My friend Jim brought his spare JD272 finish mower over for me to use and work on to get it to where I could use it. I did fix a couple things, greased it up checked the gear box oil and mounted it to the D17. That and the Ford Jubilee are the only two with 3 point.

Here are some pictures:

First off, Maggie just could not figure out why we were working on something yellow!

The drive shaft had been scored and did not slip at all. Got that strecthed out and cut off 6 inches of the outer tube. This allowed it to be able to slide a little better,

Patched a orange sized hole in the deck:

Took the guard off and cleaned the hickory nuts out.

Dog is still unclear as to what the heck we are doing!:)

So this actually did not fit this tractor to bad. It is a big mower.

I attempted to mow our yard today. Looks like overkill? Well it wasnt! I almost got the D17 stuck in the soft yard. Mower did pretty good. I think when the ground drys up this may actually work. Maybe a little better on the Ford?? Yes the owner wants to sell it. Trying to decide if I need another toy?:)

Regards,

 Chris

If it works, go with it.

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That rear tracked machine is awesome! I had never seen one of those! That would work for me. Except I cant ride one. I have motion problems and would be sick in less than a hour!:)

My vote is for the Ford. It's nimble, light, and will use 1/2 the fuel of the D17. I use a 6' Frontier finish mower on my 8N and it walks through 6" grass like there's nothing there. I generally mow in 2nd or 3rd gear, occasionally 1st if it's really thick. No front weights, so shouldn't be a problem for a Jubilee at all. 

Pedal for height raising is on right, smaller pedal, on left releases the transport lock (all the way up).  Has a knob, on the left side, with numbers on it, about 2-1=2" to 7".  I believe there is also a hyd lift kit, available. Mine has a 33HP kohler EFI on it, It likes gas more than my old Dixie Chopper 29 kohler EFI. Mine does not have the bush hog deck, just the regular fine cut, fixed blade deck. 

Victory, I was smiling when I read this! That was how my lawn was the other day. My regular Cub Cadet mower was buried in the yard by the orchard. I had to unhook the wing mowers and drag it out with the Ford. Just like playing in the sand box!

Folks,

 So yesterday was to be the trial for the Ford Julilee and the 272. Well they did not want to play together. The Ford has a stub spline extension that brings the PTO up to today's standard size. With that in place the PTO shaft of the 272 mower was too long to be able to be installed. I forgot to just try to lift the 272 with the Ford. I assume that will be ok.

So back on the D17 the mower went. I loaded it up and took it to our local tractor show grounds. It mowed very good. 3rd gear high range. 3/4 throttle. It did a good job even in some taller grass. I mowed a couple hours and the tractor used about 1/4 tank of fuel. 

I really liked how it mowed. Loved the D17 power in the heavy stuff, the power steering on the D17 in the corners was nice too. I was not worn out after the event like on the smaller IH Cub's with the 60 inch Woods decks. They bounce around a little more, not as easy to get on and off. 

So it was a good test of the 272. Seriously thinking of buying it. Friend wants $400 for it as is. Seems to be in good working order.

I am not sure, but maybe I can get a PTO shaft replacement that is 6 inches shorter?? So it would fit the Ford?

I did add a hitch on the back of the 272 so a Swisher could be hooked up too. did not get a chance to try that as this was the first time over the yard and it had a lot of tall grass that needed whacked down first.

Here is a picture as Matt (IH) and I were leaving the grounds last night. He loaded his D14 on my trailer for the trip home.

Regards,

Chris

 That is a great idea! I will look into that project. I see they have them for $150. I think that would be the correct way to remedy this long PTO issue. Also would be just a good thing to do to get the Jubilee up to today's standards too. Thanks for the suggestion. I will add that to my list of things to do!:)

I also thought about the shorter PTO shaft that is a option too.

Regards,

 Chris

 The advantage as a three point hitch unit I can get it 2 feet or more off the ground on the D17. Looks like it would be very easy to clean the grass out and or maintain the blades. Both those issues are always problems for me on other mowers.

Yes that belt looks expensive!

Regards,

I did not see grease zerks on the spindles??

Regards,

 Chris

Couple of shots of the D17 and the 272 groomer. This was at the tractor show grounds and the grass had not been mowed yet. some places were deep and other spots normal.

This combination worked well in third high 3/4 throttle and had no problems cutting any of the spots. I mowed a couple hours last night. Between Matt (IH) and i we have most of it cut one time over. So I probably mowed about 5 hours with the 17 and it consumed a half tank of fuel.

Then June tractor pull is officially cancelled. Hoping we can have a late July show?

Regards,

 Chris

Off color but on topic, The Jubilee had too long of a PTO with the small spline to larger std spline adapter. Found a new PTO shaft at 1-3/8 diameter for $50 had to make a gasket. But that was not too bad. 

The long PTO extension:

The old 1-1/8 spline was shot from the wear:

Extension was wallerd out too!

Pulled the PTO. Well I guess I have some water getting in the front cavity?

New PTO installed:

Hooked to the buzz saw:

A good project:

 

Thanks for checking in on me. Now to get the 272 groomer and the Jubilee together for a trial fit up.

Regards,

 Chris

Yes, just take out the four bolts, remove/ pull the shaft assembly. Shaft and rear bearing comes as one unit. They are usually from $70 to $150. This local guy had a couple that had a little surface rust and he did not have a gasket.

In hind site best to drain the oil first. I ended up doing that after the fact and replaced tranny 5 quarts, hyd 8 Plus quarts, and rear end 8 quarts. I choose to use same oil in all three. Was a good upgrade and the tranny fluid needed changed. It set out a lot and must have got some water in the tranny?

Regards,

 Chris