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I love farm tractors.  They’re all “machine” and no “frills.”  (Well, they used to be that way.)

 

I’m the proud owner of a 1965 Massey Ferguson 165 tractor.  It’s got a four-cylinder Perkins diesel engine that delivers 58 hp at the engine and 51 hp at the power take-off. 

 

And I’ve got muffler problems, so it’s very loud.  (I wear earplugs when I drive it.)

 

Now, I’m not a mechanic. My strengths are in house-related skills, like carpentry and trim. I can paint, too.  And When the plumbing breaks, I can fix it; when a light switch craps out, I can replace it; when the roof leaks, I can stop it.

 

But, when my car doesn’t run, I’m lost.  I can diagnose a problem, but I can’t fix it.  Nope, I take it to the shop.

 

It’s the same when my tractor has a problem. I can’t fix it.  But I can’t drive it to the shop. I need to hire a wrecker to haul it for me. It ain’t cheap.

 

So I have a motivation to learn more about tractor mechanics, and I will intentionally learn more about tractor mechanics.

 

Now you know.