(Tractor) Starter Project (Page 2): Great repair job. I wouldn't have had a clue about what to do for a fix.

black mamba

Great repair job. I wouldn't have had a clue about what to do for a fix.

Mr. B Loc: eastern Connecticut

JBRIII wrote:

There are special bits for starting holes that don't wander. They come in sets of different sizes and are pretty inexpensive. Can't remember proper name. I just wished I'd remember them when I'm in your situation.
Check tools for milling, etc. They have a very different tip and short cutting length so not good for drilling a deep hole, but great for starting one. HarborFreight may sell them.

They're called center drill bits. But you need to start any hole in with a relatively flat surface and a center punch if you're freehand drilling. Center drill bits are designed for use in a lathe, miller or press. That's why they have a large diameter shank. And in those tools, with the workpiece firmly clamped in place, you can forego the center punch.

bcheary Loc: Jacksonville, FL

KTJohnson wrote:

I use my tractor with mower to cut the grass around the perimeter of our property so it is easier to walk the dogs (1.1 mile total). After mowing I parked it by my workshop.

A week or so later I tried to use it, turned the key and nothing happened. I mean nothing, no click, or any other sound at all. Charged the battery but it was really old so I decided to get a new one to be ready for winter (almost $200). Hooked it up, turned the key ... nothing again. Tested the battery & it was charged. Replaced start switch ... nothing. Replaced solenoid ... nothing. I really didn't need it yet, so it just sat there for over a month.

A friend of mine came over & we finally determined the problem was the starter (weighs 26 pounds). Took the end plate off & also noticed the post was quite loose, also very oily and dirty inside. The tractor is a 1958 and I already had this starter rebuilt once. Took it to the place that rebuilt it before (35 miles away) and found out they don't do that anymore.

Checked online. Not much help. Amazon had a company in Minnesota that had the one I needed for $273.

I'm cheap, so I finally tore the whole thing apart & discovered a small piece broke off the end of a metal bar coming from the field on one side. So I trimmed the end of the metal bar & drilled a hole in the end of it. Not easy, the drill kept wandering. I finally wedged a bar under it so I could center-punch it. Finally drilled the hole though. Then I had to tap it for threads ... that took some doing.

Cut up a piece of inner-tube for an insulator on both sides of that post. The post goes through a square spacer on the casing. That square spacer is only about a 1/2 inch square and the original piece was quite damaged. Looked around for a non-conductive replacement & found just the thing on a leg of something. Cut and ground that small piece to fit, then drilled a hole in the middle of it and then filed it to a square hole to fit the post.

Cleaned it all up, put it back together & hoped for the best.

Works like a charm. $0.oo money spent ... maybe about 3-5 hours work. And satisfaction! Used the phone as my hands were very dirty & oily/greasy during all of this.

I use my tractor with mower to cut the grass aroun... (show quote)

Patience an perseverance paid off! Well done.

littlebug Loc: woburn ma

You proved that farmers have to be a jack of all trades, not only mechanics ,but I loved the common sense parts .
Like the old farmer says " boy you don't need a college degree ,just a little common sense " .

FL Streetrodder

Kim, I like your ingenuity and skill in making your own repair to the starter motor. The photos do an excellent job of explaining the repair process. As a broke teenager I was lucky enough to have older friends who knew how to repair starter motors rather than buy new ones and kept my Pontiacs on the road! I like the way you mounted a Ford style relay directly to the starter motor. I currently use such a relay mounted to the firewall of my streetrod to supply voltage to my starter motor.

bikinkawboy Loc: north central Missouri

We used to have an 801b, diesel, tricycle front end and the Case-O-Matic drive (torque converter that locked up for direct drive). Those old style diesels didn’t like to start in cold weather, meaning it hardly ever pushed snow in the winter time because it wouldn’t start. And the non-swinging lift arms with the Eagle Claw contraption, and having to bolt the cast iron top link connector over the pto shaft meant no using 3 point hitch pto driven implements unless you modified the top link to fit the afterthought auxiliary top link on the tractor. Thank goodness for later standardized 3-point hitches. I see you are using that top link, requiring the length of chain on the mower so you can pick it up. The 4 cylinder engine vibrated fiercely at anything over 1400 rpm although it was very easy on fuel.

Dad bought a new New Holland 3-point mower and there was absolutely no way to attach it to the Case or old 2-cylinder John Deere’s so he bought a used Oliver tractor. It was loud but the 6 cylinder engine was smooth and it was everything the Case and JDs weren’t. That’s why everything I own now is Oliver or White.

I like your style, reminds me of myself. Like when I needed a specialized oil cooler fitting for my old Kawasaki bike. Impossible to find, I whittled a wooden blank, use a metal 5-gallon bucket and clay flower pot to make a kiln, make my own casting sand, melted down garage door frames, poured it and machined it on my wood lathe. That was 60,000 miles ago, meaning I was successful.

srg

KTJohnson wrote:

I use my tractor with mower to cut the grass around the perimeter of our property so it is easier to walk the dogs (1.1 mile total). After mowing I parked it by my workshop.

A week or so later I tried to use it, turned the key and nothing happened. I mean nothing, no click, or any other sound at all. Charged the battery but it was really old so I decided to get a new one to be ready for winter (almost $200). Hooked it up, turned the key ... nothing again. Tested the battery & it was charged. Replaced start switch ... nothing. Replaced solenoid ... nothing. I really didn't need it yet, so it just sat there for over a month.

A friend of mine came over & we finally determined the problem was the starter (weighs 26 pounds). Took the end plate off & also noticed the post was quite loose, also very oily and dirty inside. The tractor is a 1958 and I already had this starter rebuilt once. Took it to the place that rebuilt it before (35 miles away) and found out they don't do that anymore.

Checked online. Not much help. Amazon had a company in Minnesota that had the one I needed for $273.

I'm cheap, so I finally tore the whole thing apart & discovered a small piece broke off the end of a metal bar coming from the field on one side. So I trimmed the end of the metal bar & drilled a hole in the end of it. Not easy, the drill kept wandering. I finally wedged a bar under it so I could center-punch it. Finally drilled the hole though. Then I had to tap it for threads ... that took some doing.

Cut up a piece of inner-tube for an insulator on both sides of that post. The post goes through a square spacer on the casing. That square spacer is only about a 1/2 inch square and the original piece was quite damaged. Looked around for a non-conductive replacement & found just the thing on a leg of something. Cut and ground that small piece to fit, then drilled a hole in the middle of it and then filed it to a square hole to fit the post.

Cleaned it all up, put it back together & hoped for the best.

Works like a charm. $0.oo money spent ... maybe about 3-5 hours work. And satisfaction! Used the phone as my hands were very dirty & oily/greasy during all of this.

I use my tractor with mower to cut the grass aroun... (show quote)

UTMike Loc: South Jordan, UT

Way to go, Kim! Thanks for sharing.

home brewer Loc: Fort Wayne, Indiana

well done. it is nice when it works out

Stevey

Case made some good tractors!

jaymatt Loc: Alexandria, Indiana

Don W-37 Loc: Bangkok, Thailand

KT, Great story, and good photos to boot! Always love your car pix. Keep posting. Cheers, Don, Bangkok

Verticalviking Loc: Oahu, Hawaii

I'm hard-pressed to find a man these days that changes his own oil, much less has the determination and ingenuity to fix a tractor. They don't make them like they used to. (Tractors AND men.) Good job, Dad.

topcat Loc: Alameda, CA

I really like your mindset. Congratulations on a job well done.
And good documentation.