Mowing grass in style,, 1992 Ingersoll Garden Tractor..

[oldcarguy]

My 25 year old Craftsman bit the dust earlier this year.. Rather than repair,, again. I though I would look at the other options. After looking at the price of a new replacement, I wasn't going to spring that kind of money.. How about getting my Uncles 1992 model year Ingersoll Garden Tractor running. It wasn't running when I inherited 15 years ago.. I took it out of one of my off campus storage buildings and brought it home..

It's far more of a garden tractor rather then a riding lawn mower. Really it's built like a tank! Weight approaching 700 pounds.. It has an eighteen HP two cylinder opposed Onan gasoline engine that drives an hydraulic pump. And everything runs off oil pressure via hydraulic motors or cylinders. The mowing deck is 48” and heavy duty welded, not a cheap stamping, with three blades. The blades are driven by a hydraulic motors and raised and lowered by hydraulics. It has hydraulic power steering. And a standard three point hydraulic hitch. I also have the front mounted OEM 48” hydraulic driven snow blower attachment. They only produced this all hydraulic tractor for two years. Way to expensive.

I got the engine running without any major issues. Replaced all the hydraulic hoses and seals in all the hydraulic motors. Parts about $500.00. New tires and a seat. I matched the burnt orange paint to OEM and silver rims.. Using Rustoleum with a hardener for the red and left over silver for the rims. Then clear coated and add vinyl decals.

I am amazed how quiet it runs. More like a Cadillac rather than a noisy riding mower. It only takes a medium idle and you're cutting grass. All it needs is an AM radio with speakers and  a cup holder.... No ear plugs needed.

[muddy]

Power steering, 3 point man that's a nice yard rig!

Sent from my Twisted Mind Of The Mudman

[Heiny57]

Yes very nice indeed! And great restoration.

[goodfellow]

Quality and durability never go out of style. You did that mower proud OCG. Well done --

[skfarmer]

cool tractor, never seen one of them.

all hydraulic? while sounding good in principle i can see why it didn't catch on. 


there are places where it is a great option and others  not so much.

great for a variable speed, back in forth. not so much for pulling a load.

 mower and blower? probably ok at light load, not as much at heavy load or cold temps. too much power loss via other mechanical means.

at the end of the day though. gald you got it u up and running , puting it to good use.

[oldcarguy]

Interesting your commented on hydraulic drive tractors. First off keep in mind that most modern large earth moving equipment such as bulldozers and excavators use all hydraulic drives today. And they move mountains with ease.

In my opinion, The reason this all hydraulic tractor fell out of flavor is the purchase price and maintenance costs.. I came across my uncles receipt for the this tractor in 1992 at a whopping $9,600.00! With inflation $20,900.00 today. When you can purchase a 48” belt drive John Deere S240 for $3,700.00 including the price of ear protection today. Weight JD = 460 pounds while Ingersoll = 700 pounds. The difference in cost has to do with where these machines are made. The Ingersoll 100% USA made. Many JD's  components are made outside the USA. In comparison my JD 2210 is a three cylinder diesel all wheel drive with a 60” front end loaded, backhoe, 60” belly mover deck, 48” rear tiller, and box blade was around $20,000.00 twenty years ago. Weights south of 2,500 pounds Today price approaching $35,000.00.

I have researched online the issues with this Ingersoll all hydraulic tractors. The main problem some mistakenly use hydraulic oil. That is too thin. Or don't change the oil regularly. Both causing overheating problems and shorten the tractor's life. Along with attachment and drive not performing well. I use 20W50, though recommended is 10W40. Plus I don't over rev the engine. All it takes is just over idle to mow.. Higher and thicker grass along with hills do not slow the tractor significantly.



My uncle plowed his two acre garden using a Brinly single blade plow without issues behind the Ingersoll tractor. I would say that's a good test of the machine's capability. No need for me to try it. I'll use the 48” tiller behind my John Deere. Other OEM attachments that were not passed on are a hydraulic log splitter, chipper shredder, 41” hydraulic tiller, vacuum with trailer, snow blade, snow cab, and lawn sweep.

[skfarmer]

no doubt that lots of ag equipment is fully hydraulic. most if not all combines are. that said, mechanical (manual and powershift) or ivt transmissiions that are in most cases a combination of gears and hydaulic drive are by far the predominant methods of pulling a heavy load all day, day in and day  out. i probabaly drove 100 miles today at 6 -8 mph and covered a lot of ground.

a agree, cost and maintenance were probably factors in its demise.