Part of the slowness was trying to figure out what carburetor was supposed to be on it. Steiner tractor parts helped us figure that out. The Zenith carb mounted on it had cracks in multiple areas and was leaking fuel.  That's why it got parked in the first place.  

I know my dad believed the gas tank needed to be cleaned out.  The tractor had been stored inside so it really didn't look that crusty in the tank to me.  I did decide to clean it out and apply fuel tank liner to it just in case.  

I have verified the engine will turn over.  There is power to the starter.  I have not made any attempt to start it yet.  It's going to get an oil change before I get that far.   If I get it running and moving it's going to get a new wiring harness shortly after that.  It looks like a really simply wiring harness to replicate.  

It obviously needs to get hit with a pressure washer.  I know it's going to need new tires.  We're getting it running so we could use it.  There was no intention to do a full restoration.  

I'll need to figure out how to operate it since I was never shown.  

Maybe this was meant to be since I'm not a stranger to orange machines. 

There are various ways to clean the fuel tank. Starting with a pressure washer is usually good. After that, you need to decide if you are going to clean it mechanically or chemically. After you get it clean, you should coat it with a coating made for a fuel tank. I have used a kit from Eastwood with good success.

It has a straight shfiter, so it is a WD.  Thanks for the correction.  I don't know why I always thought it was a WD-45.  

I have a stack of manuals for it and the implements.  I'm guessing the implements all need TLC since my dad wasn't good at maintaining things.  

I cleaned the tank chemically and then applied red-kote fuel tank liner to the inside.  I'm not sure I really needed to apply the liner.  There was a fine layer of dust inside the tank but I didn't see much corrosion.  The tank was at least stored dry with everything sealed up.  

Does your WD have a magneto or distributor?  Either one should be easy to find (or make) a wiring harness for. If you are thinking of converting it to 12 volt, I would do that before buying a wire harness. 

Steve Barbato ( https://bb-customcircuits.com/" rel="nofollow - Home (bb-customcircuits.com)  ) is a member here. He has a lot of good information in his website. Steve is the go-to guy for anything electrical for an AC tractor.

It looks like the tractor wired to be negative ground at some point.  I sanded all of those connections.  I guess I just need to replace all the wiring at this point so I'm not guessing. 

As far as I can tell, there's also no spark.  

The new Marvel carburetor I got from Steiner appeared to leak gas out of the intake as soon as it was hooked up.  I assume this is not normal?  

 Welcome to the Forum! Sorry your Dad is not there with you. He would be proud your continuing on with the WD. I grew up on them as a kid on the farm. The operator not the mechanic. Heck we just put oil and gas in them and took them out and worked them. 

If I can help let me know. 

I brought home my Dad and Mom's WD that looked about like that too. 

Regards,

 Chris

Go easy on the starter. Short bursts only with a few minutes rest in between or they will heat up quite quickly as you have discovered. Once hot, they will crank much slower plus you risk doing irreparable damage and will then have to get it rebuilt too.

Good Luck!

Easy way to ID the WD 201 engine is the plate on the side of the engine. The 226 engine didn't have the plate.

If you need a wiring system, we can help ya out with a 6V system. Thanks Curt for the referral. Our systems come in kit form. If interested check out our website. Sorry to hear bout' yer' Dad. Best part of this is you got a family aireloom. Grandad, Dad, and now you. I think that's great!  Good luck! You'll get the ole' girl running again. There's lottsa' help & support here on the forum!

Steve@B&B

bb-customcircuits.com

Looking at old e-mails between my dad and Steiner, they came up with Marvel TSX464 as the replacement.  My dad was incorrectly referring to the tractor as a WD-45 in the e-mails, but is it possible the WD had its engine swapped at some point?  I don't know why he thought it was a WD-45.

Steiner also chose the TSX464 based on the photos they were sent of the Zenith carburetor that was on it.  I was not able to rebuild the Zenith.  Strangely, I actually do have some experience successfully rebuilding Zenith carbs since I have some other antique equipment running them.   The Zenith carb that came off the WD just had too much damaged metal.  It's no wonder it leaked fuel. 

I'm hoping I haven't done damage to the starter already.   It's possible I have.  

I also suspect the much of the wiring is damaged and corroded.  That I came along and started probing the brittle wiring with a DMM probably hasn't helped my cause.  

I have more than enough wiring to rebuild the harness the way it's put together right now.  My dad actually worked in the electronics/radio/TV repair business most of his professional life, so I'm going to assume he knew what he was doing when he rewired it.  

I replaced 99.9% of the tractors wiring.  

Now just waiting on parts to arrive. 

You can also help the starter cranking by using 12 volts if you want to.. The starter does not know the difference, just spins faster ... if you do, dont have the 6 v and 12v batteries connected at the same time.

It has a distributor and coil.  It looks like it was wired so the switch in the control box could turn the ignition system on/off.  

I bought a starter rebuild kit online instead.  I have each individual part of it assembled.  I'm almost ready to do the final assembly of it.  

It's put up a fight every step of the way.  The field coil screws wouldn't budge even with an impact tool and heat.  I ended up welding misc. hardware to them and then zipping them off with the impact wrench.  

The brass? bushings didn't want to come out.  I had to use a hobby saw to cut them and then hammered them out with a chisel.  

it sounds like you are making progress. Good luck !

Pk you are now the starter expert almost. I would not take one and doo a rebuild but I would take it to a starter shop and have a good core rebuilt. Your issue maybe in your rebuild? or something as simple as a bad ground. There are a lot of good used starters out there. I am wishing you the best. You dad is keeping a eye on you. Make him proud! The old WD will run I just know it!

 Regards,

 Chris

I have a local guy that does all my generator/starter work. He is not inexpensive, but he uses quality parts, does excellent work and gets it back to me quickly.

Up by Chit-cago...

As I mentioned earlier, the 201 WD engine has the plate on the side of the engine. If it has a plate, its the 201 engine. If there is no plate, then the Tractor might have had a WD45 engine installed in it sometime in its life. The 226 version takes the TSX-464 Carburetor. Maybe that's why your Dad was talking to Steiner about that particular Carburetor for the Tractor.  I offer Carburetor rebuilding also.  HTH

Steve@B&B

Thanks for the offer.  I may end up taking you up on it down the road.  In the meantime I bought a remanufactured starter.  

The other one has a short I can't locate.  

After installing the starter I found I had no spark.  I replaced the points and condenser.  Set the gap.  I had already replaced the cap, rotor, plugs, and wires.  Got a nice fat spark after that.

Still wouldn't start.  I finally realized the gas line was bone dry despite there being gas in the tank.  I guess there wasn't enough gas in the tank to get it flowing out of the sediment bowl?  I added some more.

After all that...

https://youtu.be/w_5w-BbXPBo?t=75" rel="nofollow - https://youtu.be/w_5w-BbXPBo?t=75

I didn't try driving it today.  I'm going to have to move a bunch of junk that's sitting behind it.  You can probably see in the video it's not the most ideal place to work on anything.  

That tractor runs better than a new one! Awesome work getting it going. I love to get in and work on things in not great conditions for some reason? Just the way I grew up on the farm and around things. Doesn't bother me a bit. It really sounds good! 

I will make a point of that next time I work on it.  I forgot to even look at that gauge.  There's so much junk around the tractor it's hard to move from side to the other.  

The dirt floor doesn't bother me.  The junk around the tractor makes it difficult to work on though.  I have to step over and around a car bumper, pallet of roofing material, air compressor, etc... just to get to the ignition side of the motor.  There's a lot of stuff half sticking out of the dirt to trip over.  

I would like to get the Roof 3 wheeled rider to the left of the AC going again.  I haven't even investigated what's wrong with its motor yet.  

The WD finally left the shed.    I really need to hit it with a pressure washer.  I did hose it off a bit.  

http://youtu.be/_jLZ9JW-bF0" rel="nofollow - http://youtu.be/_jLZ9JW-bF0

The oil pressure gauge reads within "normal" but it's on the low end of normal range.  It goes up if I rev the motor.  

The water temperature gauge does not work at all.  I know the low radiator hose has a slow leak.   A new one is on order.  

I'm around 5'10" but my right knee is in the way of the hand clutch.  The seat seems to sort of hang to the right.  I wondered if this was correct?

Sometimes it was hard to find reverse.  I almost had to rock the tractor to get reverse to appear again.  

The oil pressure gauge reads within "normal" but it's on the low end of normal range.  It goes up if I rev the motor.  

The water temperature gauge does not work at all.  I know the low radiator hose has a slow leak.   A new one is on order.  

Sometimes it was hard to find reverse.  I almost had to rock the tractor to get reverse to appear again. 

Does this mean I'm due for a new water pump?

 Reverse? Well as mentioned you may have to let the foot clutch out just a little then back in while gently very gently bringing it into reverse? I have one that is smooth as silk shifting, others tight and stiff. 

The seat, well, the shock/ spring can be bad, the rubber bushings shot in the shock and the front pivot, the seat bent distorted, Have seen all of this and more.

Your doing great! Looks better out of the barn, Much more happy tractor!

Hand clutch position: That can be adjusted with the not easy to get too, generally rusted tight clevis/ rod from the bottom of the clutch handle to the arm on th e cross pin through the case. If you can get the small pins out and remove the lever it works better. Take it to a wire wheel, clean and lube the gently see if you can get it free. With it working the hand clutch position can be reset. I like to have mine at the same position as the steering support arm. I am 6-1 and have knee clearance at that position. 

Also those small cross pins in the yokes can be very worn. I have drilled them out and used oversize pins in those joints too.

So what is you plan for the new tractor?

Regards,

 Chris

If you are low on coolant, the water pump may make more noise. If the bearings are bad in the water pump, there should be play when you try to move the fan. If the water pump  bearings are bad, don't run it or you may ending up putting in another set of hoses and doing some radiator repairs.

It is steaming out of the drain cock.  I haven't touched the drain cock yet.  

It's support bar at the transmission that's loose.  It's disconcerting to go around a corner and have the whole seat move.

Do you by any chance know the part number for the bushing at the transmission?  

When I grab the water pump fan pulley with the belt on, I can feel fore/aft play and some play when turning the pulley. 

The lower oil drain pan bolt is seized.  Vice grips wouldn't budge it since was already rounded and the metal seems very soft.  Next I used an extractor set but that ended up just extracting a junk of the drain plug.  I still haven't gotten that chunk removed from my extractor.

What I had ended up doing was draining what I could out the side drain plug and pumping out the rest with an old fuel pump.  

I'd like to eventually get the lower drain plug off.  There's enough meat left on the plug that I could weld a nut on it.  I'm not sure how safe it's to weld on an oil pan that will still have some oil in it even if it's drained though.

Bumble bees have taken up residence somewhere under the tractor.  That's another fun problem.  They haven't attacked me yet but they make their presence known when I use a hammer or impact tool.