydraulic fluid. And I didn遞 catch it till I had all that it was suppose to hold in and it was not showing in the site glass

Sounds messy. And my answer to the first question would be, "How long can I live?

 

[Bob_Young]

Geez, Champy, if this is the first time you've ever done something like this you're either very, very young or some kind of genius. As I get older, this type of thing has become a daily occurrence...sometimes two or three times daily if the day is long enough.

You've probably got more of these episodes to look forward to. Just take it in stride and before doing anything drastic, recognize that it's probably something simple caused by the nut behind the steering wheel....again.
Bob

 

[Soundguy]

Well.. now that the learning curve is over.. you are on top. Don't worry.. now you will progress to 'other' boneheaded moves we all make... like periodically load testing your parking brake. I sometimes back out of the barn and get a nice strip mowed before i take the break off... I figure I'm uh.. 'cleaning' it.

soundguy

So I was bush hogging on the tree farm today. Stopped to take a water break, etc....then hopped on the JD; start it up; engage the PTO; put it in gear......and nothing. IT WON'T MOVE!

So I proceed to check the: Parking Brake; is the Bush Hog hung up; start it up again after each check.....nothing. Try every gear....nothing. Now go under the tractor (don't worry its off)....looking for broken linkages; transmission parts; fluid spewing.........still nothing. Wait, lets try 4WD, maybe the front end will pull if something's wrong in the back........nope. Each time I put it into gear I get nothing but a click-click-click from the tranny...........**** I musta busted something.

Now some of you may already know the solution, but for those of you who need to learn these things the hard way (like me)....here's what was wrong with my JD990 - IT WAS THE RANGE SELECTOR! AGHHHHH! What a Charlie Brown move.....I musta bumped it inbetween ranges and a range was not properly selected....hence the click-click-click.

Now I am wondering if: 1) have I already done this before?; and 2) how long before I do it again? Stupid, stupid, stupid man......

 

[Whitey]

When I first got my tractor........I had just finished pulling up a 40 foot antenna tower........went to get back on the tractor and she would not move. After making a fool of myself in front of my wifeshe kindly pointed out that the range selector was between high and low

She is always right!

JD 770 / 70 FEL / 7 BH - 425 AWS / 54" MMM / 54" FMP