Unloaded the new blade!

Posted on December 16, 2011 by littletractorguy
Kidlet #2 got here tonight for the weekend, so I was able to get out to the garage to unload the blade and frame, so HERE’S some pictures!

So, looks like it needs a replacement scraper bar… Looks like the PO MIGHTA gone a BIT far… Especially when you look at the skids…

(When I FIRST looked at it, I didn’t think it HAD any, or that they had been taken off… No… They’ve been WORN off)

Other than that, the blade is beautiful!

The BIG question tho, is how the heck to mount the thing?

Okay, so I KNOW that the back end of the frame, with the bolt sticking out of it, will mount to my hitch plate on the back of the 110… Tried that tonight. I actually HID the thing away so it wasn’t lying in the middle of the garage floor by a) unbolting both big lever-y things off of it and b) sliding the rest of the frame under Ernie, then I did up the bolt…. Now, HERE’S the problem…

This draft bar thingy that serves as a pivot point for the blade lift is, oh, 5/8″ or so in diameter….

The front mounts on the 110 and 112 are, maybe, 1/2″ holes…
AND the front of the Berco frame is out probably 4-5 inches in front of the front mounts, and about 2″ lower… So, what do I need? Some custom-fabbed L-brackets or something, to bolt onto the front mount of the tractor then pass that draft bar through? Greensail DID offer to give me a hand getting it figured out! 
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Started cleaning up the transaxle tonight!

Posted on December 16, 2011 by littletractorguy
So I went after the transaxle for a bit tonight out in the garage, thanks to Kidlet #2 being handy to keep an ear out for LTBabe….



The hitch plate and rear support for the tractor is bolted onto the axle supports and the top of the transaxle. It took a bit of work and some WD-40, but soon I had a naked transaxle.

Hitch plate’s gonna need some sandblasting, I’d say

Main drive pulley will likely take a puller to get it off

I thought that, perhaps, there was some sort of gasket on top of the transaxle…. Until I dug into it with a screwdriver and found that it was actually a thick, peat-like layer of dirt and oil, complete with fossilized remains…

45 minutes of scraping with a screwdriver later, I’ve ALMOST got the top cleaned off enough to see the bolt heads!

Thank goodness for the ATV lift! It’s doing a bang-up job of serving as a workstation! Tomorrow, I go for the underside, hopefully!
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Scored a blade for Ernie!

Posted on December 11, 2011 by littletractorguy

So, I’ve been trying to find a blade to put on Ernie, once I have him cleaned up a bit and running… So that NEXT winter, I can have a plowing tractor and a snow blowing tractor…  I’ve been TRYING to find an original blade for the 1966 110, but having no luck whatsoever.  They’re as rare as hen’s teeth…  So yesterday my friend Morris emailed me a link to a blade for sale on Kijiji…. This one:

So, I don’t know YET whether it actually fits, but for $50, I couldn’t pass it up!

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Whoo hoo! Got the transaxle out!

Posted on December 10, 2011 by littletractorguy
Went out to take a few measurements off Ernie, then thought, what the heck, I’d try pulling that clevis out, after it sat for a week soaked in WD-40…

Bad news is, my ATV jacks safety stops must have slipped, so the transaxle dropped another 3 inches, bending the brake rod even more… The good news is, that let me get something into the spot where the clevis pin was so that I could bang on it a bit… After a week of WD-40, it slid out pretty well! 

So here it is, outta the tractor…

Bad news is, now that I have it out, it seems to shift just fine! Of course, I still have to retrieve the nylon tip from my former oiler from the guts of the transaxle…. AND I think the transaxle exterior needs a bit of a cleaning anyway!
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Transaxle part way!

Posted on December 6, 2011 by littletractorguy
Since I got so carried away with trying to get the transaxle out, I DIDN’T take the time to take a pic of it partway out for future reference. Here it is, being held up by my ATV jack.

I went out last night with the TractorCam to take a few pictures of my 38″ snowblower and thought I would snap this one too. Note the removal of the left-hand fender, as I had wanted to get as much clearance as possible to try to get the brake clevis undone.
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Well, SOME progress on the transaxle, but….

Posted on December 4, 2011 by littletractorguy
So, I got Bror jacked and set down on the jack stands

Got the idler spring disconnected,

Took off the rims

disconnected what I THOUGHT was the brake clevis,

Then I pulled all the bolts. For reference, there’s the three bolts on each side:

PLUS both seat bolts and two at the back of the frame that need to come out.

So, I pushed the ATV jack under the transaxle, then went after the bolts.

Two of the bolts under the fenders were, of course, majorly seized… Thank goodness for WD-40 and my air impact wrench! Got all the bolts out, then let down the jack… Down came the transaxle…UNTIL it seemed like something bound up… Looked in, and found what the brake clevis ACTUALLY looks like…

and the shaft its on is now bent! 

No WONDER I couldn’t see it without having the tractor flipped over, its RIGHT against the left-hand side of the tractor. Got the cotter pin out, BUT the clevis pin is totally seized in there and I CANNOT get it out! Soaked some WD-40 onto it, tried wedging a pair of pliers up there, tried bashing it with a screwdriver, can’t get enough leverage. Can’t get my vice grips in there either….

So, I pushed Ernie back into his spot, tidied everything up, and I’ll have to regroup and go back out before it gets too dang cold out….

Sure interesting to see how its all put together!
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The Transaxle Removal Plan

Posted on December 4, 2011 by littletractorguy
Just spent an hour and a half or so out in the garage strategizing how to do this WITHOUT the cool stand, and I THINK I’ve got it figured out…

1. Jack up the back end, then place the jackstands NOT under the axles… Say, halfway along the frame.
2. Pull the tires/rims
3. Disconnect the brake clevis pin and the idler spring (THINK I might have disconnected the idler spring already)
4. Put the ATV jack underneath the back of the tractor to support the transaxle.
5. Pull the following bolts and drop the transaxle down onto the ATV jack..
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My next steps with Bror

Posted on December 4, 2011 by littletractorguy
So, Team Green, one of the other MTF members, asked me last night in the MTF chat room what my next steps will be for Bror… Well, I KNOW the engine runs… But its too cold now here to actually LINE the gas tank. Especially if I want to pull the other three I want to line, clean them all out and line them all at the same time, so as not to waste a whole… what was it? Oh ya, a QUART of the liner… So, next step will be to pull the transaxle outta Bror and haul it inside for a look-see and possible servicing (something to entertain myself during those long dark winter months). Of course, I’ve not even gotten to the FIRST step in this process, and I’ve already hit a snag… The service manual says:

“For ease of transaxle removal, mount tractor on repair stand as shown in Figure 9.”

Here’s Figure 9…



Oooooookay….. NOT sure I can just order that puppy up from Deere. Maybe one of the MTF members has one they can ship me! 

I’m guessing jackstands and lots of lying on my foamy pads on the garage floor is in my near future…
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More questions about fuel tank sealants

Posted on November 28, 2011 by littletractorguy
Okay, MORE questions about using the POR-15 Fuel Tank Sealer…..So, the autobody place where I bought it didn’t actually have any SMALL cans of fuel tank sealer, so I got this one:

I’m betting a quart can is just a BIT too big…. So, I thought to myself, I can just use SOME of it now, and SOME of it later (when I have to do the NEXT tank…. Except, then I went and did some research and found THESE instructions from POR, which say once you OPEN the can you CAN’T reclose it or it might EXPLODE (no, seriously… That’s what it says…). Hmmmmmmmmmm….

So, I’ve got enough of this stuff for like, a tank on a 67 Chrysler, I’m sure… And the instructions say use the entire can…. So, what do I do? Do I try doing TWO tanks (I just happen to have a couple that could use some sealant)? Do I risk opening the can, using PART of it then resealing it? I’m guessing I should be doing this in a “well ventilated area”, so what temperatures are too low for doing this in? Do I just take the stuff back and go with really cleaning my tank out?

Okay, I’m beginning to understand why it might cost $200 to line even a tiny tank… ’cause it blows through a whole can of the sealant even for a tiny one….
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Houston, we have ignition!

Posted on November 23, 2011 by littletractorguy
So…. Is the suspense getting to you all yet? 

Some good news, some bad news…

Stoonboy made it over early, even before I’d gotten home (I had to run Kidlet #1 to the library to pick up some books for her History project… Sorry for the wait there, Randy!), we sat for a bit to wait for Greensail… had a nice yak about tractors and life in general until Greensail called… Unfortunately, his wife wasn’t feeling well tonight, so he told us to go ahead, he’d see about joining us a bit later…

So, fire extinguisher and camera in hand, we got Bror pushed out to the middle of the garage,


poured some gas into the tank and tried to turn her over. Here’s the series of videos that Stoonboy and I shot tonight with the TractorCam (thanks, Karin, for the spiffy old camera of yours, it came in handy!).

For those of you who want to cut to the chase, check out the last two videos… Those of you who appreciate the full, rich experience, here’s all five videos we shot tonight
REMEMBER the fuel shut-off!

Checking the Sediment Bowl

One more try…

Houston, we have ignition!

Up to speed!

Greensail DID make it out for a bit, we fired it up for him with just a BIT of gas down the aircleaner, and we had a good 20-second run before the muffler started smoking enough to make me nervous and I shut her down!

So, the BAD news is, I’m not getting any fuel to the carb from the tank… Two things… First, my fuel line IS going somewhat “uphill” from the the bottom of the sediment bowl, across and over the generator mounting brace and around the outside of the shrouding… I know its supposed to go THROUGH the shrouding on the 112 with the 10 horse Tec, but my shrouding is a bit loose and I’m leery of that… However, I agree with Stoonboy, its odd that it seems like it HAS to go over top of the generator mount…. Anyone out there with a 112 RF, can you take a minute to go look at your gas line… I of course can’t find any pics of how the OLD one ran before I took it off… DOH!

The other problem is, I can’t get any gas out of the tank through the sediment bowl… We pulled off the sediment bowl, and found some crud in the upper parts of it, likely enough to block the fuel flow. Greensail is right, I should really go get the tank lined… Also need to reclean the sediment bowl, I think, and dry it out really well… Off to find a rad shop who might be able to do the tank for me!

And, we didn’t burn the garage down or hurt ourselves! And I got to meet another MTF’er in person! A fun night had by all!
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