Just made myself feel like a total bonehead. I couldn't get my farmall H to start up today after cranking and cranking and cranking......and cranking. Usually it fires right up. Hmmmmm. Pulled it with my truck and it still wouldn't start. I thought to myself, this thing is all set up perfect. Timing is right, sediment bowl cleaned, new plugs, wires, cap, rotor....gas in the tank....I think..... D#$% it!!! No gas in it. I guess that we all do something dumb from time to time. Lets hear some of the mistakes we've made with our tractors, just to prove that everyone makes a boo boo from time to time!! lol
- Thread starter Kippster
- Start date
Oh Heck, I've got that beat.....Go to replace both R/R axle bearings and seals on my 240U...Got the deed done, put it all back together, drive it down the road. Thin line of 90wt. tracking down the trail I just finished. I forgot to put the axle housing to transmission gasket back in. 
Deere Scotty
Member
Put gas in diesel tractor. Couldnt figure out what was wrong. Sent it to the dealer, & when the Service Dept. called me; The first words "Do You know the difference between gas, & diesel?" Followed by laughter!!! Felt pretty sick at that moment, & cost about $900.
Scotty
Scotty
My (X)son-in-law drove my 300, parked it in the new metal building. He left it in gear which I never do. I hadn't replaced the starter yet that had a cracked cover, so sometimes it wouldn't connect. I get out in front of the tractor and the wall, and crank start it. It fired up on the first pull. I barely escaped without injury, the tractor took out one 12 foot section of my new pole barn.
ScottyHOMeY
Well-known Member
Where to start . . . I learned that fresh oil stays in a motor better if you remember to replace the drain plug before you refill it. You might be one of the few guys left in your corner of the county that counts himself a pretty good hand at settin' points, but even your best work is for naught if you can't remember to put the rotor button in place before closing up the distributor cap. Somebody else mentioned the kill switch issue. It's a long list . . . sigh!
Dave H (MI)
Well-known Member
If you are testing fuel flow at the carb by pulling the drain plug you will invariably fix the blockage and forget to put the plug back in before refueling. Boy that's some fun scrambling for a gas can and a funnel...
ScottyHOMeY
Well-known Member
Yup, and then you have to remember to take 'em out of gear before you hit the starter button (just after you opens the valve on the sediment bowl -- oh yeah, that's another one) while you're standin' on the ground right in front of the one of the rear wheels.
Moondoggie
Member
And put the distributor back in 180 degrees off. That way the oil in the air cleaner can hit the ceiling when the engine misfires. People still look up for a while. Some ask.
my all time best was taking my tractor to a driveway job in town, had to park on a steep hill, put truck in gear, chocked the rear wheels, went to work and did the job, meanwhile my hound dog, who i had left in the cab for safekeeping, had somehow knocked the stick in neutral, when i went to reload the tractor its weight going up on the trailer caused the truck to skip over the chocks [6x6 timber chunks] the whole mess went down the road with me sitting on the tractor, too fast to jump off and was afraid to back off the trailer too, tractor in reverse, trailer going pretty fast foward, it cant be good, the truck hit a ford dually that was parked with the brake set, shoved it 117 feet down the road threw me off the tractor seat and when things stopped moving i was under the tractor by the front wheels, i dont remember the trip , both trucks totaled, trailer tounge bent insurance company not happy at having to buy that fella a new truck, dog ok, me pretty banged up, now i park on level ground and drive the tractor to the job if its on a hill
I just thought of another one that was kinda funny...after the fact. When you unhitch a silage wagon, don't forget to unhitch the pto shaft. did that one day and then backed up to the other wagon. Got off the tractor to hitch up and realized the shaft of the other wagon was under the tractor and bent all to h#!! ......oops. That cost me about 4 hours in the shop with the torches and a big hammer to straighten that mess out!!!
IndianaRed
Member
Had never spent the money for full synthetic oil, but decided I was gonna give it try, (for my chevy, not tractor). That's the one time in my life when I left the plug out too. All that beautiful expensive synth into the jug with other dirty old oil. Mad at myself all day and stuck with reg oil and more frequent changes. Now I'm mad at myself again just thinking about.
Chris from Wa
Member
Forgot to unlatch the bed on the tilt trailer before driving the tractor off of the trailer. The suspension on the trailer compressed, and when it unloaded, launched that trailer a couple feet in the air. The by-standers were impressed.
Al L. in Wisc.
Well-known Member
Good one Mr. Mayor; I needed that humor. Good post also...now let me see, where should I start???
I was sixteen years old and mowing at the top of a hill with a brand new 1966 140 with C-4 Danco belly mower. I decided to take out a small hedgerow and got the mower hung up on a small short stump I didn't see through the brush.
I came back the next day with a bumper jack thinking I could raise tractor and mower and then cut the stump. I forgot I hadn't set brake or left it in gear because--duh--the tractor sure wasn't going anywhere. I raised the mower maybe two inches and tractor jumped forward down the hill. Then it was like the hand of some evil god reached down turned the wheel real fast and pointed the tractor into the center of the field and then pointed it straight downhill toward the pond (about 500' of 12%grade. I am running behind it with my hands on the seat back thinking about jumping on to the drawbar and then getting control but she is going faster and faster.
I chicken out and let her go. She hits the bottom of the big hill going going 30 or so bouncing a few feet in the air, steams up the short slope to the pond and lands in the middle with a ginormous splash. It sunk down so just muffler and top of steering wheel were above water.
I called my old man (who was at a cocktail party) and he told me to take a picture. "Next time you start thinking you're so smart I'm gonna show it to you," he said.
Tractor is now mine and still running great. The old man was gone two years later.
I came back the next day with a bumper jack thinking I could raise tractor and mower and then cut the stump. I forgot I hadn't set brake or left it in gear because--duh--the tractor sure wasn't going anywhere. I raised the mower maybe two inches and tractor jumped forward down the hill. Then it was like the hand of some evil god reached down turned the wheel real fast and pointed the tractor into the center of the field and then pointed it straight downhill toward the pond (about 500' of 12%grade. I am running behind it with my hands on the seat back thinking about jumping on to the drawbar and then getting control but she is going faster and faster.
I chicken out and let her go. She hits the bottom of the big hill going going 30 or so bouncing a few feet in the air, steams up the short slope to the pond and lands in the middle with a ginormous splash. It sunk down so just muffler and top of steering wheel were above water.
I called my old man (who was at a cocktail party) and he told me to take a picture. "Next time you start thinking you're so smart I'm gonna show it to you," he said.
Tractor is now mine and still running great. The old man was gone two years later.
Tom Fleming
Well-known Member
I have to agree, Durk wins the prize. Mine is pretty simple.
At 15, Dad said I could build a track for my go-cart if I wanted to clear out a track on an old, overgrown xmas tree planting. So the Super M and I went to work. chain about 3'-4' feet up the trunk, 1rst gear, and rip them out. Worked good until I hooked up to a "solid" one. Front end goes up when the wheels really got hold. so, I have the tractor at about a 45 degree angle before I hit the "off" button. Now I am sitting there with the front of the SM in the air about 4'-5' feet.......motionless. Yup, didn't use the brakes, and pushed the clutch in. Didn't hurt the frame or the bolster (at least that I know of), but busted both front wheels off. Worked for 6 weeks to pay that back to Dad for new wheels (Dad got new tires too........not sure if it they really needed them, but I sure as heck wasn't going to argue at that point in time!)
At 15, Dad said I could build a track for my go-cart if I wanted to clear out a track on an old, overgrown xmas tree planting. So the Super M and I went to work. chain about 3'-4' feet up the trunk, 1rst gear, and rip them out. Worked good until I hooked up to a "solid" one. Front end goes up when the wheels really got hold. so, I have the tractor at about a 45 degree angle before I hit the "off" button. Now I am sitting there with the front of the SM in the air about 4'-5' feet.......motionless. Yup, didn't use the brakes, and pushed the clutch in. Didn't hurt the frame or the bolster (at least that I know of), but busted both front wheels off. Worked for 6 weeks to pay that back to Dad for new wheels (Dad got new tires too........not sure if it they really needed them, but I sure as heck wasn't going to argue at that point in time!)
I know where he's at! I have always wondered what all those beautiful trucks were doing there. (There's always a few parked outside this huge metal barn.) Can you get me an invite to see inside?
And thanks for the prize. The privilege of wading through the muck to hitch up a tow chain was what I got at the time.
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