LS Tractor

[Botnst]

In 2014 I bought an LS Tractor from a dealer who had previously sold only New Holland (and continues to sell) Mahindra. I had never heard of LS but the local dealer, who was also new to LS offered me a hell of a deal -- 40 HP tractor and a used 18 ft trailer for $22K. I took a heck of a chanced as even the inter webs were not much help back then.

So after 2 years and over 600 hrs, I can confidently say that the tractor is very reliable and performs as advertised. I've put it through some tough land-clearing and pond-building projects and it hasn't failed. I also use it for the more standard row crops and mowing.

Two (3pt) implements I have built for it are a weight box (to counter the FEL load on a slope) and a ripper/subsoiler.

[t walgamuth]

Sounds cool....Indian?

[engatwork]

South Korea

[dkveuro]

Mahindra "Built in Texas for Texans." Load of BS

They are shipped CKD from India. ASSEMBLED in Texas.

Well, hope yours last more than a year. Most problems are Start Lockout. Electrics etc, behind fascia fail, break short or just plain fail. ( Mahindra that is. )

FYI for anyone thinking of a Mahindra. There are two series wired inhibit switched that have high pattern failure rate.
Next is the charging system and then the electronics.

Most 'local' tractor shops here don't like 'em. Me? I would rip all the electronics off but ya' can't do that with common rail.

My Fordson Major Diesel runs great.... and has done since 1953 !


...........and speaking of Korean. I bought 4 Korean tires for my ML. Very impressed. Quiet, amazing grip. Wear moderate and run quiet.




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[Botnst]

Korean manufacturers are following the Japanese arc of the last century. The first decade or so are cheap, low quality, disposable copies of American designs. Remember early gen electronics, Toyota, Kubota.

Think about the 1990's Hyundai. POS.

Hyundais are now a pretty darned good auto. Quality is way, way up. Beginning to design their own innovations.

As I understand it, LS got its start making parts in Korea to be assembled under the small tractor New Holland label.

I failed to mention that I did have one failure in the LS the first year. A cast part broke (in my second month of ownership) where the tie rod attaches to the wheel hub. Don't know the part name. I took the part to the local dealer and it turned out LS acknowledged a design flaw. Replaced the part on both hubs at no cost. About 10 working days down-time. That bought them some good feelings from me.

[dkveuro]

Originally Posted by Botnst

............................I failed to mention that I did have one failure in the LS the first year. A cast part broke (in my second month of ownership) where the tie rod attaches to the wheel hub. Don't know the part name. I took the part to the local dealer and it turned out LS acknowledged a design flaw. Replaced the part on both hubs at no cost. About 10 working days down-time. That bought them some good feelings from me.

An omission that borders on obfuscation Botnst !

Thing is, Mahindra would have laughed you out of the dealership.



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[TwitchKitty]

Thanks for bringing LS to my attention.

LS Tractor USA

TractorData.com - LS tractors sorted by model

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Originally Posted by Botnst

Two (3pt) implements I have built for it are a weight box (to counter the FEL load on a slope) and a ripper/subsoiler.

Is the weight box for stability or traction or both and would it work on a 2wd tractor for traction?

Could you use the ripper as a trencher to bury water pipe?

[Botnst]

Originally Posted by TwitchKitty

Thanks for bringing LS to my attention.

LS Tractor USA

TractorData.com - LS tractors sorted by model

TractorData.com - Montana tractors sorted by power



Is the weight box for stability or traction or both and would it work on a 2wd tractor for traction?

Could you use the ripper as a trencher to bury water pipe?

Going down-slope without the weight box and with a full FEL makes the front end terribly unbalanced, even at a dead crawl the rear wheels may come off the ground. With the weight box the rear end stays on the ground. I still drive slowly because bumps can start the tractor rocking fore and aft. It's disconcerting. I made the box about from 1/2 inch plate cut to 1.5 ft x 2.5 ft by 1.5 ft deep. I welded a couple of cross braces (3/8 inch rebar) inside of the box, about half-way to the bottom. Then poured concrete and scrap steel into the box. I estimate that the box weights about 600 pounds. The hydraulics hook to both ends of the long end of the box.

I have never used the ripper to bury pipe. I have seen 2" schedule 40 bent around a middlebuster and pulled into the trench created by the middlebuster. Then go back and fill-in the trench. It puts the pipe about 6" under the soil surface. That's enough down here, given light frost and rare longterm freezing. Probably not deep enough farther north.

The ripper I built from the tooth of a large box blade (the tooth is 3/4" mild steel with a hardened tip). For the hydraulic lifters I cut a hole on each side of the pipe and vertically welded the tooth to the pipe. I cut holes in two steel plates for the pegs and then welded the pegs to the plates, cut to fit at each end of the pipe. I used another piece of pipe welded vertically to the pipe. I cut a notch on the top of the pipe for the top link. Then cut holes through the pipe for the pin. I cut a short segment of 3/4" steel pipe to slide through the two holes and welded them in place on both sides of the notch, inside and outside. Then I cut the smaller pipe away from the walls of the drill pipe, essentially making smooth bushings welded to the drill pipe so the toplink could move freely on the pin, with the pin smoothly contacting the bushings.

I got some big 7014 rods and built-up the face of the tooth which I then sharpened with a grinder so that the ripper would have a working edge rather than a flat face. In operation I have found that I should make a sharper bevel, which means welding a least 3 more beads of 7014.

For the entire project I used mild steel and 7014 rods. I used the core welder only to tack pieces prior to welding. The stick welder is a Miller Bobcat 225. I ran the rods at between 120 and 150 amps DC to get good penetration. I have some stainless rods somebody gave me and I'm thinking about building-up the cutting edge with stainless. So far my experience welding stainless has been terrible -- like gobs of shiny chickchit where there should be a bead. But stainless is a lot more wear resistant, if I can figure it out.

I highly recommend finding a friend who has a Bobcat welder and stealing it. That machine makes you think you can weld! But oh boy, that list price is scary for a non-professional, sometimes welder!

[panZZer]

Originally Posted by dkveuro

Mahindra "Built in Texas for Texans." Load of BS

They are shipped CKD from India. ASSEMBLED in Texas.

Well, hope yours last more than a year. Most problems are Start Lockout. Electrics etc, behind fascia fail, break short or just plain fail. ( Mahindra that is. )

FYI for anyone thinking of a Mahindra. There are two series wired inhibit switched that have high pattern failure rate.
Next is the charging system and then the electronics.

Most 'local' tractor shops here don't like 'em. Me? I would rip all the electronics off but ya' can't do that with common rail.

My Fordson Major Diesel runs great.... and has done since 1953 !


...........and speaking of Korean. I bought 4 Korean tires for my ML. Very impressed. Quiet, amazing grip. Wear moderate and run quiet.




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"My tractor can beat up your little third world tractor"