Looking at YM1700 this Weekend - What Issues Should ILlook For?

[Saddle Burr]

Hey Folks,
Brand new, wet behind the ears to tractors. I recently bought some property in MS that will require bush hogging a field and periodic drive way maintenance. I found a used Yanmar YM1700. It comes with a 5' bush hog. Seller says he changed all the fluids two months ago and starts and runs well. It looks to be in good condition in the pics, its in my price range and he will deliver the 1/2 hour or so from his place to mine. He was looking to trade it for a zero-turn clearance lawn mower, which I don't have, but I have cash instead. :laughing:

I am somewhat mechanical and have rebuilt a diesel engine before, but I am not a mechanic.

What would you list as items/areas I should check over, in addition to normal stuff (oil condition, tires, cut wires, appearance, leaks, coolant color, valve noise, etc)?

I am looking at it this weekend.

Thanks in advance for the help!!

 

[HoyeTractor]

Those tractors don't have a water pump and require low concentrations of antifreeze in the summer so they don't overheat. It is not uncommon for owners to forget to add antifreeze in the winter and they can crack up when it freezes. Look for any signs of cracks in the block or crack repairs or any signs of overheating (blown head gasket). Other than that the YM1700 is a super durable tractor.

 

[mddorange]

:welcome:
To the TBN forum Burr. We are glad that you joined.

You can get any question answered here. It can be useful to include pictures with the questions.

 

[California]

Hey Folks,
Brand new, wet behind the ears to tractors. I recently bought some property in MS that will require bush hogging a field and periodic drive way maintenance. I found a used Yanmar YM1700. It comes with a 5' bush hog. Seller says he changed all the fluids two months ago and starts and runs well. It looks to be in good condition in the pics, its in my price range and he will deliver the 1/2 hour or so from his place to mine. He was looking to trade it for a zero-turn clearance lawn mower, which I don't have, but I have cash instead. :laughing:

I am somewhat mechanical and have rebuilt a diesel engine before, but I am not a mechanic.

What would you list as items/areas I should check over, in addition to normal stuff (oil condition, tires, cut wires, appearance, leaks, coolant color, valve noise, etc)?

I am looking at it this weekend.

Thanks in advance for the help!!

Welcome!

1) Listen to Aaron. (Hoye). He is where you get mailorder maintenance items.

2) That model is so simple there's simply nothing to overlook. Just check the obvious stuff: it runs in all gears, the 3-point raises, the oil pressure and amps lights appear when you turn the switch then go out when it's running. No major blowby coming out the crankcase breather. Some exhaust smoke is normal on acceleration and pulling hard. Look in the radiator, bubbles are bad. Look for leaking axle seals and stuck brake. Headlights turn on. Electrical repairs are cheap if needed. Argue price if it needs rear tires, they are expensive.

3) That model is near indestructible, mechanically. If it checks out ok it will run for years.

4) 5 ft rotary mower will work it hard, in high or wet grass. It's convenient to take such a large bite but don't run it so hard you reach boilover, take a less wide bite if necessary. And continually hose or blow chaff out of the radiator!

 

[Turbys_1700]

Once it checks out load the rears.

I owned one for 14 years used mostly to run a 5 foot finish mower.

The YM1700 and the word durable and indestructible come to mind.

Never spend a nickle on it in 14 years other than maintenance.

They use a thermo-syphon to cool like the old A Farmall's.

I believe the correct water to antifreeze ratio is 70/30.

Aaron can correct me if I am wrong.

 

[clemsonfor]

Pretty much every thing is available. You will likely see leaking axle seals, there cheap and not hard to do. Look for a cracked radiator that shows with rusty water stains. There replaceable but I think run around $300 for a replacement from Hoye. The block like aaron said is more important. Open the radiator when cold and crank it and look right away, your looking for big exhaust bubbles or an oily film to indicate a blown head gasket, these will overheat if there is too much coolant run in them.

Make sure that the correct air filter is in it, often times the filter is just a random automotive one that will not seal tight against the top and suck dirt around. This is not a deal breaker if the engine runs well, just put more wear on it as it sucked in dust. Also make sure there is a fuel filter on it. for some reason people love to take off the original setup and put a cheap inline filter in. That works as a filter but wont catch water like the original. Use this and possible air filter as barging tools. The correct fuel filter can be purchased new but I think its somewhere in the neighborhood of $55 to 75. Not a ton of money but it with the other things you will want to do can add up. I would not run anything but the factory setup for fuel. It works and is actually just as cheap as an inline. You can get the filter element at a napa or carquest for like $6 and often times cross the wix number to another line and maybe pick up some cheaper. I had an order at rock auto a few years ago and looked up the wix number on their site and picked up 2 wix fuel filters for the original design for less than $2 each I think. They were closeouts like lots of stuff is there so that's why they were so cheap.

Find the blow by tube that was mentioned and run it up to 2400 rpm and look at it in the sunlight for blowby, it will look like a little exhaust pipe if bad, blowing smoke. It on my 2000 is on the right side of tractor as you sit on it, and comes out about half way on the block and the tube runs down below the engine and blows toward the ground. Also sitting and idling or just normal work you should not have a blue cloud or stream constantly billowing from the stack. That's worn rings and possibly liners. That does not mean that tractor will not run years like that but this again is something to consider and bargain with. If the price was right I would buy a smoking tractor with the thought in mind to run it like that and rebuild it later or if it got worse.

 

[Saddle Burr]

Thanks for all the help!! What size box blade with this tractor comfortably pull so I can occasionally maintain my 200 yard drive way? The driveway is flat, if that maters.

 

[California]

Thanks for all the help!! What size box blade with this tractor comfortably pull so I can occasionally maintain my 200 yard drive way? The driveway is flat, if that maters.

I bought a 5 ft for my YM240 (essentially a twin to your YM1700, slightly larger). With its oversize tires, the rig is 5 ft wide. A 5 ft box blade is definitely too big for it.

I spread new gravel in my driveway once, with some difficulty, it wuldn't pull a full box of gravel with the spikes up. Maybe with a lot more ballast on the tractor it would be useful. The spikes mostly anchor the tractor instead of digging furrows, even if they aren't down all the way.

 

[Saddle Burr]

I bought a 5 ft for my YM240 (essentially a twin to your YM1700, slightly larger). With its oversize tires, the rig is 5 ft wide. A 5 ft box blade is definitely too big for it.

I spread new gravel in my driveway once, with some difficulty, it wpuldn't pull a full box of gravel with the spikes up. Maybe with a lot more ballast on the tractor it would be useful. The spikes mostly anchor the tractor instead of digging furrows, even if they aren't down all the way.

Thanks. What I am seeing for sale, used, locally are only 5' blades. I will keep an eye out - there isn't a huge rush since the drive way is in pretty good shape.

Next, looking at plows. Is a two blade plow Okay for this YM1700? I only have to plant existing food plots and maybe a small garden.

I take care of my equipment, so I don't want to over-work this tractor.

Thanks again for all the help.

 

[California]

5 ft blades are near universal because that's the size for the old Ford tractors 1939~'50's and everybody had one. But an 8N has a half ton more weight and 27 hp.

Our Yanmars are like a 3/4 scale version of the Fords. So ground-engaging implements need to be scaled down proportionally.