Monday, March 30, 2009

Saturdays Rain

Our tractor pull in Aiken was rained out. As we were arriving at the pull it started raining and it rained and rained and rained. I never unloaded my tractor off of the truck and there were tractors setting there on the their trucks waiting as I was, to be able to pull. But all in all it was not a bad day. Normally I am tied up with the pull and do not get to see the exhibits. This time I got to walk through the different buildings and see the exhibits and the steam engines running. They had a 1928 Fairbanks Morse engine running a Sawmill operation under a shed and it was interesting to watch them cut boards using an 81 year old engine. I also a display of minature houses built by hand that would open up so you could see the furniture inside of the house. There were also a collection of minature outhouses. Some of them had labels on them like Old Colleton School outhouse . You could see that someone had put a great deal of time in them and it was interesting to look at them and realize how much time has changed. I sat in the shop and listened to a group play Bluegrass and Gospel music for about a hour while the rain poured just outside the open doors. I talked to one customer who had made the trip to ask about parts for his 560 IH tractor and thought he was lucky to find me in the crowd that was there. I was at the Aiken Farm Fest in Aiken SC and it is held on the last Friday and Saturday in March every year. Hopefully, this coming weekend will be better!

Southeast Tractor Parts, parts for your tractor!

Friday, March 27, 2009

USED PARTS

Today, I am guest blogging on the National Tractor Parts Dealer Association's blog, go here to check it out.


Southeast Tractor Parts, used parts for your tractor!

Monday, March 23, 2009

JD 850 Tractor


Here is a picture of the JD 850 tractor I will be parting out soon.
Southeast Tractor Parts, when you need parts for your tractor!

Saturday, March 21, 2009

Loafing on a Saturday

Today, Linda and I went to the gun show in Columbia SC at the Fairgrounds. I have been sorta thinking about having a booth there to advertise our tractor parts. There are hunters there who have large acreages they hunt and some of them have tractors to disc fire breaks and food plots and some of them are farmers who have tractors and need parts to repair them. I have also been sorta looking for a rifle. Prices were $450 to $2500 and I decided I would look some more. All we brought home was a bag of beef jerky.
So now, I am out here working on my Rollback truck. The batteries have died. They were only 4 years old. Monday morning I have to get a new set so I can crank the truck and unload the JD 850 tractor that is loaded on the truck. I will be parting this tractor out. The engine spun a main bearing so I probably have a bad crankshaft and a bad block. This tractor has 4 wheel drive and an almost new set of tractor tires. I think 12.4x24 on the rear. These are not Turf tires, but tractor tread tires. the sheet metal is a little rough. The head is still on the engine and should be good.
I have 2 tractor bought and need to go and pick them up. One is a Ford 9N, it runs but the engine knocks. The other is a JD 4010 . It is not running and the sheet metal is rough. When I get them in I will post a better description of them.

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Wednesday, March 18, 2009

On The Road

Yesterday, after work Linda & I took a JD 3010 Block to the machine shop to be cleaned and have new cam bushings put in it. Then we met friends for dinner. Then we started home. About 16 miles before we get home we come up on a wreck. A motorcycle had hit a small car and the motorcycle was 50 ft past the point of impact and the driver was about another 40 ft past the motorcycle. We were the fourth or fifth vehicle on the scene and probably only 1 to 2 minutes after the wreck happened. We pulled past the wreck and got out of the truck with Linda grabbing a towel out of the back seat to wave at the oncoming traffic to detour them around the wreck. I walked over to motorcycle rider and ask the guy kneeling on the pavement if he is talking to 911 and he nods yes. I could see he had extensive injuries and all any of us could do was talk to him and keep him from moving until the Rescue Squad got there. I don't think he could hear any of us but, maybe. I look around and see the other car but do not see a driver and as I walk closer I can make out his toboggan which was the same color as the interior of the car so it blended in until I was right on the car. I walked around the car looking for gasoline leaks and sparky parts and did not see any and knocked on the glass and talked to the driver. He was conscious and able to talk to me. At this point an EMT guy pulls up and determines that they need the helicopter for the motorcycle guy and gets on the radio to get it flying. About this time a LPN stops to help and the Rescue squad vehicles get there and other EMT's and Paramedics show up and I know enough at that time to stay out of the way. It probably took 8 minutes for the Rescue Squad vehicles to get there and from my perspective it seemed like a life time.
There were car parts and motorcycle parts all over both of the north bound lanes of the highway. I don't know what happened. Linda and I both looked at the scene before we left and could not figure out what had happened.
It can be dangerous on the road today. All you can do it pay attention and try to be safe.

Sunday, March 15, 2009

Tractor Pull

Saturday was our first tractor pull this year and in spite of the weather we got the whole pull finished. There were about 25 tractors there for the pull. When you take the weather forecast into account, this was a large turn out. I am sure most of the people there were rained on like I was on the way to the pull and a couple of times I thought this would be a wasted trip. However, while the sun did not exactly shine at least it did not rain either. I took my tractor "This Side Up" and Linda's tractor"The Bulldog" and pulled both of them because she decided to stay home where it was warm and dry. I pulled her tractor in the 6000, 6500,7000 pound antique stock class. I finished 4th(I think) in the 6000 pound class and I never did find out where I finished in the other 2 classes. I will have to wait to they post the results on the internet this week. There is a lot of strong competition in these 3 classes. I pulled my tractor in the 6000 super class and got 2nd place. Harold pulled my tractor in the 6500 & 7000 pound class and got 1st in both of the classes . I let him pull the tractor so I could see how much dirt was pilling up in front of the pan on the sled.

The concession stand did a booming business in hot coffee, hamburgers and corn dogs. I got a cup of coffee at 11 o'clock and there was a stack of cheese slices on the table that was about 10 inches tall. I went back at 4 o'clock to get a cheeseburger and the cheese had already been used on cheeseburgers! I had to settle for a hamburger. After moving all the weights off and on the tractors that hamburger was a good hamburger.

If you like to tractor pull or if you just like to watch we will be there pulling the 2nd Saturday of the month from now to November. You can check out there web site here. There should be pictures and results posted some time this week. Most of the pulls will be sunny and warm where this one was cold and misty. Some of us had trouble cranking our tractors. Mine would not crank on its own. Harold pushed me off of the truck with "the Bulldog" and then had to push me about 100 feet before I could get it to crank. Everyone there had a good laugh watching Harold push me around the yard. I noticed one Oliver pulling a IH 560 with a stream of white smoke coming out the exhaust, and I saw him make 2 laps before it cranked. Even with the cold it was a fun day. It was good to see friends and socialize with them.

Until next time
Eric Benton

Saturday, March 7, 2009

Local Blood Drive

Thursday, just before closing time my other half & I went to Jefferson to give blood. My other half got me started doing this about 3 years ago because I have totalled one pickup and turned a tractor over on top of me ( another story) . Both incidents put me the hospital and I did not need any blood then. But, the next one might be worse, so I figured I should donate in case I need blood in the future.
I sign in and read the booklet and then answer the questions on the computer and sit through the blood pressure checks and the hemoglobin test and finally get to the chair where they actually draw your blood out. Then they tie the rubber stretchy thingy around my arm so they can find somewhere to stick the needle. The nurse covers the spot for the needle with Betadine and sticks the needle in and releases the clamp off of the tube and blood runs down the tube instantly. She takes a step back and looks down and about 2 seconds later she is standing in a puddle of my blood that is running down a tube that looks like it is the size of a #2 pencil. Two seconds after that she has me clamped off and there are nurses running from everywhere to help clean up my blood off of the floor and off the nurse. The other 6 people who were getting their blood drawn (including my wife) got a show and some entertainment while sitting there with a needle in their arms. Then after all this trouble, they would not stick my other arm so I could give blood. Once you blood hits the bag if there are any problems they cannot start over. So I have to wait till next time. The tube had a small hole in it about a foot from the bag causing it to squirt and leak. The nurse said she had seen 1 other bag leak before so I guess I am just lucky.
Another good reason to have good tools!

Monday, March 2, 2009

Farmall H Carb


Saturday, as I was leaving to go get lunch a guy pulls into my drive and rolls his window down. "Are you the guy that works here?". Yes I answer. He says" I have a H carb that I have had rebuilt and I cannot stop it from leaking and cannot get he tractor to run". So I tell him I will take a look at it and call me on Monday. I get back from lunch and disassemble the carb and find a few things wrong with it. Whoever rebuilt it did not put the seal on the load adjusting screw and the main jet was packed full of crud so that gas would not go through it up into the discharge tube. The needle that controls the gas flow into the carb was sticky and did not cut the gas flow off like it should have. I put the new seals in the carb and fixed the sticky needle and reassembled the carb. Now it seems to work better and is ready to go back on the tractor. In the picture you can see all of the tools I used to repair the carburetor. Sometimes a handfull of tools is all you need.