Downeaster's Tractor Overhaul Thread.

Care to guess what 100 feet of 1x6 pre-primed pine (enough for front and back) and 50' of Plasmo gutter and assorted fittings (front only) set me back?

Probably more than a years worth of dog treats!
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Life has gotten in the way, probably be the first of the week before I get back to it.

Been on a neatness mission (not even close to Mailman Standards, but neater than usual for us) as we have a showing this evening.

Tomorrow will be spent replacing the gutters and fascia board on the front of the garage. Gutter has been leaking and I've been meaning to fix it for 2-3 years. Unfortunately, the 30 year old pine behind it has rotted from the wet leaves and such so it all needs to come off and be replaced. That may well extend into Sunday, weather permitting.

Care to guess what 100 feet of 1x6 pre-primed pine (enough for front and back) and 50' of Plasmo gutter and assorted fittings (front only) set me back?
Nothing, to a real estate tycoon like you?
 
So $25?
You can't fool me Yankee Trader I know you've bought bikes for less than $50.
Yeah better bring your first born along to get prefinished trim.
 
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Spent some time with Frankentractor today. Hung the Shibaura engine over the hole to see if there were any major interference issues.

Nothing major thankfully. I can get it into position to hook the driveshaft up and still have enough clearance between the fan and radiator. With that long snout on the water pump, I was a bit worried about that.

Had to do a little surgery on the front end of the JD frame for the oil pan drain bolt and notch the front engine mount on the left side for the oil filter to clear. The JD motor mounts will require some fairly extensive surgery to mate to the Shibaura engine but I've got that pretty well figured out for the front mounts.

I made a pair of side plates that bolt to the engine in place of the Shibaura mounts to weld the JD mounts to. Unfortunately, I didn't make them long enough as the engine sits about 4" further forward than the Yanmar did. Once I get the front mounts tacked up and make sure they're right (or right enough...) I'll have to decide what to do about the rear mounts. The side plates will need to be extended, the question is whether to weld them or bolt them. At the moment I'm thinking welding is the right answer.
 
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Motor mounts finished, engine bolted in, drive shaft hooked up. Got the fuel lines ready to go, fan is on with adequate clearance. Need to plumb up the radiator, figure out the wiring and build a reinforcing plate for the starter motor.

It used to bolt through the bell housing, but at the moment it's just bolted to a light plate that was used as a spacer/dust shield I guess. The top two bolts above the flywheel go into the block so I can attach it there and run it down to pick up the two starter motor bolts.

No major obstacles so far, but the wiring might get interesting. Need to decide whether to use the externally regulated alternator that was on the Shibaura engine or the more modern unit off the Yanmar. Suspect the Yanmar would be easier as the JD wiring harness is all set up for it.
 
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Got a little more done today, mostly adding bits like throttle linkage, breather hoses, figuring out the alternator mount, etc.

Started on plumbing up the radiator and realized some things: 1) the fittings on the engine and the fittings on the radiator are two different sizes; B) I need to get everything on the front of the engine done before I try to route the radiator hoses, and III) NONE of the hose clamps I had on hand were the right size.

So, trip to NAPA. Plopped an example of each of the two sizes of hose on the counter and said "I need a couple of feet of each of these sizes" thinking they had bulk straight hose. Counter guy disappeared for several minutes and came back with two pieces of custom pre-bent hose that were more-or-less long enough. Not what I had in mind, but I could make it work. I asked about the prices. He pointed to the larger diameter and slightly longer piece and said "That'll set you back $40."

"No it won't!" sez I. "I'll figure something else out." I did take the smaller piece has it had bends that will work nicely for my needs, and THAT was $18. I guess...well I know for a fact...that I'm a cheap bastard, but no way I'm paying $40 for an 18" piece of rubber hose just to chop it up. Did pick up a 10-pack of hose clamps and a 10 pack of mechanickin' gloves. Knit/Flexible back, nitrile lined palm. Seem pretty useful and for $1.40 a pair, I thought they would be worth a try.
 
Little more progress. Got the radiator plumbed up, the alternator mounted and the main wiring harness re-routed as all the connections are on the opposite side from the original Yanmar. Built a battery box and installed the battery to start noodling out the wiring harness.

Got as far as getting the starter to work from the original key switch, which is greatly encouraging. I was afraid the "nanny board" was toast and I'd have to rewire the whole thing. Doable, but a pain.

Noticed the electric fuel pump wasn't running. Quick check with the meter and it's getting voltage, so pulled the pump. Appears to be locked up from years sitting with no fuel running through it. Outside is rusted pretty badly. I have it soaking in PB Blaster in hopes of freeing it up as an interim measure - ie, long enough to get everything else figured out - but obviously a new one is the way to go.

Got the part number from the JD lookup page. Knew better than to even THINK about getting it from Mother Deere. Even on-line at non-JD sources the prices run around $240. GASP! Found a repro on Fee Bay for $80. There was another from Poland for $50-ish, but delivery date was mid-July. Uh...pass...
 
I would rather be Lucky than Good...

Soaking the fuel pump in weasel piss didn't free it up, so I figured WTH, I can't break it any worse than it already is. Took a screw driver and tapped the little ears that held one end of the motor in the can and managed to remove the plastic end and the impeller. Grabbed the motor shaft and gave it a twist and it freed right up. Hooked it to my power supply and ran it in both directions for a minute to make sure the bearings were free and reassembled it. Et Voila! I have fuel! Opened the bleeder at the injector pump on the motor and ran the fuel pump until I got clean fuel out the bleeder. That involved a little bit of skill/experience and a whole lot of luck.

Then I checked the wiring diagram and identified the lead for the glow plugs. Hooked up my meter and turned the key one and...I'll be damned...voltage! Thought about that for a second and decided I'd better check to make sure it wasn't just switched voltage and would be running the glow plugs until they burned out. Turned the key back on and watched the meter whilst twiddling my thumbs. And I'll be a sonofa... after about 10 or 15 seconds, the voltage dropped to zero. That means the glow plug timer on the Nanny Board is still working! And that, My Friends, is 100% solid gold dumbass luck!

Dubbed around a little more, bled the line on the front injector cranked on it for a bit and it started making noise! Shut it right back off as I haven't filled the radiator yet. Need to mix up some 50/50.

Got some minor linkages to hook up and some work around the dash to button things up, but in theory, it could move under it's own power by this evening!
 
It's ALIVE!

Can't find my cable stops to hook up the throttle linkage, but clamped it at high idle with a pair of vise grips. Fired it up and rode around in the driveway a bit, everything works as it should, including power steering AND the battery is charging.

I'll put the sheet metal back on it tomorrow, dress up the wiring here and there and go get some cable stops so I can hook the throttle up, fasten the battery down and it's basically done. Only other thing is to hook a cylinder up to the remotes and make sure the hydraulics are working. Oh, and order some tie rod ends, the outers are literally held on with baling wire. Didn't wanna spend that hundred until I was sure everything else worked.
 
Awesome DE! What are your plans with it? Gotta believe the torque from that diesel would be perfect for a snow blower attachment? Probably very economical to run that diesel.
 
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