OT:close call

[Dairy Farmer in WI]

so me and the neighbor are pulling wagons downt he road to unload at the other neighbors. he started before me since i had starting problems. so i turn onto a side road and see the wagon pulled way into the ditch and the hood for the M laying right beside it. here the half-moon-key was never put into the steering shaft OR no one ever put one in so it slipped and veered into the ditch. fairly steep ditch. luckily no one was hurt. his grandson was riding in the wagon. but we got it all fixed and got everything pulled outta the ditch. he said he locked the back whels up and that was probly what stopped the tractor from rolling. just gotta be care ful. didn't help that the front end wobbles. but that was the reason he was going slow. just a scary thing happened.
DF in WI

 

[bradley martin]

Scarey stuff....glad no -one was hurt or killed.

 

[john d]

Scary close call! Guy not too far from here had the steering on his SM come apart a few years back just after completing his restoration job. He rolled the thing right in the middle of town and it's a wonder he wasn't killed.

 

[ny bill]

lucky man. an older farmer in the next county had that same thing happen to him, on the way home after the county fair. he rolled it and died.

 

[Anonymous-0]

I'm glad you all are safe. I would have never known to make sure that key was in the shaft!!

On a hypothetical approach (NOT aimed to the original poster), you have to see why I advise NOT to put higher speed road gears in these old tractors. This accident is a representative example of what can happen with a STOCK tractor.

People ask on this forum and in other publications where they can get gears to make their antique tractors go 15-20 mph. They install these gears without taking in consideration of worn steering shafts and wobbly front ends.

AT the VERY LEAST, we should be installing fresh, new brakes on these tractors before we begin working/driving them.

 

[fixerupper]

Glad to hear they are OK. When I was forteen I helped drag a man out from under an overturned M and carry him up the steep ditch to the ambulance. He was alive at the time but passed away the next day. My knees were shaking so bad I couldn't hardly walk. I grew up really fast that day.Jim

 

[Dairy Farmer in WI]

it's real stupid to try to make a tractor have a faster road speed. especially antiques. tractor front ends aren't designed to go 50 so it's stupid to want your tractor to go faster. my dad always tought me that the slower is usually better. this tractor has a M&W 9 speed but M&W gear co. was smart enough to keep the 5th gear the same but all the others are faster. don't woryy i know what you are sayin'
DF in WI

 

[Iowa_tire_guy]

I know a man who used to hook two Farmall Ms together to plow and other heavy field work. When he got the crops in he would separate them and use them independent. He is the kind who is always in a hurry and didn't bother to put the nut on the end of the steering shaft let alone the key. One day his wife was driving one of these to the other farm and as she went to turn into the driveway the steering wheel came off in her hands and the tractor went into the ditch and overturned killing her. He was there watching it happen. Just don't know how you would deal with that. They had several small kids.

 

[steveormary]

We had a 3 cyl. Ford 2000 with the 4x2 tranny(8pd.s) and power steering. It would go down the road at a right good clip. About put it in the ditch several times because of speed and quick steering.

Be carefull
steveormary

 

[doogdoog]

Aloha,
Tractors have very,very, poor suspension and also center of gravity. I wouldn"t travel very fast with them if you want to live to a ripe old age.

Mahalo,
doogdoog

 

[RickL]

Know who you talking about he lives about 6 mile from me. Still farming,he did finally quit planting the corn fields with the grain drill thou. i don't understand pulling large loads with the M or Hs anyway just to much weight behind ya. Need larger tractor up front. Grain carts are really getting out hand these days 1000 plus bushels and no brakes on them,at least the huge s!!t tanks have brakes on them.Doing augers now and look for someone to get killed moving these things around. 111'ft long 13" around.

 

[Iowa_tire_guy]

You are right on the bigger stuff getting out of hand. I guess the only redeeming value on the subject is that it doesn't take as many to do the same job so there are fewer around to wreck. And hopefully we don't have inexperienced operators at the controls. And we really don't have time to start Al stories do we? It takes all kinds to make the world interesting.