1946 John Deere Model A Tractor

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1946 John Deere Model A Tractor

Post by Steve Simmons »

Here is the new beast, a 1946 John Deere Model AN (single wheel) tractor. We rescued it from the weeds yesterday. Loaded it up at in the middle of the night and got home about 3:30 AM so I haven't had much time to crawl around and see what it will need.

There was a neat old mechanized trailer with it but sadly we couldn't fit it on the trailer with the tractor so I had to abandon it. Leaving it to possibly get scrapped was depressing. I haven't decided if it's worth renting a trailer and going back to get it.

Anyway, here is the new rust pile which I'm currently calling "Old 200". It only has two cylinders but at 5.3L it's the biggest engine I've ever owned!
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1946 John Deere Model AN
1946 John Deere Model AN
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Re: New Old Mechanized Beast

Post by malcolmr18zoy »

Wow Steve, that looks in remarkably good, original condition. I've been hearing a lot about your tractor quest lately, and I think you've found a really good candidate. I expect that when you've spent some time cleaning it up, and removing some of the unnecessary appendages, it will look super sharp.
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Re: New Old Mechanized Beast

Post by Martin Keller »

Hi Steve,
I do not think that bush bar will work on any of your other vehicles...... :lol: ......
Tractors are a lot of fun.
I will have to dig out a photo of my Ford tractor I had for mowing and and other tasks and no it was not a yard tractor.
:drive
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Re: New Old Mechanized Beast

Post by Larry Kluss »

Nice find, Steve! Should be lots of fun tinkering with that.

I need to come by and check it out.
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Re: New Old Mechanized Beast

Post by Steve Simmons »

Come by any time, Larry!

Martin, I'm assuming the bar on front was a makeshift weight but you never know.

Malcolm, it's in decent condition overall but I'm a bit concerned about one of the exhaust pipes being left uncovered for who knows how long. Hopefully that cylinder isn't all rusted up.

At least part of the tractor has been painted, especially the wheels which were yellow originally. In a way that's good because I won't feel so bad painting it again. It needs a new front tire desperately and maybe a rear also. Otherwise it's mostly complete I think. I need to find front and read lights with mounts and a battery cover. The RH exhaust is not correct. Someone "installed" an ammeter but it's laying on bare metal with exposed leads. Can you say fire hazard? There is also a big filter hanging off one side that needs to come off, and what may be a voltage box screwed onto the hood.

Originally I thought it was a 1939 or 40 but last night I scrubbed the paint and gunk off the serial plate and found out it's a '46. The good thing about that is the larger engine and 6-speed transmission.

I've barely begun to inspect everything but with a day off tomorrow I plan to become very familiar with it. :)
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Re: New Old Mechanized Beast

Post by malcolmr18zoy »

Also, I think the 1939 models didn't have electric starters. Does the engine turn? If not, you might be right about rainwater damage through the exhaust pipes. It looks like an interesting project.
Malcolm
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Re: 1946 John Deere Model A Tractor

Post by Steve Simmons »

Last night I washed the poor thing down, but it will take several days of scrubbing to get most of the crud off. I did manage to get air in the tires and they are holding, but I don't dare inflate them fully. The original yellow on the wheels is starting to show also. I wonder if I can use more water pressure and flake the rest of the green off of them.
After the first wash and some air in the tires.  You can see the original yellow starting to show on the wheels.  Note the aftermarket appendages on the side.
After the first wash and some air in the tires. You can see the original yellow starting to show on the wheels. Note the aftermarket appendages on the side.
tractor-washed.jpg (70.36 KiB) Viewed 24543 times
This evening I crawled around a bit more to see what I could find other than spiders and caked-on gunk. My main concern was whether or not the engine would turn over. I decided to be brave and connect a battery just to see what would happen. What happened was absolutely nothing. I did manage a very small spark from one of the added on foot switches. Someone did some really bad wiring, using no connectors or wire clamps anywhere. Just lots of wires twisted together and hanging everywhere.

I did figure out that the voltage regulator bolted to the side of the engine cover was for a 12V conversion. I'll leave that in place until I get things running then decide what to do with it. I also figured out what the strange contraption bolted to the rear is. It's an old winch. Probably the reason the electrical system was changed from 6 to 12 volts. The steel bar up front had to go and as soon as I figure out how to get it off, the big steel tube contraption at the rear will go away also.

So after a bit of fiddling I decided to remove the flywheel cover. This produced a lot of leaves and spider webs. Then I pulled the starter off for inspection. But before anything else, I had to see if the engine would turn. And it did. WHEW! I'm now fairly confident that the engine will run once I check a few other things. I'll first need to clean up the wiring, service the carburetor, flush the cooling system and change the oil. Unfortunately it will probably cost about $100 to refill the sump and if the old oil looks bad then I'll be draining the new oil in the near future to get rid of whatever it flushes out of the galleys.

The starter didn't work because every electrical connection was zero continuity. I disassembled and cleaned the foot switch contacts and scraped a lot of crud out of the starter housing. This sucker has six brushes in there which I may replace later but they should work for now. The armature looks great overall, with some corrosion on the front bearing but it will be fine with a light sanding and some grease. Tomorrow I'll put it all back together and bench test, then move back to fluids, etc. I'd like to crank this thing for real by the weekend.
Attachments
Authentic back-woods wiring job.  Note the ground strap attached to nothing.
Authentic back-woods wiring job. Note the ground strap attached to nothing.
wiring.jpg (43.77 KiB) Viewed 24543 times
Digging packed-in crud out of the starter switch and pinion housing.
Digging packed-in crud out of the starter switch and pinion housing.
starter-crud.jpg (49.02 KiB) Viewed 24543 times
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Re: 1946 John Deere Model A Tractor

Post by malcolmr18zoy »

If the engine oil is really dirty, you can use ATF as a flushing oil. It is really searching, and very high detergent.
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Re: 1946 John Deere Model A Tractor

Post by Martin Keller »

Hi Steve,

When getting ready to due the tires make sure your valve stem is up at the top of the wheel as most tractor tires are filled with calcite and water about half to three quarters of the way to add weight to the tractor for traction. The front tire is usually filled completely with calcite and water for weight.
I still have to dig out the photos of my Ford Tractor and the Massey Fregison I once owned.
Tractors are a lot of fun but can hurt you if your not careful especially on the older models that have exposed flywheels and drive hubs.
So now you need a TRANGLE reflector for the back so you can drive it on the side streets to Dean's house or to pull things like a wagon full of hay or broken down cars out of the ditches.... :lol: ....
:drive
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Re: 1946 John Deere Model A Tractor

Post by Steve Simmons »

I don't think there is any fluid in these tires but I know what you mean. If it turns out there is, then I'll be draining it anyway. No need for the weight.

And if I can figure out how to get it home, we'll have our hay wagon! :)

Today I finished up the starter, which now runs like a champ. Mainly it was just gunked up. The foot switch needed to be cleaned and corrosion on the contacts addressed. I spent at least 2 hours scraping crud off the area around the starter, pedals and seat. There is still plenty to go but it looks a lot better. Then I re-mounted the starter and although I wanted to see if it would crank the engine, I resisted.

Next I checked the oil level. It was definitely low and the oil on the spill plug was a bit nasty. So I decided to drain a bit of oil and see what it looked like. Well, nothing came out. Not because it was completely out of oil, but because there was a black gooey mess clogging the drain. I poked through it and a bit of slimy oil dripped out. Looks like a moisture problem. Drat! Question is, was it caused by being left out in the open, or did it come from the cooling system?

I hesitate to even crank the engine enough to do a compression test. The right thing to do is probably to open the engine and clean everything out, but I'd rather not have to. Has anyone ever dealt with an engine with oil this bad and NOT opened it up?

(the first picture makes it look worse/dirtier than it is)
Attachments
oil1.jpg
oil1.jpg (24.12 KiB) Viewed 24524 times
oil2.jpg
oil2.jpg (23.63 KiB) Viewed 24524 times
oil3.jpg
oil3.jpg (27.59 KiB) Viewed 24524 times
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Re: 1946 John Deere Model A Tractor

Post by Martin Keller »

Hi Steve,

Get yourself five gallons of diesel fuel and poor it in with the drain plug in and fill it up. Let it sit for a day or two then pull the drain plug and let it flush out what ever is inside the engine. Then get some cheap oil and fill it up and hand turn the engine if you can for a couple of revaluations and then use the starter to turn it over for a minute or two then drain the oil and repeat the diesel and then the oil. This should get a lot of the crap that is inside to come loose and drain out with the diesel and cheap oil. I had to do this after digging out a D4 Cat that became stuck in mud due to a flash flood that filled a hole the size of a pool that the D4 was sitting in when I was down in Belize.
Biggest issue was getting all the silt out of the parts like the starter and generator. You might also want to check the gearbox and the differential for oil and that it is not full of gunk and dirt. While your at it you might want to flush the cooling system.
Boy I have to find my photos of the time down in Belize.
Hope this helps.
:drive
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Re: 1946 John Deere Model A Tractor

Post by Steve Simmons »

My only issue is that this thing takes a LOT of oil, so it's going to be expensive to flush. But I guess it's cheaper than an engine rebuild. 10 quarts in the engine (not too bad) and 7 GALLONS in the transmission!
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Re: 1946 John Deere Model A Tractor

Post by tannyo »

Use the cheap stuff. It's probably better than what you could get when the tractor was new.
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Re: 1946 John Deere Model A Tractor

Post by Martin Keller »

Hi Steve,
Here are the photos of my tractors that I have owned, Ford Farm Tractor 5M17B and Massey Fergison 283 and the work horse John Deer 2040. I wish I still had the Ford and the JD but sadly they were left and sold down in Belize.
John Deer 2040
John Deer 2040
WallieGoingUP4.JPG (56.21 KiB) Viewed 24507 times
Ford Farm Tractor 5M17B (Estate Mower / Tractor)
Ford Farm Tractor 5M17B (Estate Mower / Tractor)
MHK and Ford Tractor.JPG (44.19 KiB) Viewed 24507 times
Massey Fregison 283
Massey Fregison 283
MVC-035S.JPG (49.39 KiB) Viewed 24507 times
:drive
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Re: 1946 John Deere Model A Tractor

Post by VWNate1 »

SWEET !

We had a '37 JD 'A' Model and I forget what year 'B' Model in the 1960's , they were our Farm Tractors on the rural Dairy Farm I lived on back then .

These old rigs are near impossible to kill .

looking forward to watching you bring it back to life ~ ours was far worse than this one but it still ran O.K. and worked very hard indeed .
-Nate
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Re: 1946 John Deere Model A Tractor

Post by malcolmr18zoy »

As I said, ATF is the best flushing oil. I've seen a lot of engines as dirty as that, after sitting for years in bad conditions. If you drain out the oil and water mixture, and fill it with ATF, you can crank it, or even start it, and let it idle for a few minutes. The ATF will clean out the the engine quite well, without any damage.
Malcolm
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Re: 1946 John Deere Model A Tractor

Post by malcolmr18zoy »

As I said, ATF is the best flushing oil. I've seen a lot of engines as dirty as that, after sitting for years in bad conditions. If you drain out the oil and water mixture, and fill it with ATF, you can crank it, or even start it, and let it idle for a few minutes. The ATF will clean out the the engine quite well, without any damage.
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Re: 1946 John Deere Model A Tractor

Post by Steve Simmons »

Well as it turns out, I thought there were three drain plugs but there are four. I was draining the gearbox. So the sludge is in the gearbox and that doesn't bother me nearly as much. The oil drain was completely clogged as well, but poking through it allowed lots of nasty black oil to drain out. At this point I'm very happy to see anything in a liquid state. I'll run down and pick up a new oil filter tomorrow along with a barrel of ATF and crank the engine over on it. Then service the carburetor, replace the fuel lines and see if I get lucky.

Have you ever seen a collection of tools like this, all used to change the oil? :?
tools.jpg
tools.jpg (62.98 KiB) Viewed 24476 times
Taking the oil filter cap off revealed a sock-type filter inside, which did just what I was trying to avoid... fall out into a large vat of disgusting gooey oil and splash it everywhere (and on me). This will be replaced by a more modern paper filter. Check out those blobs of goo floating in the oil. :thumbs:
oilfilter.jpg
oilfilter.jpg (52.19 KiB) Viewed 24476 times
And in the "I couldn't help it" department, I just had to clean and paint one part on the tractor. Say hello to a restored oil filter cap. :pimp:
oilcap.jpg
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Re: 1946 John Deere Model A Tractor

Post by VWNate1 »

You know we expect you to drive it in the Labor Day Parade...... :D
-Nate
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Re: 1946 John Deere Model A Tractor

Post by Steve Simmons »

SUCCESS!!! I filled the sump with ATF, got a new battery and cleaned all the connections. Dean came by to lend a hand which was a great asset and he kept me on track. The engine cranked over with plugs out but there was no oil pressure. We removed the valve and crank covers and oiled everything, then blew compressed air through the system. Finally we got a clogged line cleared out (undoubtedly one last spot of oil goo) and oil started flowing. So we cranked it again and oil pressure came up to an acceptable level. The oil level in the sump was down from filling the filter and galleys, so I added some 30W to the ATF because it's what I had on hand. I'll let that brew in there for a bit to clean things out and then replace with the proper stuff.

It was then that we noticed the spark plug leads were arcing to the frame, so we knew the ignition system was already working. That was enough to push us onward and try to start the thing right there and then. The carburetor was completely clean inside, not even old varnished fuel in the bowl. The float and needle were moving smoothly so we closed it back up. The fuel tank had a couple spider webs in it but nothing bad so we flushed a bit of fuel through, decided it looked good and filled it up. Next we freed up some sticky pivots in the choke and throttle, then opened the fuel valve and gave it a go. Here's a video of what transpired over the next ten minutes...

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Re: 1946 John Deere Model A Tractor

Post by VWNate1 »

That's terrific ! .

It doesn't even smoke .
-Nate
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Re: 1946 John Deere Model A Tractor

Post by Martin Keller »

That is cool.
I liked the rats nest blowing out the exhaust pipe.
Now Mr. Kimball will be coming to visit you to see what crops you plan to plant at MG Acers :lol: .
So where is Arnold hiding and where is Mr and Miss Ziffel and Ralf and Alf and Mr. Haney.... :lol:

:drive
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Re: 1946 John Deere Model A Tractor

Post by Larry Kluss »

Nice work, Steve! It sounds good.
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Re: 1946 John Deere Model A Tractor

Post by Steve Simmons »

Today the tractor drove under its own power for the first time in who knows how long. Mind you it was only ten feet forward, three feet over, and ten feet back. But it was exciting nonetheless. :D

Now that it's running, it's time to get the cooling system in order. The radiator is full of leaves so it will need to come out for a proper cleaning. Getting things apart hasn't been too bad, thanks to the very dry climate it has lived its life in (San Joaquin Valley). After a lot of scrubbing, and a few bolts cut off, the body was removed along with the grill, steering shaft and fuel tanks. I also removed several unwanted appendages from the side of the hood, installed by the previous owner, and a bunch of crappy home-brewed wiring which will be replaced later on with the correct stuff.

The first project completed was to free up the radiator blinds. They now open and close reasonably well, but will be better once the radiator is fully out and cleaned. Someone had wedged a piece of a branch in there to lock them open, probably because of the hot climate up there.
Radiator blinds cleaned and unstuck.
Radiator blinds cleaned and unstuck.
radiator-blinds.jpg (77.97 KiB) Viewed 24305 times
Then the steering was opened up to find out why there is so much play. The answer was quite obvious, and will be repaired with a new bearing.
Damaged steering box bearing
Damaged steering box bearing
steering-bearing.jpg (92.41 KiB) Viewed 24305 times
Damaged steering box bearing
Damaged steering box bearing
steering.jpg (99.95 KiB) Viewed 24305 times
Damaged steering box bearing
Damaged steering box bearing
bearing.jpg (57.73 KiB) Viewed 24305 times
And that's as far as I got today. Hopefully I'll get the radiator out by the weekend, then get it tanked and tested. Probably a good time to buy a radiator cap too. ;)
tractor-bare.jpg
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Ural Solo Motos , old Honda 90 CC Tiddlers
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Re: 1946 John Deere Model A Tractor

Post by VWNate1 »

Looking good Steve ;

Will you be repairing and using the kerosene carby ? that's the reason the shutters are on the radiator.....
-Nate
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