Oh the joys of old tractors. LONG.
Printed From: Unofficial Allis
Category: Allis Chalmers
Forum Name: Farm Equipment
Forum Description: everything about Allis-Chalmers farm equipment
URL: https://www.allischalmers.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=106327
Printed Date: 11 Sep 2025 at 1:15pm
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 11.10 - http://www.webwizforums.com
Topic: Oh the joys of old tractors. LONG.
Posted By: 1mathom1
Subject: Oh the joys of old tractors. LONG.
Date Posted: 18 May 2015 at 10:18am
|
I know NONE of you can relate to any of this. A few years ago I bought a '38 B to play with but things being what they are, haven't had time to spend on it till lately. The seller was a friend and good mechanic so even though the carb and mag were in a box and my buddy said there was some bearing nose in the left final drive, I wasn't too worried.... but he hadn't really owned it that long....hadn't done any work on it really. Few odds and ends to sort out for the correct police but nothing big. I could tell someone had done a few things...added a three point with a few homemade parts (works fine), fuel line, JB weld on the air cleaner cup....that kind of stuff. Not unheard of. Well, I cleaned and rebuilt the carb, put a little Marvel's in each cylinder, new plugs, cleaned and timed the mag (which was a later model X mag), cleaned out the tank, primed the oil pump and she started up after a few pulls and maintained good oil pressure. No smoke after burning off the Marvel's. Cool. So I am playing with it...putting around the area. Wait...do I hear a rod knock? What is this wet stuff blowing all over? Yep, water pump is dumping it out as fast as I can pour it in. So, I get a water pump and begin swapping it. Hey....why does this crankshaft pulley flop around? Why isn't it tight? OK, pull the grill and radiator. Put a wrench on the crank bolt....snap. Breaks off flush with the surface of pulley boss. Cobalt drill and an "easy out". Snap. "Easy out" breaks off even with the top of the broken bolt. Maybe I can shatter the easy out stub with a good hard, sharp punch. Of course NOT. It just drives deeper in the hole. OK. Dremel tool and little grind stones...and time. And more stones. OK. Finally grind out the EO stub. Drill on through the bolt with successively larger bits and get the pulley off. Oh, by the way, none of the four studs and nuts holding the radiator support on the front of the motor are the same. What the...?? Hey, WHERE is the woodruff key on the crankshaft? What the...?? The keyway in the pulley has a big chunk missing! The bolt has been just cranked down hard right over the crank key slot...and has been wallowing out the keyway. I bet THIS is what I have been thinking is a rod knock! So...now to figure out how to repair the crank and find another pulley. AND A WOODRUFF KEY. Hope you have had a chuckle. (....and we are still friends. He had not done any of the "work" on the crank.) |
Replies:
Posted By: Brian-KS
Date Posted: 18 May 2015 at 10:42am
Sounds perfectly normal 
------------- EAT BEEF! |
Posted By: SteveM C/IL
Date Posted: 18 May 2015 at 12:42pm
| Yup! The biggest thing wrong with something mechanical is the guy that worked on it before you. |
Posted By: Skyhighballoon(MO)
Date Posted: 18 May 2015 at 12:44pm
|
Isn't this the definition of "snowball"????? Mike
------------- 1981 Gleaner F2 Corn Plus w 13' flex 1968 Gleaner EIII w 10' & 330 1969 180 gas 1965 D17 S-IV gas 1963 D17 S-III gas 1956 WD45 gas NF PS 1956 All-Crop 66 Big Bin 303 wire baler, 716H, 712H mowers |
Posted By: GaryL
Date Posted: 18 May 2015 at 12:54pm
As a friend of mine says about old tractors, "The damn thing has been farmered to death." |
SteveM C/IL wrote:Posted By: Karl in MD
Date Posted: 18 May 2015 at 2:16pm
|
One tip: When you break a tap or an easy-out, get your handy-dandy little torch (bernzo, oxy-acet, or whatever), heat the broken gizmo up as hot as you can get it, then let it cool very slowly. The process may have to be repeated. This will anneal the tool to where you can drill, grind, chisel, etc. it out easily, and without buggering up the surrounding part. ------------- A man's got to know his limitations. '51 WD, Roto-Baler,, A-C rake, '44 C, '42 B |
Posted By: Karl in MD
Date Posted: 18 May 2015 at 2:19pm
|
BTW: I'm not a metallurgist, but I play one on TV. Actually i'm just clumsy and I break a lot of tools. ------------- A man's got to know his limitations. '51 WD, Roto-Baler,, A-C rake, '44 C, '42 B |
Posted By: Gerald J.
Date Posted: 18 May 2015 at 4:33pm
|
And heating the ezout inside the other steel, it will want to expand while its hot, but while its hot its weak and the other cooler steel keeps it from expanding, then when it cools it shrinks and is often loose in the hole. That's why welding a washer and a nut to a broken bolt works so well. The welding heat does that softening and squeezing and shrinking to the bolt. Gerald J. |
Posted By: VFDfireman
Date Posted: 18 May 2015 at 4:53pm
| At least it wasn't a hose clamp holding a square key on a shaft.... |
Posted By: Hubnut
Date Posted: 18 May 2015 at 8:36pm
| I can definitely relate. Good story. As some would say, "been there, done that." |
Posted By: darrel in ND
Date Posted: 18 May 2015 at 9:32pm
| Stuff like that happens to me on a good day. Most days it's worse. Darrel |
Posted By: SHAMELESS
Date Posted: 18 May 2015 at 11:38pm
| i'd better stay away from Darrel, he don't needs any help! |
Posted By: dave63
Date Posted: 19 May 2015 at 6:09am
|
Another reason that I am not interested in buying a tractor that has a pretty paint job. If I am going to go through all that I don't want to mess up pretty paint. ------------- The universal answer to all questions is yes, how much do you want to spend? |
Posted By: Steve in NJ
Date Posted: 19 May 2015 at 6:27am
|
That's just part of the equasion when it comes to buying old Tractors. You never know what to expect! In most cases, you'll get a surprise...LOL! ------------- 39'RC, 43'WC, 48'B, 49'G, 50'WF, 65 Big 10, 67'B-110, 75'716H, 2-620's, & a Motorhead wife |
Posted By: darrel in ND
Date Posted: 19 May 2015 at 8:23am
SHAMELESS, you thinking that if'n we were to work together for a day, that by the end of the day, we'd be about a week behind? Darrel |
Posted By: Sugarmaker
Date Posted: 19 May 2015 at 5:52pm
|
When I bring a new project home I try to keep my expectations pretty low:) Yes these last two WD's have been farmered to death! But both are family tractors. So have put up with a lot of the surprises! Regards, Chris ------------- D17 1958 (NFE), WD45 1954 (NFE), WD 1952 (NFE), WD 1950 (WFE), Allis F-40 forklift, Allis CA, Allis D14, Ford Jubilee, Many IH Cub Cadets, 32 Ford Dump, 65 Comet. |