Best way to split a B?

B don't have a gap to block just a flat plate sticking down from the motor for a pivot point. when you lift the motor from the lifting point the front axle has no weight on it and will roll very easy. if you don't hold the wishbone up some way when you pull the assembly forward to separate from the back half the front of the wishbone pulls out of the pivot plate on the front of the engine. if you put a plank across the two legs of the cherry picker that are under the engine and just put a block on it I just use a 2x4 cut to length standing on the plank it holds the back of the wishbone up and when it slides out of the pivot point on the bell housing it stays about the same height and everything rolls together. there is no real weight on the wishbone my wife was able to lift it slightly with one hand to guide it back in the hole when I pushed it back together. if you let the wish bone on a CA come out of the front pivot point the tires decide to point different directions and it becomes less than fun to get it back together. you wont have that problem with a B so you might be able to skip it but I've found it easier to just keep the axle in place if I'm putting the tractor back together soon. When I did the oil pump on my C I had it split repaired and back together in 4 hours. the B and C are the easiest tractors ever to spit.

duct tape? it comes in orange now!

Hubnut wrote: I lift the front of the tractor, then attach these angle plates to the torque tube.  I use an engine hoist to pull the motor.

I think they where just old in my case.

My policy now is never reuse head bolts.

So do you think I should get new bolts? My bolts don't have the marks on top for grade 8, or any grade. Maybe they just didn't label them?

After replacing the head gasket twice in my d15 and being very glad that the bolt that look ok when it was put in actually came out when I pulled it out. It was actually broken almost completely in two but came out I still don't know how I got that lucky. Really should have gotten a photo of that one. Let me see for me 2 extra head gaskets two fills of antifreeze and oil two oil filters god only knows how many hours lost taking it all apart cleaning and inspecting everything. Who knows how many years off my life for that stress of putting soo much into this motor and twice the head gasket won't hold first one lasted something like 4 hours of runtime. Steve might be right you can use the old bolts but to me new bolts are cheap considering what not buying them cost me. And that was still a lucky case no added motor damage to my freshly rebuilt motor from antifreeze getting into the oil and I was able to get the bolt out without having to mess around with the block. But heck if you are up for a gamble save a few dollars and use the old bolts. If someone didn't over stress then in the past what 80 years and someone didn't replace one with a grade 5 because they didn't know better or well it was there... Like steve said you could be fine and save a few dollars.

Edited by Dan73 - 19 Sep 2016 at 2:11am

Yup CrestonM you got it right on the money. They bind up in dirty threads instead of putting the correct force on the motor head.