Clutch change on a John Deere 5105 ml

[Provincial]

Caterpillar is playing the same game. They squeezed out the old dealers in Oregon and moved in a California dealer (not yours) that has taken over branches in Southwest Washington, too. The Case Construction dealer is also California based, with branches in all Western states.

 

[rabler]

When One of the guys I worked with got tired of living in the city he bought a farm. When I asked what he intended to grow he said he was going to be a NOT Farmer. When I asked what that was, he told me it was sort of a government job. He was going to put the land in the Conservation Reserve Program (formerly known as the Soil Bank). Then the government would pay him NOT to grow corn, Not to grow wheat, and Not to grow soybeans.

It sounded like a great idea. Unfortunately, you had to actually grow those crops for a set number of years before you could put the land in the program. It didn't quite work out as planned.

Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) does indeed require crops to be grown within the last three years. I looked into it a couple years ago. IIRC it requires a 5 year commitment on the property. Nor is it completely a cash for idle land, they require certain obligations, planting prairie grass and mowing at certain times of year or such depending on the enrollment choice, the expense of which is on you (including buying the proscribed seed, etc). They come out and inspect the property yearly and can add requirements that you have to comply with. In my case I was better leasing the land to a large farmer. Either way I'll never recupe the cost of the land.

Oh, yes, this is machining related. I bought the farm property adjoining my house and sectioned off about a 1/2 acre to use to build a new hobby machine shop a couple years ago.

 

[Nutfarmer]

A follow up on the repair. After complaining to John Deere Corporate , Pape’ took 5,500 off the bill for the repairs. That is with in the realm of reason. After going back through some of the repairs it was obvious the problem was with the mechanic that worked on the tractor.

 

[Ulma Doctor]

A follow up on the repair. After complaining to John Deere Corporate , Pape’ took 5,500 off the bill for the repairs. That is with in the realm of reason. After going back through some of the repairs it was obvious the problem was with the mechanic that worked on the tractor.

They smelled a lawsuit

 

[projectnut]

A follow up on the repair. After complaining to John Deere Corporate , Pape’ took 5,500 off the bill for the repairs. That is with in the realm of reason. After going back through some of the repairs it was obvious the problem was with the mechanic that worked on the tractor.

Not having been in the repair business for almost 40 years, I'm wondering if there is an organization similar to ASE that certifies technicians as far as competence is concerned.

Back in the 1970's the ASE (back then NIASE) certifications were seen as somewhat of a joke. As time went on more and more employers demanded them. Today it's difficult to get a job unless you have certifications in multiple fields. I found it well worth the time and expense to get a Master Technicians credentials. It gave the customers confidence that the shop knew how to do things right and weren't doing shotgun repairs.

 

[Nutfarmer]

I am sure John Deere Corporate knows how long it should take to do most repairs on their equipment.

 

[Ulma Doctor]

Playing devils advocate here…(true story)

A job turns to sh@t by a simple sheared off bolt inside a casting.
It was a result of the disassembly of the rear transmission/pto cover.
The JD tractor was stored outside, the fasteners were rusted .
Penetrating oil was applied to the fasteners prior to attempting removal. 9 bolts were removed without much effort, but the 10th bolt sheared off below case height.
Long and short of the story, it took 8 hours to extract the bolt and repair the threads.
The broken bolt was not my fault, but the work was necessary to put the tractor back on line, regardless of what it cost to repair.

 

[projectnut]

Playing devils advocate here…(true story)

A job turns to sh@t by a simple sheared off bolt inside a casting.
It was a result of the disassembly of the rear transmission/pto cover.
The JD tractor was stored outside, the fasteners were rusted .
Penetrating oil was applied to the fasteners prior to attempting removal. 9 bolts were removed without much effort, but the 10th bolt sheared off below case height.
Long and short of the story, it took 8 hours to extract the bolt and repair the threads.
The broken bolt was not my fault, but the work was necessary to put the tractor back on line, regardless of what it cost to repair.

The question is, did the company charge for, and did you get paid for the additional time it took to complete the job? I've been in similar situations, but rarely ever got paid for the additional time it took to make the repairs.

The worst incident was in the mid 1980's when working for an Oldsmobile dealership. A "customer had one of the infamous Olds 5.7-liter diesels go bad. He took it to an independent garage to have it repaired. Once the engine was out of the car and disassembled, he decided it was too expensive to have rebuilt. He brought it to the dealership to get some "warranty assistance".

I was the one unlucky enough to get the job. The vehicle came in behind a tow truck with the block in the back of the truck, and 22 boxes of parts in the interior and trunk of the car. At the time GM paid a little under 30 hours to R&R and rebuild the engine. However, since they were such problems, they decided to arbitrarily cut the time. Between the time I started on the rebuild and the time it went out the door they cut the flat rate almost in half. Then they decided since the engine was already disassembled, they would only pay a little over half the flat rate or 9 hrs. Of course, they didn't tell me that until the job was done, and the car was out the door.

Needless to say, the reduced pay didn't set very well with me. I knew I couldn't make ends meet if every time someone complained I didn't get paid for 20 hours of work. That's when i decided it was time to move on to a new career.

 

[Nutfarmer]

That’s why I use antisieze on most everything around the farm. It sure makes life easier when it come to repairs later on. Only down side I manage to have it all over me by the time I finish

 

[Nutfarmer]

The mechanics on farm equipment don’t work flat rate. Warranty work always is cut to the bone. It was always stressful working in the production plant because the line was down if you had to work on it. A down line attracted attention real quick.