[AT] Starter installation trick on the later two cylinder JD Tractors.

[Cecil Bearden]

  Dean, I would second the never wash the tractor vote!!!  Also never 
clean out the cab, there will be something in it you will need the very 
next time you go to the field.  I have had problems with my Cat E110B 
excavator.  It has a small relay on top of the starter solenoid.  I 
replaced it once.  I believe the space is so small if you had to remove 
the starter, the counterweight has to be removed.  About a 15000 lb 
chore.  I replaced the relay by working through the small space ans some 
magnetic sockets.   Well last week when I needed the excavator, it would 
only click.  I checked the connections, and they appeared to be good.  
So I assumed the relay and went to the Cat parts site to find the 
switch.  Of course Cat has changed their site and now I cannot get into 
the system I used to get into.  The Chat line rep came back on after 45 
minutes and said I would have to contact Cat admin. Cat calls the 
starter a motor and does not have a pic of it only a part number and it 
is listed with 6 other motors including 3 hydraulic ones.  I called my 
aftermarket parts rep who used to work for Cat and he found the switch 
and then said it is no longer available.  He sent me a pic of the 
starter.   I went to my Amsco Valley Forge starters site and found the 
starter and the relay. I ordered both.  It was listed for Cat forklifts 
with  Mitsubishi motor.  The excavator is made by Mitsubishi.  I should 
know by mid week if it solves the problem.  Hopefully I don't have to 
install the starter.  If that happens, the only machine I have to remove 
the counterweight leaks down so I have to constantly hold the control 
lever to pressure up.    My excavator is not a tractor, but it is what 
keeps the water supply going to the entire farm, including the pressure 
washer that blew out the o-rings in the remotes and created a fountain 
of oil when I tried to lift the disk....  I found the o-ring and the 
teflon backup where I washed off the tractor.  Just another day in 
paradise!!!!!!!!!
Cecil

On 5/17/2020 2:46 AM, deanvp at att.net wrote:
> I just went through a few days of hassle that caused me to remove/reinstall
> the starter on my 1958 JD 620 high Clearance tractor. There is an
> abbreviation for this procedure called a complete PITA unless you know a
> trick I knew at one time and had completely forgotten about. My situation
> was compounded by a 10" shorter battery cable than what is supposed to be
> installed. Mine was 54", the std is 64" that makes it a triple PITA.  I am
> referring to all the late Two Cylinder tractors, letter and numbered series,
> that have the starter inside a cast cavity in the underside of the main
> case. The battery cable is fed to an anodized copper semi-ridged ribbon the
> connects to the starter switch mounted on the starter. To use the proper
> terminology on a JD 620 it is called a cranking motor. To pull the started
> one is supposed to disconnect the battery cable from this copper ribbon
> before trying to remove the starter.  Well folks unless all the planets are
> in alignment and the nut that needs to be loosened is oriented such that you
> can get to it between the flywheel and the main case there is no way in hell
> that is going to happen.  Well, unless as JD very casually mentions that the
> flywheel may need to be removed. That is not a casual decision.  So if you
> have to remove the starter with the cable still attached, the battery cable
> needs to be worked forward and downward to provide enough slack to slide the
> starter out of the cavity so one can get to the nut that holds the battery
> cable to the copper ribbon.  That in itself can be difficult. But now lets
> say you are ready to reinstall the starter with the cable attached removing
> the slack at the starter in inserted into the round hole in the main
> casting. Here come the trick that will save you all kinds of grief and time.
> As you slide the starter cone into the hole you will all of a sudden hit a
> dead stop and are unable to get the starter further into the hole.
>
> What you will discover is either the copper ribbon and bolt/nut tied to the
> battery cable is hitting the casting or the lever that actuates the button
> on the starter switch is hitting the cavity hole casting or both. The
> cable/copper ribbon and the starter switch lever go through an oblong
> horizontal  hole above the hole the starter goes into. So one comes to the
> conclusion that somehow the battery cable/copper ribbon is bent to go
> through that hole and then somehow pry the switch lever up high enough to
> get thought the upper hole.  I can assure you that just plain doesn't work.
> BTW, this is all hidden behind the flywheel. But what completely fools you
> is the starter can be raised another 1/2" or more in its hole because the
> whole cone isn't in yet and the lever simply slides over the interference
> and all is cool, I will guarantee you will convince yourself that the
> starter can't go higher because it is in a tight hole.  Wrong it will go
> higher. I used a floor jack to get the starter up close to the cavity and
> tiled the starter to get it started in the hole and then carefully found the
> center of gravity of the starter and lifted that whole sucker up the extra
> half inch or so and boom the lever and cable/copper ribbon fall into place
> by taking the slack out. Once I did it the right way I realized I had been
> here before but probably 20 years ago. And then all the lights started
> blinking.  This trick will save you hours of frustration and heartache.
>
> I also changed the cable to a longer version even longer than standard
> version. I went to 72" rather than the std 64"   I wanted more wiggle room.
> I never could really firmly establish whether the original cable size  was
> 2/0 or 1/0 from the factory but since there are places where the cable goes
> though that are tight fits the OD of the cable cannot be much over 0.5" I
> went out cable hunting at all the local Auto Parts stores as well as Napa.
> I found out there is a bunch of different cables out there with varying
> thickness of insulation. None fit my requirement until I found some 1/0
> Welding cable. That fit four requirements. High current carrying capability,
> OD wasn't too big, the cable was reasonably flexible and it was less
> expensive than anything else I had looked at. Now where do you get that
> stuff? Of course at a welding supply store except the closest one for me is
> a bit of a hike so I went to a "Batteries Plus" dealer. Sure enough had
> exactly what I needed. Cable cut to length.
>
> So I hope this might save you some time and grief you when you work on the
> late letter series and numbered series Two Cylinder JD starter issues.
>
> BTW, the thing that caused me to remove the starter to begin with was a
> complete misdiagnosis on my part.  !@#$%^&*(  Starter went dead. Made the
> assumption the starter switch had gone bad because I knew I had a good
> battery and 12 Volts at the starter switch.  The real problem was I had a
> resistive ground between the battery cable and the battery box and then to
> top it off an even more resistive ground (15K ohms) between the battery box
> and the rest of the tractor.   Now why did this all seem to happen when I
> thought I was going to go to a plowing day .    I Power Washed the tractor
> which I hadn't done in a long time. Rust developed immediately where it
> doesn't belong.  So the moral of this story is to never wash your tractor.
>
>
> Dean VP
> Snohomish, WA 98290
>
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