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I had a chance to play with the new toy this afternoon. When I checked the fluids (convenient hatch on top) it had ample diesel and seemed a bit low on coolant. I could see the top of one of the tubes, but the others were covered. The culprit seems to be the top hose, which is weeping around the joint onto the engine. A clamp, I think. Nothing vigorous for the MF today until I get more coolant. Transmission fluid shows some signs of water, and of course the engine oil is black. Fluids and filter to come. How about diesel filters? How often does one change them? I know, I'll get to a dealer and order a manual, but I've been busy. The tractor started very quickly in the 50 degree F weather, smoked a bit, smelled a bit, and then cleaned up as I revved it up and moved forward. I drove it on a tour of the farm. This grew old quickly as it showed no inclination to do anything dramatic like backfiring, stalling, or drinking its own oil and racing away. It just ran smoothly along and smelled like a diesel. It has a nice, comfortable seat and a good ride. The low gears are wonderful, though. I was able to climb around some rough corners of the barnyard I didn't dare investigate with the Ferguson because of the high gearing. On a whim I backed up to the bush hog and hooked on. It fitted fine. I had thought that the draw bar protruded too far to allow the bush hog to run, but it cleared it by a few inches. Running with the rotary blades spinning (the unit's the same width as the tractor, 5' 6") the 35 seems to have ample power and lots of travel to adjust height on the lift. I mowed some tricky areas around a woodpile and discovered the front wheels will slide sideways quite easily if one encounters a log submerged in the undergrowth. The difference between the 35 and the TEA 20 was that this time I didn't sprain a wrist from the impact because I was going so slowly. Major benefit, here. The TEA20 cost me almost three weeks of bass fishing two summers ago because of a wrist injury from an elm stump. I won't say that running a bush hog has become fun, but it sure takes a lot less adrenaline with the 35 than the TEA20, and it does a much better job. This model has the ground speed pto as well as the engine speed setting. Both work, though I can't see the point of the ground speed one yet. I could use some gauges: the tach/hour meter is shattered at 5700 hours. There is no temperature gauge. Oil and voltage are fine. Any suggestions? Do I need the gauges? I took a hard look at the loader on the TEA20. Would it fit the 35? It's quite a recent model, I think, using very heavy tube steel for a frame on the tractor, twin cylinders, heavy arms and a trip bucket. All in all I am delighted with the new tractor. It looks to me like something that will do a lot of work over a long period of time. So now it's nestled in the barn with the fishing boats and the TEA20.
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