The Daily Yardman Thread

Boobala · Apr 8, 2018

Re: MTD Yardman Transaxle Rebuild

Roger B said:
Well, you know the old saying Doc, "You can't see the forest for the trees!!"

I just spent the better part of an hour scanning up through the posts on here from #501.. Now I'm not going to try to claim that I read all of them or even half of them, but I was impressed by the interesting topics that were covered. From bugs to buggery, addictions to cold turkeys, Insulation to installations, scientific dissections of global climate change and even some mechanical trials and tribulations... No wonder the thread has continued to draw numerous on-lookers, you guys are doing a hell of a job!

I'm glad to be home, but wish the weather would improve. We've had a couple snow storms, (well "flurries" would be more accurate) any time snow falls in Maine and doesn't remain on the ground for more than a couple days, it doesn't really count as a "storm" no matter how much came down.

And now for something enTIREly different!

You guys must be tire fanatics like me. I'm always searching for tires that will be quiet, provide good traction in a variety of road conditions, give a good ride, and last a reasonable amount of time. My newest vehicle (2013) came with Continentals as OEM tires. I got 39K out of them and towards the end of their life they actually became dangerous under wet conditions. I replaced them with Toyo CUV tires. The were quieter and held the road well but didn't even make 39K, I had them removed at 38,800 and bit the bullet. I spent some big bucks and bought Michelin Premier LTX tires. These all are for an SUV and I know that SUV's as a class tend to wear tires out faster than standard cars, but I'm hoping to get somewhere near the claimed 60K these tires are supposed to last for. So far, I love these tires! (Is "love" to strong a word to express for your tires? - I didn't think so...) Anyway, these tires are very quiet, especially when hitting pot-holes, which is important here in Maine, because most of our secondary roads are composed entirely of pot-holes. They seem to grip very well in wet conditions, but they ought to, they are brand new. Now the question remains, 'Will they last'? Time alone will tell.

We have Generals on the other car, (which is a Subaru - that we call "truck".) I bought them for all the reasons previously stated, plus they have a very neat tread pattern.. You know, a pretty face will sell anything, including tires..

I'd be interested in hearing what you guys use for tires and why.. Boo doesn't count, because the only tires that the rednecks in Florida crow about are called "Gator-Squishers" which would neither fit under my car, nor be appropriate for highway driving between here and there. So Boo, unless you want to discuss what the Camry rolls on, I ain't interested!!

And Bert: Do you have Aussie tire manufacturers? Or has your tire market been dominated by US manufacturers? (I shouldn't say "US" manufacturers.) If you want an eye opener, spent some time wandering around in a tire warehouse and look at the countries the tires that are available, come from, it will blow your mind!

You guys have a GRAND DAY and please send warm weather North, my teeth have been chattering since I hit West Virginia last Sunday!

Respectfully,

Roger

WELLLLLLLL Hy there long lost leader !!

Good to hear from ya ON THE THREAD AGAIN !! yeah we're clicking right along, you should go back and read some more posts, we lost a few of the ol gang, but we picked up some newbies too ! yep we still kibitz around, ( US change..?? NEVER !! ) hoping you get back more often, OK.... about the tire thingy, you made me go look up my maint. records on the Camry ( my pride & joy ) and here's MY tire info, I had 4 new Michelin X-Radial DT's installed by COSTCO , April 19, 2011 (yep- 7 yrs. ago) $424.70 (have the receipt) mileage was 96,243 just now checked the odometer = 157,651 mi. so at 61, 408 mi. AND I still have at least 1/3rd of tread still left (to the wear-bars) I'm more than elated, VERY quiet on a good road, and on the expressways, good handling, great traction, ( except they leave a bit to desire during acceleration on wet pavement - tires spin easily if ya mash the pedal a bit too hard ) ( actually it must be the TREMENDOUS HP. from the 4 Banger-- (lol) ) . these tires are given an 80,000 mi warranty ( course we know these pro-rated warranties make fantastic arse-wipe after the first year !! ..:laughing: .. With that said, you can determine what I'll be installing for the next go-around !!.. :thumbsup:

bertsmobile1 · Apr 8, 2018

Re: MTD Yardman Transaxle Rebuild

Roger B said:
Well, you know the old saying Doc, "You can't see the forest for the trees!!"

And Bert: Do you have Aussie tire manufacturers? Or has your tire market been dominated by US manufacturers? (I shouldn't say "US" manufacturers.) If you want an eye opener, spent some time wandering around in a tire warehouse and look at the countries the tires that are available, come from, it will blow your mind!

You guys have a GRAND DAY and please send warm weather North, my teeth have been chattering since I hit West Virginia last Sunday!

Respectfully,

Roger

Not any more.
The big foreign companies took over the local guys decades ago .
Apparently this kind of "foreign investment" is wonderful for the nations economy.
naturally they closed down the local operations and imported everything.
There are a couple of companies that do recaps of truck tyres .
The new tyre imported did a massive brain wash campaign a long while ago so all the local passenger car retreaderes went bust.
Which was a bummer as we used about 60 tyres a year and $ 15 to $ 25 recaps were good value cause they were passenger car tread patterns over light truck carcases.
Then we had to go to clean skin light trucks at $ 120 each.
Great if you had a ton or more in the back, but absolutely no traction in the wet unloaded

OTOH the hire cars ran Avons @ $ 600 a piece and they were great, dead quite up to 100 mph , great traction & good mileage.
Thankfully we only ever had to replace 4 tyres, we just kept rotating them so when the cars went for their 6 month safety inspection the car always had the best set of rubber.

The USA did not get a look in as the Pommies grabbed most of the tyre makers, remember we were part of the exploited empire. sucked dry by the mother country.

The last time I bought new tyres, everything was either made in Indonesia or China regardless of the name cast into the sidewall.

BlazNT · Apr 8, 2018

Re: MTD Yardman Transaxle Rebuild

Update on my Toro after the first mow. Nothing but problems. Lost the PTO belt three times and now it must be replaced. Grass got stuck in the cute because the PTO belt was being non-cooperative. That shoot is a little long for my arm but I still got all the grass out. I guess I didn't hook up the alarm for the bag being full because it was packed to the rim the first time I checked it. The grass that I mowed was about 3 weeks overdue for its first mowing but because of cold and rain it couldn't get mowed until yesterday. It was still cold yesterday as we had snow night before last. Had a little snow on the grass when i mowed yesterday. I don't know if the picture actually came across seeing I'm using my phone and we all know how phones and pictures work. All in all it was a good day being able to mow. I stopped mowing when i could no longer feel my hands. I will finish when weather clears.

willys55 · Apr 8, 2018

Re: MTD Yardman Transaxle Rebuild

started getting back to work on one of my tractor projects......warm weather is right around the corner.......

BlazNT · Apr 8, 2018

Re: MTD Yardman Transaxle Rebuild

Finally worked and yes that is snow coming down.

Boobala · Apr 8, 2018

Re: MTD Yardman Transaxle Rebuild

willys55 said:
started getting back to work on one of my tractor projects......warm weather is right around the corner.......
View attachment 36895

Glad to hear you folks are FINALLY gettin some of that Global Warming effect ! the ice age is waning, ... :laughing:..:laughing:

willys55 · Apr 8, 2018

Re: MTD Yardman Transaxle Rebuild

yup, I'm tired of being cold

Boobala · Apr 8, 2018

Re: MTD Yardman Transaxle Rebuild

BlazNT said:
View attachment 36896
Finally worked and yes that is snow coming down.

Got tired of twisting my head clear around ...... go buy a cheap camera, quit bein a "chooch " .. :laughing:..:laughing:

OHH .... when I first saw it it was sideways, guess YOU found a way to rotate it....

Boobala · Apr 8, 2018

Re: MTD Yardman Transaxle Rebuild

willys55 said:
yup, I'm tired of being cold

Ran across some pics of you guys during a "FIRE-BREAK" .. :laughing:..:laughing:

...

Ronno6 · Apr 8, 2018

Project updates

Here's a few pics of my progress:

The garage doors, just need weatherstripping around the edges and a spot of paint.

The totally finished shop ceiling

This is ALL the waste insulation left out of 33ea 4'X8' sheets

This is what I am finding under the overspray/blend area on the C10, after some lacquer thinner, spray cleaner,and cleaner/wax

MAN, am I TIRED.............

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