Well, I’m back at it…

Posted on February 24, 2012 by dd
After a 2-day bout of food poisoning  that REALLY interfered with my work in the basement, I’m back at cleaning it up… So, some update pics…First of all… the OMEGAMAGNET (“BUH BA BUUUUUUUH!)!!!

Made from nearly 30 old hard drives, the omegamagnet could possibly be the biggest threat to the stability of the Earth’s magnetic field since…. just kidding!

(kudos to Kidlet #1 for ripping apart that many hard drives)

So, by yesterday, I had the first new set of shelves up… And we had a couple of pieces of subfloor left over from our previous renos, so LTGal suggested throwing them under the shelf.

This is a product called Dri-Core, basically particle board with a corrugated plastic sheeting on the bottom, it serves as subfloor AND protects your subfloor from limited amounts of damp (keeps the wood from contacting the concrete). Comes in 2×2 tung and groove sheets that you click (well, bang) together… Not cheap, but a lot easier for us novices to lay down than 4×8 full subflooring… And it has a good r value.

So, of course the talk was then, well, how about the rest of the floor? Quick check with Home Depot, and the Dri-Core was on sale! So LTGal ran out and picked up enough to do another couple rows…

This morning was dump run #1, as we were starting to have trouble getting into and out of the back door…

Turned out to only be 80 kilos worth of dump stuff, so it musta all been fairly fluffy… Well, plus the 4 computers and two boxes of various computer-guts that went to one recycling depot, AND the two large Roughneck totes of cables that went to the other…. Turns out all those years of cables netted me a cool $44.50, for 90 lbs of cabling… Then I got home and found the OTHER box I’d forgotten! DOH! Well, I guess those are “seed cables” for the next trip…

This afternoon (since the sale was ending today, LTGal and I went out and picked up another 70 sheets of the subflooring… So back down I go now, to bash subfloor together!

More pics soon!
Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Day 3 of my captivity…

Posted on February 21, 2012 by dd
Okay, okay, its not THAT bad….

So, here’s another progress indicator… the dump load so far…

Of course, I SHOULDA been checking with the local scrapyards/metal recyclers, ’cause one of them takes computer cabling at $.50/lb, and SOMEWHERE in those bags are enough 120v computer power cables to pay for my gas to take them to the recyclers… Guess I’ll slit the bags before I punt them into the bins at the dump, and do a pre-dump sort… Then, I figure I’ve got enough random cabling left in the basement yet (keyboard cables, power cables, thinwire, Cat5e in 6-8 foot chunks, etc) that I should be able to cover the cost of some new shelving…
Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments

“Found” these in my stuff downstairs

Posted on February 21, 2012 by dd
“Found” these while cleaning and sorting down here…. Well actually, kidlet #2 was rummaging through my collectibles shelf….

These came from my grandfather.

More update pics to follow, tonight…
Posted in Bror | Leave a comment

NOT as fun as fixing tractors!

Posted on February 19, 2012 by dd
So, here I am, two days into 10 days of holidays, and I’m NOT out tractoring! 

Well, its still a bit chilly out there, AND I did make the mistake(?) of agreeing that I’d try to clean out the LAST holdout in our house, my personal disaster area… I’ve enlisted Kidlet #1 and #2 to help, with brib-er, promises of being able to renovate the area and set up an entertainment cave… So, yesterday, Kidlet #1 cracked the whip, and we worked from about 3 pm to 10 pm. This was what it looked like, at about supper time… AFTER we hauled out 3 leaf bags of stuff to go to the dump… and AFTER my vinyl collection left…

Stay tuned for updates over the next several days…. or possibly months… NOT as fun as fixing tractors!
Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Cool old JD attachment!

Posted on January 29, 2012 by dd
So I was going through the pile of tractor documents for my grandfather’s 112H yesterday when a little folded up piece of paper fell out of one of them… When I unfolded it, this is what I found:

Its a four-page manual for the Gen-e-motor! Just finished scanning this puppy in, to preserve it (its in pretty rough shape, paper-wise). A really quick read, and the thing looks like its made by Pincor, but looks like a cheaper “little brother” to the full fledged Pincor gen-set like Deerenut has…. Anyone ever seen or have one of these? Information would be appreciated!

So NOW I’ve got a mission! Obviously, this gem is SOMEWHERE in my dad’s collection of stuff that should belong to the 112…. AND its something I could easily store and clean up and tinker with INSIDE during the cold winter months! Guess I’ll need to talk to my dad to see if he’s seen it lately…
Posted in Bror, Ernie | Tagged , | Leave a comment

A couple of family JD Pics

Posted on January 25, 2012 by dd

So, my cousin on my mum’s side was going through HIS dad’s old slides to scan them in, and sent these two pictures on to me since he knew I was a JD fan…

So THIS I think is my grandfather…. Initially, I thought it was him riding on Bror, BUT when I looked closer, its actually a 110, manual lift…  So… Hmmmm…. did he borrow one from the dealership to do some mowing sometime?  Sure nice looking, almost looks brand new!  🙂

 

Edit – My mum doesn’t think its my grandfather, it doesn’t look like their house and he didn’t have a 110 before the 112…. However, sure gives you a good idea of what a 110 looks like in its original habitat in the mid 60s!

This is my Great Uncle Charlie, apparently, sometime in the early 70s….  He’s still alive, nearly 100 years old apparently, so I’ve sent this picture on to his sons to show him…. I asked about the tractor, but they think its long gone.  Sure would be a showpiece to have today!

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Posted on January 17, 2012 by dd
Finally got time to get out to the garage on the 14th, (Jbefore the weather turned cold on us). Cleaned up enough that I was able to get the transaxle onto my little engine stand.

Had to put another brace underneath it so that it wouldn’t wobble sitting on the brake pulley.

According to the manual, I need to take note of which way the oil seals are sitting when I pull them off…

And there it is, in all of its oily glory… Unfortunately, the case came loose more easily than I would have thought, and I pulled the 3 gear assembly out while lifting the case off! DOH!

AND I knocked the shift gates out of neutral!

Cover looks pretty grubby too…

So, any thoughts on whether this three-gear assembly is chewed up enough to require replacement? It looks like the teeth are kinda mangled (compared to some of the other gears, and compared to the bottom gear in the assembly), but I’ve never seen a NEW one.
Posted in Bror | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Bearing removal and installation thoughts!

Posted on December 31, 2011 by dd
So, I got a bunch of advice about what to do about the bearings on those axle housings, and the consensus is I should replace them.  Then of course, the question is, how the heck do I get them OUT of there?  One suggestion was to take a piece of rod, heat the axle housing, and bang the bearing out with the rod and a hammer… Then to install them, use a piece of threaded rod and some washers to pull the bearing INTO the housing.  Igot so fired up about the installation because folks said “threaded rod”, and I’ve been ITCHING for a reason to use the little el-cheapo tap and die set I bought a couple of months back! I’ve never done anything like tapping a rod (or is it, die-ing a rod, and tapping a nut? Either way, those two phrases are gonna drive the internet search bots nuts, I bet!  )

So, I dug out some 3/8″ rod I’d saved from a couple of old junky lawn chairs I “helped” my dad dispose of the same weekend I stole his tractor (I KNEW it would come in handy!) and a’tapping I went!

But you know, the FIRST thing I tried with this piece of rod was to see whether I could use it, in combination with Mr. Hammer, to take a couple of whacks at seeing how well it would work at popping a bearing out…. Turns out there’s not a heck of a lot of clearance on the inside of these axle housings to put a piece of rod ONTO in order to get any purchase… So I put on my thinking cap… I’d HEARD the phrase “inside bearing puller”, and it occurred to me that it must be some sort of tool that fits INSIDE the shaft hole on a bearing and lets you pull it out that way… Well, couldn’t I use my new best buddy, the bearing separator/puller to drop a piece of, say, threaded rod down inside this axle housing, put a reasonably sized washer on the bottom end of the rod, secured by a couple of nuts (like you said for installing the bearings), then put another nut and washer at the top-side of the rod and (I’d probably have to put the TOP nut and washer on FIRST, then secure the bottom ones) then tighten up the top one until the washer on the bottom pulls the bearing out? Something like this:

That rod is long enough to extend through the axle housing, and threaded far enough up it that I can put a nut and washer at the top of the thread, drop it through the puller frame, and be able to attach another washer and two nuts at the bottom of the rod. Except that I’m short two 3/8″ nuts to complete my proof of concept! DOH!  And where the heck would I get two 3/8″ nuts on New Years’ Eve/New Years’ Day?!? (Not sure my neighbours would appreciate me showing up on their doorsteps at an hour before New Years asking if I can borrow their nuts!  ) Of course, I’d probably still have to heat it, mind you…. And I don’t have a torch or anything…

But, this is my thought… What do you all think?
Posted in Bror, Tools, Tractor Repair Stuff | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Been a while, but I’m still working on things!

Posted on December 30, 2011 by dd
So, went out on the 26th and checked on the hubs. Got the snaprings off, then soaked them with some PB Blaster… Out again on the 27th, a couple of taps and I had this:

Took them both off, here’s the de-hubbed transaxle

Also hit Princess Auto for a bearing puller, dang thing was too small for the brake pulley. But it worked like a darn for the steering wheel!

Wow, those people that said get a good puller weren’t kidding! Here’s my new BEST FRIEND!

He did a heck of a job on this!

Then when I went after pulling the axle supports on the transaxle tonight, I figured I’d try him…

Uh oh… Bolts were too short!

So I did a bit of gentle tapping, which I hope had no ill effects, I guess we’ll see when I get inside… Finally got it to the point where I could put the longer bolts in and put the crosspiece on:

The right side took a LOT Of work and PB Blaster to get off, but finally it came free! I wasn’t looking forward to the LEFT side, but suited it up, using the steering wheel puller piece, since it was thinner:

Fortunately, the left one wasn’t as rusty, and it came off pretty slickly! Here it is, the naked transaxle!

I’m thinking I MIGHT be able to use the ATV Jack as a workstand for pulling the transaxle apart. This thing is proving to be a really good investment!…

Here’s the removed axle supports:

I dunno, how do I tell if these bearings need replacing? The left one looks pretty rusty and dinged, and feels a bit “gravelly” when I spin it by hand…
Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Cleaned up the transaxle some…

Posted on December 18, 2011 by dd
Found my fingernail brushes out in the garage this afternoon, after giving Littletractor a Christmas oil change I thought I’d do a bit more cleanup on Bror’s transaxle… Here’s a before-and-after (sorta) for you all!The BIG question tho, is STILL how to get that dang brake pulley off!
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment