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#tractor

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Continued thread

This kind of detail makes me very happy. Someone gave a fuck when they designed this.

The bolt is recessed so it doesn't poke into the rubber mat that goes on top, but because water can go there, they put a drain hole next to it, so it doesn't stay trapped in the recess forever and rusts the bolt.

1984 Japanese engineering 👍

Iseki finally got that well deserved wash. Also a new alternator belt, so no more screeching.

Love the engine access here. Top hinges up, side panels just lift out to get access to everything. Nobody appreciates good engine access like a former sailboat owner!

Drying off now, then time for some fresh grease.

#Tractor#Iseki#Farm

Rural Banter in Cork

Tucked away on the serene Sherkin Island in County Cork, I stumbled upon a timeless moment that felt plucked from another era. Two older men, clearly no strangers to the soil beneath them, were deep in conversation.

This photo was taken in 2015 while on a visit to the island. I hope they are still living on the island, chatting away.

inphotos.org/2025/03/26/rural-

Rural Banter in Cork

Tucked away on the serene Sherkin Island in County Cork, I stumbled upon a timeless moment that felt plucked from another era. Two older men, clearly no strangers to the soil beneath them, were deep in conversation.

This photo was taken in 2015 while on a visit to the island. I hope they are still living on the island, chatting away.

Apertureƒ/11CameraCanon EOS 6DFocal length105mmISO100Shutter speed1/50s

#2015 #agriculture #candidMoment #Canon6D #Cork #countryside #elderlyMen #farming #Ireland #Photo #Photography #ruralLife #SherkinIsland #tractor #vintageTractor

Picked the best of the old roller triplet and filled it with water ballast. I did actually find a cap for them in the garage junk, but it was too rusted and bent to fit, so I just made a wooden bung and banged it in with some inner tube.

Held fine but was quite difficult to pry back out after! The former mud pit is now blended with woodchips, hay and rolled somewhat flat. Could be more level, but oh well. I'll sprinkle some grass seed and see what happens.

Wish I could find a manual for this thing. Or service instructions or anything.

Not much out there. It has hypoid gear oil in it, which I determined by sniffing and rubbing (thick fluid with sulfur smell) and there is what is probably a fill level bolt, but it's all guesswork.

There's a few Japanese stickers but they're mostly safety warnings, telling you to not stick your arm into the rotating blades, yo.

Garden tilled. The rotavator dug up a brick, a few more concrete chunks, some plastic, a pipe and a massive fucking steel beam. Luckily it seems I didn't break any of the tines. The guard door on the right was bent slightly, but it was easy to unbolt and bang straight again, didn't even chip the paint. Japanese steel won over Soviet steel 😁

Figured out what the feedback lever does, too!

Some tricky driving to get in the corners.

Short work day because morning shenanigans in town, but then I retrieved the rotavator from the tractor barn. Fixed a few small problems and greased all the things, as it was nicely painted but not a drop of grease anywhere.

Some studying of Japanese manuals (translated) and wrestling the thing on and off the 3PH twice and then... magic!

Turning the concrete field into fluffy garden soil. At sunset, sadly, so just a quick test run.

Continued thread

After I finally got the beam out of the garden, I hooked up the other end and turned it 90 degrees so it can go thick end first towards the gate behind which I want it to be.

But before I can pull it the rest of the way, I had to tidy up the other beams spread out in the yard. Luckily our tractor fits between fruit trees, sheds and old bee hives and I could pull them all into a pile, one at a time. One shattered!

This took the rest of the day 😓

Continued thread

Final result: Moved it about 3m. Just too bloody heavy.

I tried many things. The wheel lever worked, but was a lot of work to reset (steel wheel very heavy). Shortening up the chain and lifting it with the three point hitch hydraulics worked equally well and a lot faster, but the wheels just dig in and lose traction. Maybe double tyres 😁

Also learnt that a front ballast for the tractor doesn't do anything. At least not a 100kg one (me standing on the front bar hopping up and down).