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August, 2000

8-1-00:  Todd emailed me the prices at Heritage, and I told him to go for it.   he can not get the gear without a lot of trouble, and it may cost a lot, he said.  Melanie Sharp has a used gear for a reasonable price, and her other parts are the same as Todd's.  I emailed her and said I will replace the gear this winter, as to change it now, I would have to remove the flywheel, a job that I can not do right now.

8-2-00:  I bought a die at ACE hardware to re-do the banged up threads on the input shaft.  It is tough to get it started, so I filed the first thread off the shaft, as it was totally destroyed, and kept cross-threading the die when it starts.  I was able to hold the die with a big box-end wrench and turn the shaft by slipping the big gear on the splines and turning the shaft by rotating the gear.  After several half-starts, it finally stared straight, and most of the threads come out OK.  I will not torque this nut too tight, as only the threads from the cotter pin hole on back are any good.  I will have to replace this shaft when I get the strength to remove the flywheel.

8-4-00:  The parts start to arrive today.  These parts are shipped direct from the Deere warehouse in Ohio.  I have been cleaning the cover, gears and clutch parts in paint thinner.  I put the inner bearing and cover on with a new gasket and wired the bolts with safety wire.  The lock washers were missing, so I replaced them out of my collection of hardware.  The longer of the two bolts goes into the upper hole, and the end of that bolt is chewed up a little.  I think that without the lock washer, the bolt was too far into the case and the gear hit it.

8-6-00:  I took the right hand main bearing apart to see if the oil hole is plugged up.  I think this is why the oil is not getting to the first reduction gear case.  The bearing, oil line, and shaft all look OK.  I put it back together and checked the clearance from the shaft to bearing, and got .003 inches, just what the book calls for.  If the bearing was not oiled properly, it would have been worn, so I guess it is getting enough oil.  The oil that leaks outboard of the main bearing into the back of the clutch assembly is the oil supply for the first reduction gear and clutch bearings.

Click here to see photos of the bearing

I am concerned the oil in the reduction gear area is insufficient.  I note in the service book and parts manual that the engine oil filler was moved from the top of the crankcase to the top of the reduction gear case on late-styled tractors, so that whenever engine oil is added, the reduction gear case area is filled first, and the overflow goes into a return hole into the crank case.  This tells me that I am not the first with a bearing problem in this area.

I think I will add my engine oil into the reduction gear case when I add oil to the engine.  I just have to figure out how.  Perhaps I need to develop a bolt-on funnel where the outer bearing cover is located, so there is no permanent change to the cover.

8-7-00:  The remainder of parts from Heritage arrive today.  I put the new outer bearing in the reduction gear cover with the two retaining rings.  It looks pretty good and tight, so the snap ring groves and hole are OK.

8-8-00:  I put the gasket onto the case with aviation grade Permatex and put the cover on.  So far so good.  I filled it with engine oil through the clutch hole, so I know it will have lubrication to start with.

8-9-00:  I put the clutch assembly on with the new linings, but I think the driving disk splines are a little loose.  With the retaining nut tight, the disk still moves a little in and out.  I think it is on tapered splines, so I will need to make or get a larger washer that fits over the shaft so I can get it tighter.  The washer I have now only fits the threaded area, and will not tighten the disk.

8-10-00:  I started working on the clutch lever, but need to get a better snap ring tool than what I now have.  The snap ring was missing when I took the lever and shaft off a few days ago, and this may be why.  It is a bear of a snap ring to put on unless you have the right tool.

8-11-00:  Carolyn and I depart for our summer vacation.  We go to the Indiana State Fair tomorrow, the Kentucky State Fair on Thursday, and Friday we head down to Lawrenceburg, Tennessee for the Crossroads of Dixie tractor show.  We will head back home on Monday the 21st.

8-12-00:  We have a great time at the Indiana Fair, and I found a good deal on some tools.  I found a set of snap ring pliers and a half inch torque wrench that I just had to get.

Click here to see photos of the Indiana State Fair

8-17-00:  We spent the day at the Kentucky Fair where I bought a John Deere belt.

8-19/20-00:  We met up with Curtis Peters, who invited us down to the Crossroads of Dixie show.  Curtis introduced us to a number of visitors from New Zealand and Australia.  We had lunch with four of the group, and had a nice chat for several hours.  This group is touring North America to look at antique tractors and gas engines.

I found a John Deere model H tractor that the owner modified into a "HR" or "H Regular" tractor.  It has a wide front, steering rod along the right side of the frame, low mounted rear seat, and the brakes were moved lower and more to the rear.  I will put more pictures of it here when we get them back from processing.

Click here to see photos of the Crossroads of Dixie Show

8-26-00:  I used the new snap ring tools to put the clutch snap ring on, and installed the clutch shaft assembly.  I adjusted the clutch and found that when the adjusting nuts are at 10 pounds of torque, the handle feels real good, snapping in and out with about the right amount of force.  I will have to get the engine running to see if it is set properly.  I will do this tomorrow.

8-27-00:  Pat came over and we finished up all the little things that were left to do.  We fueled the tank, and I started it up.   The clutch makes a new strange sound when I release it.  I will investigate later.  The transmission also makes a new funny sound.  I think the input shaft will need to be replaced, along with the inner bearing and the bearing that goes inside of it for the upper shaft.  I drove it around a little, and it does not jump out of low range anymore, so at least that is fixed.  I painted all the scratches and chips that happened while working on the case.  We are ready for Pontiac now.

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