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My jd 317 and the big plans for it

27K views 106 replies 30 participants last post by  TRACTORMANDAN 
#1 · (Edited)
Well at the beginning of this last summer i was wanting to get a riding lawn and garden tractor with a mower deck so i could mow the grass in my big yard when i get it planted. So i was looking online at a local classifieds site and came across this tractor in a neighboring city for $200. I went to look at it and didn't know much about what it really was while i was looking at it and brought it home with me. The guy i bought it from said it had a bad starter and did not try to fix it and went out and bought a new lawn tractor, and parked the 317 in the weeds. The gentleman said sometimes the starter would grind when he started it and it gradually got worse to where it wouldn't start at all and thats when it was parked. I got it home and unloaded it and looked it over checking evreything out on it, everything looked ok on it. It took me a while while a was checking it out cause the were enough wasp nests on it they could have picked it up and flew it away with them if they would have wanted to. So after all the dead waps i hooked the jumper cables to it and it canked for about a minute and fired right up, and the starter never grinding noises, the tractor had sat for about a year and a half before i bought it too. So all that was wrong was the battery, i bought a battery and crimped new cable ends on and i have not had a seconds trouble with it. I plan to build a sleeve hitch for it along with a rear scraper blade and a custom built 3 bottom plow. and after that i'll repaint it and work it over. I have put new front v61's tires on the front and i had some atv tires in storage i mounted on some rear rims plow the dirt work next spring.
 

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#62 ·
There is whats called a rockshaft assmbly under the tractor that has a small hydraulic cylinder attached to it and there is a bar that goes from the rockshaft back to the sleeve hitch, the hydaulic remote lever controls the raising and lowering of the plow.
 
#56 ·
I am watching with GREAT interest because I have thought about something like this many times...........
 
#58 ·
Looks like some pretty good fabbing! I'm wondering about the geometry of your plows though from looking at the pictures. They are flat on the ground, but when plowing, they'll be much deeper. I'm thinking your back plow will be deeper than the front by several inches. Also, they seem a little agressively angled in relation to the rear axle of the tractor, should they be opened up a little? I'm in no way qualified to critique your build having never plowed with a moldboard plow, but just comparing them to others I've seen. Again, this is just an uneducated observation, hopefully you or someone else can tell me if I'm right or just an idiot. Feel free to be blunt, I have thick skin.
 
#59 ·
im not sure where dan is right now, but im sure he'll chyme in. anyway, the sleeve hitch will only allow the plow to go down so far. it can float up, but not down. as far as depth it is just right. we tested it tonight, ill let him explain what all is going on but i will say this, it plowed awesome. i thought for sure it'd work the tractor to much or the tractor would just spin; neither of which were the case.
 
#61 ·
Well nick and i gave the plow a test run tonight and it plowed better than i ever imagined, we picked the dryest piece of ground to tear up but it was still pretty wet and heavy and stuck to the moldboards a bit. The moldboards need to be polished and smoothed, so when it is all finished it should plow better than it did today. I had wondered how it would dig in with how much the plow weighs and i found it needs to be heavier, there is still more frame work to be put on it and i might have to make some weights for it that can be mobile. I have rear wheel weights to bolt on and i will need some front weights to hold the front end down and that will be much nicer. One thing that nick and i wondered was will the 317 pull this plow and if so how well will it pull it, Well it pulled it so easily it was at half throttle and it just ran with it, i could have probably had a fourth bottom, The plows are three 8 inch plows. It pulled so nicely, the tractor just needs to be weighted down is all. I am very impressed with the torque the 317 builds, and here is a picture of us plowing.


I was very glad to see it work so well. :fing32:
 
#64 ·
Thanks so much for everyone's reply's. I'm glad to hear the reply's and answer questions. It looks that the improvements i can make is more weight on the plow and more weight on the tractor. So far the angles and the way the moldboards are set is looking like their just right, and will do a good job.
 
#65 ·
it does look great, but i know it was mentioned before that the plow does sit level on the floor in that one picture. If i mount my brinly plow to my tractor, and its sitting in my shop, its sitting on the front point of the molboard, tipping down, and also leaning to the left (looking from the back). So when the plow is in the furrow it sits flat, and is also strait up and down. Your plow works great to open a field, but once your in the furrow it may not have the correct pitch to turn the soil, or leaning too hard to the right.

You do have some great fabrication skills, i don't want to come off as a critic, but i would love to see this plow be very useful and work correctly for you. Keep up the pictures too!
 
#66 ·
I'm impressed! I was worried that your frame would bend with all 3 plows in the ground, but apparently I fretted over nothing. Sure looks cool pulling 3 plows thru the soil which I gather was your intent. For me, I would have gone with 2 larger plows like the 10" Brinly to plow deeper in the soil in my area, but that's just personal preference. Your moldboards will polish themselves up just by using them, and to prevent rust inbetween uses, you should spray them with something to coat them, be it oil or paint.
 
#67 ·
well with the questions on how the plows are angled i took some more pictures that are close ups to show you the angles and how it looks with the way the tractor sits. The left rear tire is sitting on 5 inch sq. tube.










I hope this shows the angles better and gives you a better idea of how i compensated for the in furrow stance since thats where all the plowing is done and the other picture in a previous post was hard to see the details.
I plow alot with big tractor on my farm so i have good experience with the geometry of plows. Keep the comments and questions coming, it is good to hear comments and questions.:fing32:
 
#69 ·
yes the rockshaft is under and in the middle of the tractor.
 
#70 ·
Well i was at the shop for a little bit today and did some work on the plow frame for a few mins. I also made a extension for the arm on the rockshaft to increase the upward and down ward travel. now there is alot more ground clearance for the plow. Here is a picture of what i did on the plow frame.


:fing32:
 
#72 ·
Thanks for the advice, I will be plowing at close to or full throttle to cool things down, And i will never plow past half travel on the hydro lever. A hydro builds most torque in creep speed and loses torque the farther you move the hydro lever.:fing32:
 
#73 ·
I stopped by the shop this afternoon and figured even since the plow is not finished i would throw a video up of it in action. While i was at the shop i put the rear wheel weights on, and roped nick into playing the operator while i played the camera man, we plowed the only section of dry dirt in the area. The plot of ground is about 25' wide and 150' long and it turned out pretty well. Here is the youtube link. I hope everyone enjoys the video, and we were plowing 6 inches deep most of the time except where it was rocky and got pushed out of the ground for a second.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yId7hKkOmgQ
:fing32:
 
#75 ·
I was at the shop today and after work i fabbed up a front weight bracket for the 317, i have some ford suit case weights that i might use but don't know for sure. The bracket will fit all john deere's with the same front frame style. The ford weights are around 70 or 80 pounds each and i might use them and might not, we'll see. Here are some pictures, it's not done yet but this is just what i did earlier today.






I have been thinking of making something smaller for front weight instead of these suit case weights.
 
#83 ·
I was at the shop today and after work i fabbed up a front weight bracket for the 317, i have some ford suit case weights that i might use but don't know for sure. The bracket will fit all john deere's with the same front frame style. The ford weights are around 70 or 80 pounds each and i might use them and might not, we'll see. Here are some pictures, it's not done yet but this is just what i did earlier today.


Like your fab work thus far & the useful FWBracket - great job TRACTORMANDAN.

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Golden Rule - "he who has the gold, makes the rule" http://www.mytractorforum.com/showthread.php?t=135838 Intro.
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1992 JD 318 original paint w/484 hr. on P218g Onan & #49 snow blower / 1998 JD GT262 w/brand new Kawasaki OHV & 48" rebuilt deck
1986 Toro 824 snowblower 38080 model, Honda HS624 track drive blower, STIHL 2 stroke F5 85 & F5 35 grass trimmer, HONDA CT70 MiniBike,
1987-'89 TORO 20526C push mower 21" Recycler w/Suzuki 4 stroke, 1980 LawnBoy 21" model #7260G w/D409 engine,
1965 Malibu S/S, 1985 Monte Carlo S/S original paint, 1987 Pontiac GTA original paint L98-TPI, 1966 Beaumont Custom original paint,
1967 Beaumont Custom, 1967 Beaumont Custom original paint, 1967 Beaumont 396-350HP Sport Deluxe M21-411's - SOLD 1970 GTO Judge RAIII
 
#76 ·
to me the plow look like there just being rippers,
the little flange or what ever you call in needs to be angled back a bit so it rolls the dirt over instead of just making it crumble.
 
#77 ·
The mold boards are angled back and it is better to crumble the dirt as it is thrown rather than turn a big log in the dirt as you plow, notice how the dirt is smooth and even after it is plowed. There is nothing worse than an uneven plow job that you'll break your neck on working it down. If it crumbles as it is plowed it is more productive and less work. thats how i see it anyway.
 
#79 ·
Looking good,TMD. I really like your sleeve hitch. I have often wondered how to make one work the way you have done it. Going to borrow this idea. Keep up the good work.
 
#81 ·
Well i have been in hiding for a bit and really busy with work and the farm but i have been able to do some work on the plow. I took the plow under the knife and made some alterations to it, i trimed the mold boards a bit and changed some angles on the moldboards that will be permanent. I painted the plow frame john deere green and put the depth wheel on the frame, the moldboards and sleeve hitch are hanging in the booth and are primered so they can be painted black on monday. I am planning on building a sleeve hitch roller harrow to prep the soil after its plowed, i'm not sure if the blade will get done before the roller harrow or not, we'll see what happens.:greendr:
 
#82 ·
With you fabricating skills and the shop you have, I think you should take it to the next level and build(or buy) a 3-point for your 317. The sleeve hitch is ok, but a 3-point is what you really need. Otherwise, great job!
 
#84 ·
Well i was able to finish the plow up last week and an snap some finished pictures of it. I took the plow out in the dirt after i took my pictures, the plow works alot better now with the changes i made to it. The plow pulls easier now and digs into harder dirt easier now and turns the dirt better now also. I didn't take pictures of the plow in the dirt because i was by myself and didnt have alot of time when i took it out.





I hope you enjoy these pics, I will be building a scraper blade and most likely a roller harrow next.
 
#85 ·
I would like to hear some of your thoughts on how the plow looks finished. Here when it stops raining I'll be doing another video of the plow plowing a garden, and then you'll be able to see the difference with the changes made to the plow.
 
#86 ·
I think it looks awesome...........anxious to see how it works.
 
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