Zachary Hoyt
Well-known Member
I have been keeping a bit of an eye out for a Gravely 2 wheel tractor for some years, and on Saturday I stumbled upon an ad on Craigslist for 5 Ls and 6 implements for $500. They belonged to a man who had a Christmas tree farm and used them mainly for mowing, but they had not been used for 8 years or so as the man had retired from the Christmas tree business. They were stored under a tarp for all that time. One was gotten running by the son-in-law of the owner, and there are two others that perhaps can be made to run with some work. The other two have been sitting out in the weather and are stuck, and may be better parted out. There are two 30" mower decks and one is one the running tractor so I know it works, a reel mower and a sicklebar that are rusty but may be repairable, I think, and an MA-210 snowblower and an older snowblower. I will probably sell the older blower, though i doubt it's worth a lot, but the other one might come in handy. The first few pictures are of the rest of the load, and the last several are of the running machine and close-ups of some parts that I am trying to understand.
The running tractor starts easily and does not smoke, but the oil pressure doesn't get out of the LOW part of the gauge. I have done a bit of reading and am still confused as to whether it has the low pressure or high pressure oil system. The son-in-law said he had put 10w30 in it. I am planning to change the oil filter and am wondering if anyone can advise me as to what else I should check to try to address the low oil pressure. It could just be worn out, but it seems to run nicely so I am not sure what to think.
The other thing I am wondering about at the moment is the lever under the right handlebar of the running tractor. It's rod goes down to the axle and moves a little lever down there. I am thinking this is probably another high-low shifter of some kind but I am not sure what to make of it. This lever was held in the forward position with a piece of wire. I found the site with the free manuals so I will have some reading to do there too. I am thinking of taking apart one of the parts machines to get a better understanding of how it all works, when I have time.
I will be very grateful for any advice on how to proceed.
Zach
The running tractor starts easily and does not smoke, but the oil pressure doesn't get out of the LOW part of the gauge. I have done a bit of reading and am still confused as to whether it has the low pressure or high pressure oil system. The son-in-law said he had put 10w30 in it. I am planning to change the oil filter and am wondering if anyone can advise me as to what else I should check to try to address the low oil pressure. It could just be worn out, but it seems to run nicely so I am not sure what to think.
The other thing I am wondering about at the moment is the lever under the right handlebar of the running tractor. It's rod goes down to the axle and moves a little lever down there. I am thinking this is probably another high-low shifter of some kind but I am not sure what to make of it. This lever was held in the forward position with a piece of wire. I found the site with the free manuals so I will have some reading to do there too. I am thinking of taking apart one of the parts machines to get a better understanding of how it all works, when I have time.
I will be very grateful for any advice on how to proceed.
Zach