I bet it's a rough ride! Looks amazing, incredible work!
Winter project
- Thread starter jdcrawler
- Start date
That tractor looks so period correct! Just amazing! I said something to the effect about iron wheelers required a special breed to drive them back when you were starting this. Now we are looking forward for you getting it ready for the shows! Congrats on the drive!
DAC
DAC
After having this running, there was one thing that I saw that I don't like.
The transmission has a shaft that slides in and out to shift the gears.
The operating part of the shaft comes out of the right side and this is the neutral position.
The shaft comes out the other side and it is held in place on each shifting position by a spring loaded ball that sits down into one of three grooves on the shaft.
The problem is that there isn't any type of seal where the shaft goes thru the transmission housing and the oil seeps out around the shaft.
This is going to leave a mess as it runs down the side of the transmission.
Correcting that on the right side where the grooved part of the shaft comes out wasn't any problem at all.
I just made up a tube with the end closed off and bolted it onto the side of the transmission.
I used a RTV gasket sealer between the face of the tube and the transmission housing.
Because of the shift lever being attached to the other end of the shaft, I can't just close it off like I did this side.
So I made up this ' tray' that will sit under the shaft and It has a fitting on it to attach a hose to.
The oil that seeps out will run down into the tray and drain out onto the ground.
Here's how it fits onto the side of the transmission.
This is the forward position and the shaft extends out past the end of the tray.
I felt it wasn't necessary to have the tray sticking out as far as the shaft goes because the oil seeps out right at the transmission and doesn't really drip off the shaft.
I made the tray so it sticks out the same as the shaft when the transmission is in neutral.
This would be the position of the shift lever when I'm showing the tractor and the tray looks better being flush with the end of the shaft then it would if it stuck out past the end of the shaft.
This is how it looks with the transmission in reverse position.
The hose is always going to have an oily residue coating the inside of it that will collect dirt so I made the drain hole in the tray 1/2 inch so it won't clog up easily.
This also makes it easy to flush the hose out with a garden hose when I wash the tractor.
The transmission has a shaft that slides in and out to shift the gears.
The operating part of the shaft comes out of the right side and this is the neutral position.
The shaft comes out the other side and it is held in place on each shifting position by a spring loaded ball that sits down into one of three grooves on the shaft.
The problem is that there isn't any type of seal where the shaft goes thru the transmission housing and the oil seeps out around the shaft.
This is going to leave a mess as it runs down the side of the transmission.
Correcting that on the right side where the grooved part of the shaft comes out wasn't any problem at all.
I just made up a tube with the end closed off and bolted it onto the side of the transmission.
I used a RTV gasket sealer between the face of the tube and the transmission housing.
Because of the shift lever being attached to the other end of the shaft, I can't just close it off like I did this side.
So I made up this ' tray' that will sit under the shaft and It has a fitting on it to attach a hose to.
The oil that seeps out will run down into the tray and drain out onto the ground.
Here's how it fits onto the side of the transmission.
This is the forward position and the shaft extends out past the end of the tray.
I felt it wasn't necessary to have the tray sticking out as far as the shaft goes because the oil seeps out right at the transmission and doesn't really drip off the shaft.
I made the tray so it sticks out the same as the shaft when the transmission is in neutral.
This would be the position of the shift lever when I'm showing the tractor and the tray looks better being flush with the end of the shaft then it would if it stuck out past the end of the shaft.
This is how it looks with the transmission in reverse position.
The hose is always going to have an oily residue coating the inside of it that will collect dirt so I made the drain hole in the tray 1/2 inch so it won't clog up easily.
This also makes it easy to flush the hose out with a garden hose when I wash the tractor.
What good is a tractor if it doesn't have a draw bar hitch on it so you can pull things behind it ?
Rather then laying on my back and trying to put the draw bar on this, I decided to hoist the back end up in the air so I can work on it standing up.
I have three large 13 inch C-clamps and I don't have a use for them very often but when I do, I'm really glad that I have them.
The draw bar support bracket is welded in place on the frame.
I'm using an automotive rear axle spring clamp for the draw bar mount on the rear axle ( I haven't tightened it up yet ).
The only piece of steel, that is a good size for a draw bar, that I could find in my steel supply, is actually a seat spring bar off an old horse drawn farm implement.
The spring was bent in a lazy " S " shape so I heated the whole thing up until it was red hot and then let it cool back down slowly to take the spring temper out of it.
Then I put it in my press to flatten it out.
This already has a 3/4 inch hole in the one end that is the right size for a hitch ball.
The other end has three 5/8 inch holes for the seat bolt and that is the right size for the bolt on the plate mounted under the axle.
So I'm cutting the bar off just past the first hole.
Here is the finished draw bar.
The end with the 5/8 inch hole is bolted up to the axle plate and the U-bolts are tightened down.
I bent up a piece of 1/2 inch round steel for a bracket that slides over the draw bar and down thru the holes in the draw bar support bracket.
This keeps the draw bar in place and allows it to be re-positioned from side to side.
Rather then laying on my back and trying to put the draw bar on this, I decided to hoist the back end up in the air so I can work on it standing up.
I have three large 13 inch C-clamps and I don't have a use for them very often but when I do, I'm really glad that I have them.
The draw bar support bracket is welded in place on the frame.
I'm using an automotive rear axle spring clamp for the draw bar mount on the rear axle ( I haven't tightened it up yet ).
The only piece of steel, that is a good size for a draw bar, that I could find in my steel supply, is actually a seat spring bar off an old horse drawn farm implement.
The spring was bent in a lazy " S " shape so I heated the whole thing up until it was red hot and then let it cool back down slowly to take the spring temper out of it.
Then I put it in my press to flatten it out.
This already has a 3/4 inch hole in the one end that is the right size for a hitch ball.
The other end has three 5/8 inch holes for the seat bolt and that is the right size for the bolt on the plate mounted under the axle.
So I'm cutting the bar off just past the first hole.
Here is the finished draw bar.
The end with the 5/8 inch hole is bolted up to the axle plate and the U-bolts are tightened down.
I bent up a piece of 1/2 inch round steel for a bracket that slides over the draw bar and down thru the holes in the draw bar support bracket.
This keeps the draw bar in place and allows it to be re-positioned from side to side.
Re-evaluating ......
When I took those photo of the tractor running the other day, there was a light misty rain so I only pulled it out of the garage about 3 feet to take the photos.
Then I backed it back into the garage and on the basis of that short run, I was satisfied with how it ran and handled.
Today I took it out and drove it around the garage and I am no longer satisfied with it's performance at all.
The gearing is way to high and it moves way to fast even on idle.
At one point I had stopped to back up and when I went forward again, I let the clutch out a little to fast and when it grabbed it pulled the front wheels off the ground for a moment .... that was scary!
So ... I need to figure out how to lower the gearing.
Obviously, the first thing I thought of was to put a smaller drive sprocket on the side of the transmission.
However, it only has an 8 tooth sprocket on it now and I'm not sure if a smaller sprocket with less teeth would grip that large chain.
I have spent some time on the internet and the smallest sprocket that I can find for that size chain has 10 teeth so that idea is out.
I'm looking into maybe a gear reducer that I can put in between the engine and the transmission.
When I took those photo of the tractor running the other day, there was a light misty rain so I only pulled it out of the garage about 3 feet to take the photos.
Then I backed it back into the garage and on the basis of that short run, I was satisfied with how it ran and handled.
Today I took it out and drove it around the garage and I am no longer satisfied with it's performance at all.
The gearing is way to high and it moves way to fast even on idle.
At one point I had stopped to back up and when I went forward again, I let the clutch out a little to fast and when it grabbed it pulled the front wheels off the ground for a moment .... that was scary!
So ... I need to figure out how to lower the gearing.
Obviously, the first thing I thought of was to put a smaller drive sprocket on the side of the transmission.
However, it only has an 8 tooth sprocket on it now and I'm not sure if a smaller sprocket with less teeth would grip that large chain.
I have spent some time on the internet and the smallest sprocket that I can find for that size chain has 10 teeth so that idea is out.
I'm looking into maybe a gear reducer that I can put in between the engine and the transmission.
Since that was a converted walk behind it sounds more like it was a"run behind"---LOL! Hope you find a good fix, Ray!
DAC
I found out that the original Centaur engine ran in the range of 800 to 1200 RPM.
From what I can find on the internet, this old cast iron Brigs idles at 1750 RPM and the working range is around 2700 RPM.
That explains why the tractor is faster then I thought it would be.
From what I can find on the internet, this old cast iron Brigs idles at 1750 RPM and the working range is around 2700 RPM.
That explains why the tractor is faster then I thought it would be.
That thing would look killer with a low RPM like hit miss engine style. I don't even know if something like that is possible. Just thinking out loud..or typing..
I have been looking at inline planetary reducers on line.
It looks like 5 to 1 reduction is as low as they go and I've found a few of those on ebay but they are only rated for a two or three horsepower and I'm just not sure how they would hold up to 9 horsepower.
The reduction gears rated for gas or electric hp?
Don
I found a farm supply company that has a 6 tooth gear for the chain that I'm using.
I'm going to put that on and see how it does.
With my clutch and drive shaft setup, it would take a lot of re-engineering to put a gear reducer in between the engine and the transmission.
If this smaller sprocket isn't enough reduction, then I'm going to make a jack shaft setup to go in between the transmission and the final drive chain.
I'll drive the jack shaft with a #50 chain and make a cover that encloses that chain.
That way it will look like part of the transmission and the only exposed chain will be the big drive chain going to the wheel.
I'm going to put that on and see how it does.
With my clutch and drive shaft setup, it would take a lot of re-engineering to put a gear reducer in between the engine and the transmission.
If this smaller sprocket isn't enough reduction, then I'm going to make a jack shaft setup to go in between the transmission and the final drive chain.
I'll drive the jack shaft with a #50 chain and make a cover that encloses that chain.
That way it will look like part of the transmission and the only exposed chain will be the big drive chain going to the wheel.
The transmission oil just seeps out around the shaft .. it isn't being forced out at all.
The drive shaft is turning anytime the engine is running so the oil in the transmission is being sloshed around whenever the engine is running.
with all the playing around that I've done so far, the oil has seeped out enough to where it is starting to run down the hose.
The other end of the hose is still dry so there hasn't been enough leakage for it to run all the way down the hose yet.