[AT] A Good Tractor Evening

[Milo Holroyd]

On 7/19/23 4:02 PM, STEVE ALLEN wrote:
> The list seems slow, so I thought I share a quick note that might be 
> of some interest.  It is about my '49 JD A, the one that needs a new 
> flywheel.
>
> For some years, it has also needed attention to the gear shift stick, 
> which developed the unfortunate habit of coming up out of engagement 
> with the transmission.  It is held in place by two snap rings, one 
> below and one above the ball that allows it to move.  My older son, in 
> his younger years, used to sit on the seat and "drive" the tractor, 
> pulling with all his might on that stick.  At some point in the 
> process, he must have pulled it so hard that the lower snap ring came 
> out of its groove (I suspect it made it all the way to the bottom of 
> the sump because I've never seen or heard evidence of the ring ending 
> up in the gears).
>
> Anywho, I finally gathered the necessary brain cells together to get 
> on the Deere website and order 3 of those snap rings. Yes, I said 
> three even though the project only needs two.  It would be me all over 
> to ruin one or lose it, so I wanted a bit of redundancy.  Deere does 
> still have them for about $3.50 each.  I might have been able to 
> source them elsewhere, but why go through the hassle of making sure 
> they are the correct size when Mother Deere has already gone to that 
> trouble?  (Side note:  the parts guy I talked to when I picked them up 
> at my local dealer told me that 2-cyl parts are getting pretty scarce 
> though they get a lot of traffic in them and even occasionally work on 
> one in their shop.)
>
> I had, years back, bought a spare stick with some of the other parts 
> from Sharps, so, armed with more parts than I needed, I unbolted the 
> stick assembly from the top of the transmission and brought it into 
> the shop for rejuvenation. Once I had it on the bench, I had to learn 
> that the parts would come off only from the top:  the ball at the base 
> of the stick was too large to permit the pivot ball and collar, the 
> retaining spring, the washers, and the cover to slide off the bottom 
> end. I was inhibited by not having a pair of the proper snap ring 
> pliers.  Nevertheless, I got two new snap rings on with all the parts 
> in the right order between them.  (Well, I did need to start over at 
> one point because I started in the wrong order, but my heads was 
> upside down.)  I also used the wire wheel on the rusty base of the 
> shift pattern housing and all four cap screws and washers used to hold 
> the whole shebang in place.
>
> So, with the rebuilt stick (just how hard can if be to rebuild a 
> stick, anyway??) in hand, it was back to the shed. The problem was 
> getting the four cap screws back in their holes.  When I had removed 
> them, I could push the stick complete;y out of the way, and I had no 
> need to grasp them after removing them:  I could just let them fall 
> out of the housing when I removed it.  But keeping them in the socket 
> as I started them in their holes proved to be a pain.  As I was 
> struggling, my son--who was responsible for the whole mess 
> anyway--came home from work, and I sent him back to the shop for the 
> longest pair of needle-nose pliers he could find.  They were *just* 
> long enough to do the job, and so i was able to tighten all the cap 
> screws, keeping the assembly in place.
>
> Running it through all the positions, it seemed to be up to snuff, so 
> we won't have to hold the stick down when we shift anymore.
>
> Now, to find the time to get the cotton-pickin' flywheel changed.  Got 
> to have my son around.  He works throwing cases and building pallets 
> for a beer distributor, so he can pick up that flywheel; it would be 
> rather an over-match for my back anymore.  But we're one step close to 
> having TWO operational As!
>
> Then, it'll be time to put the new manifold on the '47 B--that's a job 
> i do not look forward to.  I am sure we can get the old manifold off; 
> I am NOT sure we can get the old studs out of the head with out much 
> tearing of hair and gnashing of teeth.
>
> Obviously, a type of snap ring pliers must exist which are made for 
> rings that have no holes in the ends, just beveled ends.  I have many 
> older tools inhereted from my father, but none seem to fit the bill.  
> Do any of you know what I am looking for?
>
> But it was a Good Tractor Evening yesterday despite the hassles, and I 
> hope I didn't bore anyone.
>
> Sweatingly,
> The "original" Steve Allen
> '47 B, '49 A, '51 A, all in Mid-MO
>
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Thanks for the post Steve.

Just a tip for the future. Take a piece of notebook paper, paper sack, 
etc. and put it over the socket, then shove the bolt head / nut, into 
the socket. Usually holds long enough to get the job done!

Milo