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Is my 404 down on power? Question for the older guys

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JSharp

05-08-2008 07:44:59

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I have a question for some of the older guys or anyone who's used these smaller tractors for actual field work. It may be a dumb question but keep in mind I've not been around tractors my whole life or really done much work with them. This 404 is my first and I got it because I thought restoring it would be a fun project and I can certainly use the tractor around my property.
Yesterday I used a 5' no-till seeder behind it to re-seed a couple of acres of my property. I was pulling the seeder in 2nd gear about 4 MPH. No problem on the flat ground. But, where the ground was a bit soft or in a couple of places where it's a little hilly the load was enough to pull things down to maybe 2-2.5 MPH and the tractor felt like it was a pretty healthy load.
The engine seems solid in the tractor. Recently rebuilt, starts easily and runs flawlessly, no smoke or blowby, minimal oil consumption, etc.
So the simple question from a guy who's not done any field work before is this - is this thing down on power or is that about what I should expect?

Here's some pics of the seeder to give you an idea of the load -

third party image

Just wondering if that's typical for this size of tractor or if something is not quite right...

Observations and comments much appreciated!

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JSharp

05-09-2008 06:24:06

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Re: Is my 404 down on power? Question for the older guys in reply to 658834, 05-08-2008 07:44:59

Thanks for the info CNKS.
I've done some blading with the tractor since I got it and I'm usually running at lower RPM's But, the power requirements have always been much less. I see your point in keeping the engine "free" and using gearing to my advantage.

I'd like the overhaul to last a while. I'd at least like to get the paint and cosmetics done before I start the whole repair cycle again... ;)

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CNKS

05-08-2008 18:05:14

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Re: Is my 404 down on power? Question for the older guys in reply to JSharp, 05-08-2008 07:44:59

The 404 is a small, light, tractor. The seeder is only 5 ft wide, but heavy. The results you are getting are normal. Put it in 1st and don't lug the engine. As a general rule do not pull a loaded engine below PTO rpm on the tach for more than a few seconds, assuming you are using full throttle. Otherwise your recent overhaul isn't going to last very long. I wish I had one of those!

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JSharp

05-08-2008 11:28:27

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Re: Is my 404 down on power? Question for the older guys in reply to JSharp, 05-08-2008 07:44:59

It's the prefect size for what I need to do. Mine's just a 4 speed though. It was obviously bought with price in mind. It had no remotes when I got it and has no PS.

It has some clutch noise right now so it'll need split soon. I use it mostly with a rear blade and it would be nice to find one of the shuttle boxes for it while it's apart. But, I doubt I'd want to spend what people might want for one. Getting the remotes and all the hardware to install them was a surprising amount of $$

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JSharp

05-08-2008 11:08:51

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Re: Is my 404 down on power? Question for the older guys in reply to JSharp, 05-08-2008 07:44:59

The rears are loaded with CC. I probably should of changed that when I greased the muffler bearings...

:lol:

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Mark W.

05-08-2008 11:13:27

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Re: Is my 404 down on power? Question for the older guys in reply to JSharp, 05-08-2008 11:08:51

Nice looking tractor. We have a 404 farmall with a two speed.

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Mark W.

05-08-2008 10:59:06

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Re: Is my 404 down on power? Question for the older guys in reply to JSharp, 05-08-2008 07:44:59

Put some stronger air in your rear tires. You might still have old air!

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JSharp

05-08-2008 10:17:05

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Re: Is my 404 down on power? Question for the older guys in reply to JSharp, 05-08-2008 07:44:59

Thanks to all for the reality check.
I just talked to a "real farmer" neighbor and he wasn't surprised either. I did pull it out of my bottom land in 2nd with the seeder running and that's a pretty good incline with soft ground. I was down to running slow but it pulled it's way right out without a hiccup.

The neighbor *was* surprised at that.
I have to say that engine running mid-RPM with a load sure sounds sweet. It sounds like it would be happy to do that until the world ran out of fuel.

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Nebraska Cowman

05-08-2008 09:56:07

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Re: Is my 404 down on power? Question for the older guys in reply to JSharp, 05-08-2008 07:44:59

Yeah, that's a pretty healthy load. Especially full of seed and fertilizer.

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JSharp

05-08-2008 09:04:09

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Re: Is my 404 down on power? Question for the older guys in reply to JSharp, 05-08-2008 07:44:59

Ok, I'm feeling better Alan. He's using 3X the tractor HP and only pulling 2X the width... :D

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Allan In NE

05-08-2008 09:04:03

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Re: Is my 404 down on power? Question for the older guys in reply to JSharp, 05-08-2008 07:44:59

Watched my neighbor pull a 8 to 10' foot seeder like that. Those things pull hard!

He used a 986D. :>)

Allan

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JSharp

05-08-2008 08:58:03

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Re: Is my 404 down on power? Question for the older guys in reply to JSharp, 05-08-2008 07:44:59

Darn, no edit. What I should have said - I added a gauge to it and it has 25-30 LBS of hot oil pressure at low idle and almost 50 LBS hot at high idle.

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JSharp

05-08-2008 08:53:23

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Re: Is my 404 down on power? Question for the older guys in reply to JSharp, 05-08-2008 07:44:59

It's a gas engine. I didn't mention that before.

It blows no smoke at all even when loaded hard. Zero blowby either. All around the breather is completely dry and in 25 hours I've used less than a pint of oil even with a small leak I haven't fixed yet. It also has 25-30lbs hot oil pressure so the engine seems tip-top to me anyway. But it does drink the fuel like it's still 20 cents a gallon. LOL

I did have some soft hilly ground on one end. Maybe that's it. Unlike most people here I just have so little experience operating that I don't know quite what to expect.

But, that's why I asked. There are folks here with more years on tractors than I am old... ;)

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Mark W.

05-08-2008 08:18:36

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Re: Is my 404 down on power? Question for the older guys in reply to JSharp, 05-08-2008 07:44:59

It is deceiving the amount of power that seeder requires. Hilly or soft ground will quickly rob power. Does it blow much smoke when its working harder?

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