Let it fly

Well we are all trying to be so prim and proper maybe we should cut loose and say some wild offensive $hit L.O.L

You want $hit, come look at my tractor. Im starting to get really sick of it. Its not the water pump that wont go on, the valve that wont set right or the countless gaskets i've cut because this is the third or fourth time i've attempted to put the worthless thing together, its just the hope i had for this tractor. 10 long, frustrating, aggrivating months i;ve spent on this tractor. I've gave up thousands of dollars, hours of time and what social life i had to begin with, and for what??? The chance to take the tractor apart for the 5th time to correct whatever i screw up this time??? Something goes wrong now and im parking the thing behind the barn where i'll never have to look at it again. This'll be the last tractor i buy. I seriously did hang the head with the file chunk in it from the celing in my garage as a reminder to never again but a non-running tractor. People say this is easy, i'd just like to know what im doing wrong since i sure aint doing anything right. Rant over. Excuse my grammer, im too p!ssed to type.

Dear Lanse,
Calm down! It is next to impossible to overhaul an engine let alone understand all the intricacies of basic electricity, carburetion, ignition, timing, starting and charging etc, without professional training and apprenticeship. Don't be so hard on yourself as you don't realize how much you have learned. If you want to be a mechanic you could go to a vo-tech school. John Deere has an excellent two year program where you alternate between class work and dealership training. Best of all they pay you to learn.

I've never got a tractor finished in 10 months, it usually takes longer than that. Just find another tractor that will be easy to fix up. You used to say "I like a challenge". Are you giving up on your tractors already??? Maybe you need a tractor that does not need so much work.

Well it is all fine and dandy but I think Lanse has a right to be ------.

Have patience with all things, but chiefly have patience with yourself. Do not lose courage in considering your own imperfections but instantly set about remedying them - every day begin the task anew.
Saint Francis de Sales (1567 - 1622)

You hung a head on a ceiling? Figure out my point.

Taks a break lanse! Walk away from it for a week or two. You'll be ready to get back to it then. We have all been there.

i always watch your doin's on YT for longer than a year and i said to myself self this kid will end up a quiter, im right again,

Hope ya feel better after venting. We all have to do that sometimes. If you put it out behind the barn make sure you cover it so the weather can't get to it. Someday you will want to finish it. Sometimes I'll have to move a lingering project out of the shop to make room for something else and then when I move it back in several weeks or months later I have a fresh desire to finish it. Jim

You need to fire the mechanic(LOL)

Lance I agree with Wild Bill We have been there and done that, One thing you have shown is a lot of determination that I sometimes loose for longer periods than I should.

patience is a virtue. I had to learn that chaseing tools I threw out in the yard and had to find them to finish what I was doing.This gives you more time working than hunting.

Just walk away from it for awhile come back when not frustated and work slow,makeing sure your following instructions on this forum. These guys are here to help. If you feel you can't do it, save some money and hire someone to do what you can't. to get her running. then you do the rest.

That way it wont just be some scrap behind the barn.

Nice quote.
My favorite is: Do you know what the reward for patience is?
Patience...

LANSE,,, btdt,, If Ya catch Me Smilin , I am Only grinnin at my own dark days of dispair , got a few behind the barn myself, Lessons Earned are LESSONS LEARNED ,, Pay attention to the brother hood of good advice and Encouragement , AND don't let OH-Oh shake your tree ,,He is Just trying to make you Ralley another time so that You will Proclaim ,, I will SHOW HIM , And Go do IT ,, Blessings of Hope ,. Jim

please LORD ,,, give me patience NOWWW!!!LOL

Just take a break from it for a while. You might really want to reconsider buying that Ranger you were looking at after your experience with the tractor. I usually find that the stuff I think will be the easiest turns out to be the hardest and the job you think is going to be hard goes way easier. I think you need to realize that everyone who's ever fixed up a non running tractor has run into the same type of problems you are having. You didn't spend 40 hours a week or more on it for 10 months. I really think that you were expecting it to be a lot easier to fix and were hoping you'd be able to post some pics of you riding around on it, by now. Very experienced mechanics can take several years to fix up a tractor. You've got more time than money right now, so it doesn't matter if it takes you longer to fix it. Look at all the things you did get fixed and don't just think about the problems you're having. Not many 15 year olds would even think about fixing up an old tractor. You've came too far to give up. Take a break as long as you need to get regrouped and then go after it like its a big jig saw puzzle. One piece at a time. Dave

Don't be so hard on yourself. Take that head off the ceiling before it falls and kills someone. When I bought my tractor, the guy had a big house he had been building on for almost 15 years. Only a shell and roof with wiring and plumbing and a pretty nice garage. Big a$$ garage with 4 tractors. He had painted lines on the floow so each had it's own area. All 4 had been completely disassembled to the last screw and clip and were in different stages of reassembly. He had pictures in each area of the tractor when he got it and pictures of the showroom version. He started building the new house for his wife and she kicked off as soon as the roof was on. The tractors helped him get through it and he now works a little on the house when he finds time. As far as getting frustrated with a project, I guess he just switches to the next one when one gets on his nerves. He "made" some beautiful machines though. Step back, enjoy life a little, and start again. Never burn yourself out on something or you'll never go back to it.

Good Luck,


Dave

Calm down, and try to find a local "mentor" to learn from before you hurt it (or yourself) any more!

LOL, wait till you are marroied and have kids. Ya think you are doing everything right, all looks good, then they become teenagers. Pretty much the same thing.

Take it a bit slower. I work on one thing per night. Last night all I did was take the spindle out of the left side of my front end and put everything through the parts washer. Tonight it will all get blasted or wire wheeled and a quick coat of primer. Then one night next week I'll get to the right side of the front end. If all you do is work on it straight you will start to make mistakes and get sick of it.

You got to give yourself a lot of credit here, first you dive into something you don't have much experience with, so don't beat yourself up and expect more than your ability right now. At the same age I can recall having similar problems and frustrations when doing mechanical work like what you are doing with that tractor. Even the simplest things you have work on will test you every time, so slow down, think things out and roll with the punches, if you get ticked off, you cannot win a fight in anger or frustration, take time out and figure out your moves, there is no time limit on something like this. Learn anything you can from more experienced people and when you just don't know what to do, or how to resolve something, don't make it worse by pounding through it aimlessly, go to or take the part or problem to someone who does know or has the experience, and anytime things get real frustrating WALK AWAY, and do something else, trust me, you'll think and work better when you are fresh. Also another set of eyes, hands will see things in a way you don't. Always think out what you are doing, consider all possibilities, but remember, at your age and level of experience, you won't figure out every problem, you will need a little help or advice, don't be afraid to ask or take the time to find someone to help or research something, every one of us has different levels of knowledge of methods, materials, tools etc., it does not come overnight and you never stop learning. You use your knowledge accordingly, when it comes to working on mechanical things, learn from previous mistakes and try not to repeat them.

This is good experience if you like working on tractors and similar things, and what you learn will be very helpful later in life, although things like modern vehicles, may be out of reach for most to work on when it comes to things beyond maintenance, due to how complex they are today, the general mechanical knowledge you learn will still be helpful in many areas, the more things you learn in life the more self sufficient you will be, the stronger you will be, so have at it, do as much as you can as best you can and know when to draw the line, if you demand to much from yourself, it will work against you and tarnish your attitude towards things. Nothing worth doing is ever easy, just the way it is.

I've got our small loader tractor apart right now, replacing a water pump and you have to take off all the tin, remove the radiator etc. etc. I've been back at our place,(horse farm) trying to get some things straightened out, having been real frustrated and walking away from it 3 years ago due to idiots for help and people that can't get out of their own way, family business and they asked me to help out again, you realize the world is full this so again you have to roll with the punches, had I stayed involved things would not have gotten so far behind, well at least we now have 2 good people there, but one, older than I, does not have a lot of technical or good mechanical ability, I realize I am a lot more capable so I help him anyway I can, and does try and will follow what you can teach him he does what he can, so you work together and work with what you have, sometimes it is really frustrating, have to re-do things, but walking away due to aggravation really is not the answer and does neither of us any good. They never did any maintenance on this tractor, it was new in '03 and I kept up on it until '05, when I left, in frustration, a real shame, but this is why things like water pumps, $212.00 worth, plus fluids, new belt (might as well while it is apart) fail prematurely. Radiator fins plugged tight etc. etc. 3 hours to take apart and about the same probably to put back together, not easy to work on either, but if hired out would have been $500 in labor easily, + parts and trucking, that is where having some mechanical experience pays off a little, I'll get it done and done right, better than hired out would give me for the same job, all the little things will get done. One of the differences between myself and the one hired hand, is that when I found the nuts on the tin support frame work, getting stiff, threads messed up a little, he'd just jam those bolts in there and leave ones out that strip, I would (am still trying to locate the correct metric tap) chase out the threads and try to clean them up so they don't strip and and I can put the tin back on the way it belongs, it's good to be detailed orientated and meticulous about ones work, though the knowledge of details is not something anyone learns overnight, a job well done is the ultimate goal, many people just don't take it to that level, this is why what you are doing at your age is great experience, and you have done exceptionally well without having years of experience, so give yourself credit where it is do and see that tractor to completion, you will be real proud of the accomplishment later on.

Are you new here? When have I ever held back on anything?

How is this num: Don't be an idiot.

Woah!!! Let me clarify this-Im not quitting on anything!! Just a little p^ssed and i'll be back on it in a few days. Happens all the time. I like a challange, but not this much of one.

Yes i feel better after venting. Thanks for your input everyone.

Hey Hertz and rrlund kiss my royal a$$ are your feelings hurt now? to bad L.O.L.