Service call from He!! today!!! Long rant!!!

I have this one dairy guy that I do his repair work on his JD equipment. He can tear up an anvil with a tooth pick. He has a JD 4450 MFWD tractor with a JD 285 loader on it. This tractor has over 19,000 hours. They load every bit of feed on the farm with it. There is not one straight piece of sheet metal left on it. It has 20.8 x 38 rice tires on it. He put them on it last year so he would not get stuck feeding his dry cows in the "pasture/mud hole".

I just overhauled every hydraulic component on it this last fall. His hired hand ( Meth head) filled the hydraulics up with diesel fuel. They have some IH 86 series that do have the fuel fill in the back. They just drained the oil/fuel mix back down to the full mark and ran it. I do mean ran it until it would not pull itself in any gear over 3rd on a 15 sp. PS. They used it for two weeks after it started slipping in the higher gears. Then the college educated Ag major son told them to just drain it an go to town and get Lucas automatic transmission repair fluid and put it in and refill it with the drained out oil/fuel. It did make it move for another day. Then it eat the planetary in the PS and split the transmission case. I had to replace every bearing in the entire rear end and transmission. Plus the transmission case. The Lucas stuff made all of the clutch facings come off of the metal backings. So the PS clutch packs where shot. The PTO clutch and the brakes too. They also had pulled the transmission filter out, as it was plugging every few hours, and ran it that way for a while. So they pumped junk into everything on the whole tractor. I had to rebuild the steering valve, three point vales, SCV valves. Every thing that gets hydraulic oil had to be rebuilt and cleaned out. I worked on this tractor for three weeks solid. The total bill for parts and labor was over 20K. I tried to get him to scrap it and go find another tractor but he likes this one. Argggggg!!!

I told him the starter was bad then. It had a dead spot in it. He told me that they would change it themselves. This tractor has a loader, oversize tires and front fenders on it. Changing the starter is a real joy.

Guess who called me a t 6:00 am this morning??? You got it. The starter had went out on it. HE was feeding the dry cows last night and he killed the tractor in a gate. It would not restart. So rather than call me last night at 5:30 pm and letting me know I needed to get it fixed before they could feed all of the cattle today he waits and calls me this morning. He needs it fixed ASAP!!!!!

I round up a good starter that I had rebuilt and anything else I could think of that might cause it not to crank. When I get there the son tells me he had tried to get the starter off last night but could not get it off. Remember this is the AG major. ( I just say it like this because the boy's Mom can't talk for two minutes without throwing in that her son is an "Ag Major" and smartest man in the county. Just ask her. LMAO) Any way, he tells me he could not get it off and had broken some things trying. ???? What can you break taking a starter off??? If any of you have ever taken a JD starter off, anything from 1960 to 1992, you know you need a special end wrench called a JD STARTER wrench or a good crow's foot wrench to get the back nut off behind the starter. Not this lad, he had taken a big hammer and broken the solenoid off the starter so he could get to the back bolt. He also had two high quality end wrenches made in China he was using on the back nut. SOOOOO he rounded it completely off. This is what I got to start on.

Another thing that made this even more fun was the mud hole it was setting in. They could not get close with any other tractor to pull it out of the mud. They had tried but had gotten two different MFWD tractors stuck trying. This mud hole was so deep it was over the top of my knee high rubber boots. We scattered five bales of straw just so I had something to stand on. This mud hole/tractor was 1000 feet from where we could get with anything else. So I had to carry in all of the tools I needed to do the repairs with.

I could not get anything to bite on the back nut he had rounded off. I did not have enough room to grind it off or even cut it with a chisel. So after fighting it for over an hour I walked back to my service truck and got my portable torch set. I then cut the nut off. I was able to get the other bolts to come out. Then more fun. When the starter had quit it becuase it had broken the nose that sticks back into the bell housing. The pieces had fell down into the clutch housing. So I get to walk back to the truck and get my scope to look down in the housing while taking a flexible magnet to fish the pieces out. Then I had to remove the stud that had the back nut on it as he had bent it hitting it with a punch.

I installed the starter. Then found out the starter switch was bad and making the starter run all of the time. That is what had happened to the old starter. So I got to replace that and I installed a relay to power the crank circuit on the starter solenoid.

Tractor running again by 10:00 am this morning.

The ONLY reason I do any work for this guy is that he NEVER argues about the bill. He just pays what I bill him. I try to be fair but when everything takes much longer because of manure/dirt/abuse I have to charge more. The two local JD dealers refuse to work on his stuff anymore. They don't want the mess in their shops.

This customer is a good livestock man. He has a good rolling herd average. He even laughs at how rough they are on equipment.

After all of this I helped my brother run 250 steers through the chute this afternoon. Shots and implants. I am one whipped puppy tonight. LOL I am so sore from walking in the mud that I can't go to sleep. So just thought I would share my "service call" with you.

Job security.

I would keep him as a Client because he gives you such variety. Give the Ag Major a bigger hammer.Payment without challenge is the bonus.

Well, you answered my question as to why you still work for the guy. I dont mind it if someone knows they owe for it.

I use to do minor welding and repairs for the neighbors. One old guy was so tight it was unreal. He kept bringing me junkier and junkier stuff to "fix" I didn't charge him much. This was in about 1980. He then brought in an old rusty, 2 1/2 gallon pail and wanted me to patch the bottom. There were holes as big as 16d nail heads. I worked on the danged thing for an hour, finally patched it up with brazing rod and charged him $3.00. He about died. Said he could have bought a new one for that. I told him I had to have something to work with in order to fix something.

He quit bringing stuff over.

Gene

You might be working too cheap. Even servicemen get 'combat pay'!

There are great crop men, and great cow men, and seldom do you see either one of them a good mechanic! However, I have seen many farms where brothers and or fathers and sons make great teams, and all goes well.

If I'm payin' the bills, I would beat that worthless AG Major within an inch of his life. If he's payin' my bills, I'd give him a bigger hammer and let him go at it. Like the old saying "How long a minute is depends on which side of the bathroom door you're standing on!".

If you had it running by 10:00 AM you did a great job under the circumstances! And isn't it encouraging that people like "Ag Major" are the future leaders of our country?

Don't complain about Ag Majors, some of us used to be Ag majors. (B.S. in animal science paid for by pulling wrenches for a golf course), guess one of the previous posts explained why the dairy thing didn't work to well for me

The Lucas additive took the lining off? You don't think the Diesel fuel and smoking clutches had anything to do with it?

Wow, you should be on Dirty Jobs.

Something dissolved the glue that holds the facings to the metal. The PTO and the brakes where not burnt. The clutch packs in them just had the facing come unbonded. When I took them apart the facings where still all there. But would not drive because the back side that was glued was too smooth to bite the metal. I compared the stack height of the new PTO fiber plated to the old ones. They where withing the wear specs. but would not work because they where not bonded anymore.

I have seen this before if guys use the wrong hydraulic oil in a system that has bonded clutch plates in it. The different additives must cause the clutches to lose bonding.

Yea i know exactly what your talking about . When i was still fixen tractors i had four guys like that . Now all i have is one Eugene to worry about . And now that i am older i just don't work as fast . So be a little easier on stuff and i will not have to fix as often and then comes the we don't work all night or in the driving rain or the cold anymore .So if ya break it NOW i will get to it when it warms up. The other three are now finding out that my rates were CHEAP compaired to the dealers . Took them quiet a while to get the idea that i RETIRED . And i am here to tell ya that Part time hobby farmers that have a title infront of there names were the worst.Dr.'s lawyers and Veterinarians were at the top of the list then came girls with horses.

He does give me a variety of jobs to work on. Three years ago he had his JD 4440 on a manure pump. One of the guys filling the manure wagons bumped the shifter out of park. When they came back for the next load the JD 4440 was in the manure pit. It had run until it sucked manure into the air filter. That killed it.

We washed everything off and installed all new wiring. Flushed the engine and transmission out. Installed all new fluids and filters. It started right up and ran fine.

It does still smell some on hot days. LOL.

When you work on the stuff for a living days like that are bound to happen, and I know I've had more of them over the years than I care to think about. Funny thing though it's days like that that become the most memorable. I mean think about it, how many of the days when you pulled up to a squeaky clean machine, setting on a concrete floor, and it took only five minutes to fix it do you remember???? Personally I remember the smells eminating from the D6 and D 7 with the bad final drive seals that came out of the dairy bar (mmmm, 90wt gear oil, cow pi$$, cow patties, and lots of flies, all on a 100 degree day), the double disc clutch with absolutely no friction material left on it that left me black from head to toe at the end of the day, and the open gear lube on the old cranes that gets in and on anything that gets within 2 feet of it...and doesn't even start coming off without alot of hard scrubbing...


All I know is that for me, in the end, as long as the guy pays his bill without question...and as a bonus has a dedicated guy on site to keep breaking things.....then it all sounds to me like JOB SECURITY.... and there's nothing better than JOB SECURITY.... when your self employeed.......

I'm gonna have to lay down after just reading this.

I don't miss working on dairy tractors one bit. We had a couple dairy farmers like your's. Didn't matter what the bill came to they never batted an eye. Just pulled out a roll and started counting. Coulden't ask for better customers.

I envy your ability to diagnose and fix those complex hydraulic problems.

Hi JD you earnt your money on that job. Hear in the UK I am an agrcultral engineer employing one mechinic and our main job is looking after Manitou telescopic handlers on farms. Like yourself we have had some hard times on livestock farms but I have known most of my customers for over 20 years and we all get on well together. MJ

LOL, If they can get 19,000 hrs out of a tractor with that kind of abuse they must have a GOOD mechanic working for them! Keep it up!

Good Lord! Sometimes I think some people are to dumb for there own good.

Looks like my neighbors who sold out a few years back weren't really the worst. I think that I would have just cut the whole starter right off. When we were servicing commercial dish washing machines, every now and then one would go down late in the evening, and the customer would place the call and say what time they would be there next morning. A few though would always leave a note for the day shift to call. So next morning after everybody is loaded and gone we would get the call. So then usually we have to get some body back in to pick up odd ball parts, and then head out. And they would be upset that we couldn't have their machine fixed by eleven.

I'm just waiting for the newly rebuilt power shift to go out again from them pull starting it and not telling you !

There used to be a guy like that around here and what allowed him to run so sloppy was the trust fund set up by his dad. At least he was smart enough to make sure his break downs ran within what money his fund generated. He was not good with animals but knew how to stay out of debt.
I'm an AG (economics) major but I know the difference between engine oil and hydraulic- transmission fluid. I did know a fair number at college that were more concerned about being body builders than learning. You could readily tell who was there to slack off because they were going back to a sweet situation versus those who knew mom and dad were counting on them to bring prosperity to the family farm.

JD,I just read in the paper that in the 2 countys that surrond me they laid off 60 teachers,Take time to thank GOD that the farmer is a good payer and you have been blessed with your bussiness,and the ag expert is probally your best friend

jimmy

He must be related to my wifes brother. He could break an anvil with a marshmallow hammer.They destroy every piece of equipment they get near and don't have a clue why.Son pulls round baler down road with truck and no key in hitch pin, while on cell phone he says the round baler came unhooked and is passing me.The hitch ran into the ground and the baler flipped over in the road. Scratch one balerLOL,Not they half fixed the piece of junk!!!The 4010 used some engine oil,while pulling silage wagons they ran it dry and locked it up.They shut it down added oil and went back to using it for another hour till it started knocking bad. I could write pages about the stuff you are talking about.

Kinda makes you think that guy on Yahoo who said a degree in Agriculture is the most useless degree that you can get was right don't it?

You should see the idiots I had to put up with. In the power generation field.

Had one guy call me. Told me the power went off genset started took over building. He didn't like the noise it made. So he shut it off. Now building is dark. Wanted me to come out and find the problem. I told him it was going to cost him four hours at double time for me to come out and turn his generator back on. So he told me well if that is what it cost. I just about fell out of bed when he said that. So I drive out flip the switch genset comes on building lights up. Next day his boss called me. Told him what happened. He tells me the man will be looking for a job.

I could go on for hours about the idiots out there.

man, you should get combat pay for working for him. i'm a dairyman but i would never have a situation like that, let alone expect someone else to clean up the mess. i can't believe he could be so attached to that one tractor to spend that kind of money on it. and hasn't he ever heard of a backup loader? i have 3 backups to the main one, so if my mechanic can't get here for a couple days, the cows still get fed.

I was waiting for the part where he b!tched about the bill. But if he's "good pay," well, that's what you do for a living, so its job security.

My dad was a carpenter, and I used to work with him sometimes. He was pretty happy about the whole thing. I was less so, when working on my own projects, because it was just one more thing to do in my busy life. But he whistled and joked while he worked. I asked him if it ever bothered him that he never "got done"- there was always another job to do. He said if he ever did "get done", THEN he'd be unhappy.

He did a lot of remodel jobs, and he never bid them- always on time and materials, after an estimate. And I never saw him look at a job without a level in his hand. First thing he'd do is check the place for plumb, level and square. If it was, then the job is fairly straightforward; but most old homes are not, and depending on what you're doing, can add a lot to the cost, which he'd go over with the homeowner.

He wasn't much of a mechanic, though- hated it, didn't undertand it, and it showed. He had 3 cars he used for work, and when I came home from college at breaks, he'd have me fix what had broken down from last time. I was careful not to make light of it.

He had not had the use of his favorite for a couple of months, said the generator was apparently out because it wouldn't charge. I took a look, noticed the fan belt was gone. Didn't point it out, just said I'd get right on it. Got a belt when I went to town, put it on when he wasn't around, then said it wasn't the generator after all, just needed "a new" belt. Another time it was a broken rotor in the distributor.

He's been gone about 8 years, I miss him, but wish we could have been closer in life.

Brings back memories of when I used to be a parts manager at a Case-IH back in Nebraska. Had one farmer who used his 1066 for row crop and as a loader tractor to feed his livestock.

Anyone familiar with the DT414 engine knows it can easily be turned up to over 175HP instead of the 120-125HP stock. Problem is, the final drives are too weak for that.

At least once a year he would have something tore up that required splitting it.

We all got to take turns on cleaning it up. Twine was wrapped around EVERYTHING, mixed with dried up manure. No easy way to remove all that, as much of the twine had "melted" into solid pieces that couldn't be cut with a knife. DOUG

JD Seller,if you get tired of working on tractors,you could be a writer,I'm stil laughing.

Yeah that was funny!

Christopher