MF 240 back from Shop and Working!

June 14 was a big day as we got the tractor back from being at the garage for what turned out to be pretty minor repairs.  The mechanic installed a new alternator, thoroughly cleaned the hydraulic oil filter and replaced the oil with a premium grade recommended by the manufacturer.  The loader works as does the three point hitch system without problems!  

At this link you can see a video of the three point hitch being raised and lowered and the PTO on and off. 3PH/PTO operation

Scott testing out the hydraulics on the front loader bucket.  MF 240 Front Loader Hydraulics in Action

Here is some exciting work being done dragging a log over the road to grade it a bit.... Log Drag over gravel road

Lizards and Plants

On June 7 we headed up to Beechnut Hill to do a LOT of work but ended up doing not much.  Our goal was to start constructing the post and beam frame of the outhouse using the pine timbers.  When we got there we did our usual walk around observing how much everything had changed in and around the driveway but instead we hiked down the ravine enjoying the cool lushness of the forest canopy and roughly mapping out our route the tractor trail will take from the end of our driveway leading up the knoll to the area where we intend to build a little hideaway cabin not far from the creek.  After stealing a couple of hours from our work plans we headed back up to the pile of logs by the gate to see what we could pull out and start working with.  Scott picked a few of the more slender Virginia pine logs that I peeled and loaded them one at a time on his back and carried them down to the outhouse site.  In all we carried five logs down the hill for cutting to length with the chainsaw.  The great thing about our nature sanctuary is that we see something unique almost every time we visit.  This time we caught this little lizard hamming it up for the camera man.  This is a female Eastern Fence Lizard which was perched atop a pine log.  Down by the outhouse site we came across this parasitic plant called Conopholis americana.  Also known as squaw root or bear corn.  It's host is typically the roots of oak or beech trees.

MF 240 to the Shop

May 31 was another interesting day where we loaded up the tractor for being transported to the local shop in Reidsville for repair.  The tractor had to be winched up onto the flatbed.

Tractor Fluids and Outhouse Beginnings

We made it out to Pelham on Memorial Day to complete some odds and ends jobs and see what else we could learn about the MFer 240.  We finished the truss supports on the right side gate panel and then hand raked/graded some areas of the gravel driveway before the anticipated rain showers on Tuesday, May 26.  On our travel up we picked up some engine and hydraulic oil for topping up the fluids.  The engine oil level was pretty low as was the hydraulic fluid.  So much for the seller saying it had "gone through his shop".  The manual suggested that the hydraulic fluid level should be kept at the maximum level if operating the machine on slopes.  We probably need quite a bit more (full capacity is about 35 liters).  Anyway this exercise furthered our knowledge about where everything is.  Unfortunately the 3-pt hitch didn't work on this visit either.  Nothing! Again the starter switch failed to trip the solenoid so we had to run the screwdriver over the terminals again to start the engine. This worked a couple of times until I think we finally fried the solenoid on about the third try when I saw an arc to the rusty lower bolt of the solenoid.  So the tractor again parked where it wanted to.   After the tractor shenanigans we move the floor of the outhouse to its location where we spent some time leveling the concrete piers it will sit on.  Next steps are to mill some of the pine timbers we cut in the winter for the posts and beams.

Stuck Dump Truck and Hot Wiring the MF 240

This weekend we had 20 tons more gravel brought in to thicken up a few areas that didn't have sufficient depth.  On this particular occasion the dump truck driver would not heed Scott's advice to back down the driveway dropping and spreading the gravel.  By this method he had learned from one of the previous dump truck haulers (who was very good at operating his truck and spreading) that delivered last month, that while tougher to navigate down a winding road like ours going backwards, he would not get stuck in the soft gravel on the slope coming back up.  Anyway this particular driver went forward and dumped it evenly at about 4-5 inch thick.  Sure enough he was unable to back up the hill because the gravel was too loose and soft, as predicted.  Eventually with a long series of backing and forwarding maneuvers he compacted the road enough for his tires to get some traction and eased his rig up the slope but not without making a rutted mess. Once he was gone our attention went back to getting the tractor going so we could level and smooth the gravel with the loader.

Finally we figured out the problem with the starting system.  The battery was not the issue after all but nonetheless we have a brand spanking new one installed that should last us a few years.  Long story short we were able to bypass the neutral starting switch which we think is defective based, not only on our diagnostics, but also on the mechanic's testimony on a phone call back to the dealer in Florida who sold it to us.  We did this with a screwdriver tip on the neutral switch terminal running to the solenoid over to the hot battery terminal of the solenoid.  The engine fired up!

While warming up the machine we made an attempt to learn how the various functions of the machine worked when you pulled a lever or turned a knob.  The PTO works as it should but the lift bars of the 3 point hitch were funky and didn't raise or lower (he thinks he diverted the hydraulic fluid from the auxillary lines that run the FEL back to the hydraulic storage tank when randomly tweaking the levers).   No matter at this point Scott got to work crudely spreading the newly laid gravel by back dragging the FEL bucket from top of the driveway to the bottom.  Actually he did a pretty good job grooming it with the bucket.   See some of his handiwork here.

This is Caterpillar brand battery part# 153-5656.  Supposedly they are higher quality battery's with anti-vibration design built into them for "Ag" applications.  Below this you can see the solenoid where the (+) battery lead (heavy cable) connects.  The blue terminal lead is the neutral switch line which is either faulty or the connection onto the solenoid is bad/inadequate.

 

Tractor electrics on the fritz

We received the replacement hardware and installed the other half of the gate.  However as you can see we still need to add the bracing on right side gate.  Eventually we'll finish it but for a good part of the day we spent tinkering and learning how to operate our tractor. 

Scott is presently researching an electrical issue with the tractor starting system.  Sometimes it starts sometimes it doesn't. The battery seems to be holding a charge so next thing he says we need to look at are starter solenoid, battery cable connections and the (neutral) starting switch.  Good thing the operator and shop manuals arrived last week.  Nonetheless we were able to practice driving up and down the road a few times and put it to "work" by carrying bales of straw down the hill to where we re-seeded.  I also installed some grass seed blankets in the ditch and pegged them with sticks to prevent seed wash-out in future rain storms.

A road and a tractor!

February and March 2014

Tree clearing in preparation for the road continues. We have to work quickly so that we can get the road put in by mid May. If we wait much longer than that then we won't be able to seed the sides of the road and the ditches with grass to prevent erosion.

Craig and Devon Tomlin came to visit.









We are bucking a lot of the logs to be used as firewood, but also leaving the straight trees in 10-12 ft lengths to be used to make a small log cabin. These are too heavy for us to move!
We have cleared about 500 ft of road length, 12 ft wide and are ready for the bulldozer to remove the stumps and install the roadbed.

Late April 2014

 We hired Cherokee Excavating, a local proprietor, to rip out the stumps and grade and shape our road for best drainage. He took out a few more trees than we had planned for in order to create a more gently sloping drainage channel together with a culvert along the left side of the road way. The bulldozer pushed over trees like they were toothpicks. He piled up the logs for us that we couldn't move on our own, and also created a rather large 20 ft high "compost pile" composed of stumps, topsoil and brush.

Scott laid down a 6.5 oz/sq. yd. polypropylene geo-textile material from US Fabrics after the road was shaped and before the gravel was delivered. This separates the gravel from the sub-grade and makes for a more stable, long lasting gravel road.

We had gravel delivered from the local quarry near Pelham. We used crusher run grade called Virginia 026 which is a crushed angular granite rock with quite a bit of fines to consolidate it well.

So far we have had four truckloads of rock delivered, but we need a few more! After we get our tractor we are going to spread what has been delivered a bit better and then get at least another 4-5 loads (~20 tons/truckload). Immediately after the excavation we spread about 75 lbs of grass seed and 30 bales of straw on the cleared areas to begin the "healing" of the cleared bare soil areas.

May 2014

 The grass seed is sprouting! I was a bit worried about it because we had a torrential rain storm that dropped about 3" right after we spread it, and we had to go back and add a bit more and re-deploy some of the straw.  However, Cherokee did a great job with the road, and the erosion was minimal. Hoping that May brings enough rain to get it established before the heat of summer arrives. Still waiting on our tractor so that we can spread gravel around and move logs on our own.


The most recent project at the land has been to install a front gate. Now that the road is passable we don't want curious visitors driving down our road and stealing our firewood, and later on, our tractor and whatever else we decide to leave there.

So we have half the entrance gate installed. We purchased the gate parts and hardware from Gatecrafters.com. BIG mistake! The old bait and switch routine with these internet stores. When the product arrived, the hinge plates had only 1/4" piloted holes requiring you to expand them to 3/8" (not so easy to do on 1/4" thick plate steel --unless you have a drill press and some cutting fluid).  The other problem I experienced was that the aluminum frames would not hold a semi-gloss metal paint even after priming/etching with the manufacturer's recommended product. One of the 4 hinges was the wrong size, so we are waiting for them to send us a replacement. The company marketing promoted the idea that their kits allowed one to make almost any kind of gate you want starting with the basic metal framework. However the hardware and basic frame or of only fair quality and unless you want to spend HOURS preparing the aluminum frame, go and buy a finished farm gate and hardware from your local store.  After stripping and re-finishing two of the four frames to bare metal again I settled on a flat olive green spray paint which seemed to adhere to the primed surface without blistering. Skip Gatecrafters.com folks.  Hit the bricks and mortar hardware stores when shopping for your gate needs.

May 12 was an exciting day - we received our Massey Ferguson 240. We bought it from Fred in Florida  - found it on eBay -Seemore and Doolittle. It is 20 years old but had all of its hoses replaced and was repainted. Seems to be in very good running condition. Scott met the transport truck at the end of the road, the truck driver showed him how to drive it, and he drove it down the road to its new home. Can't wait to put it to work dragging stuff around and moving gravel :)