D grader air cleaner question

Hi guys,

This is my first time posting here so hopefully this comes out the way I want.
I just bought a '58 D grader s/n 5334 with a 12' blade. It had low compression on one cylinder when I bought it which turned out to be a stuck valve and a bent pushrod. Got it freed up and straightened out the pushrod and it runs like a top. I took a bunch of shims out of the circle and all the ball joints, got the hydraulic brakes working, changed all the oil, and did a bunch of other tinkering with on it. My brother who is a real grader operator and I played with it a little on the driveway and he was impressed and the more I mess with it the more I like it. Near as I can tell, the only options this machine doesn't have are power steering and low range transmission.
My question is: where is the oil level supposed to be in the air cleaner? There is some lettering on the rim of the baffle that says something like "Caution, oil must be filled to top of center --ak." What's the last word? Is it supposed to be filled to the top of the pin in the center? I have the operators, service and parts manuals but they aren"t very helpful on this.

Also does anyone have a spare pushrod or know where I could get just one instead of a whole set? MinnPar wants $40+ for one. I also need scarifier shanks.

Thanks!

You can get a push rod from a WD tractor, in a junkyard. Ot if it ain't bent too bad, hammer it gently till it rolls evenly across a pane of glass, or other flat surface. While you are in the junkyard, pull a WD air cleaner oil cup, and see what it says in there. My guess is your oil level is a little high, not much.

If I remember right the oil level goes up to the top of that little nib in the center but I would have to pull the air cleaner open on one of my tractor so make sure

HI, fill to the top of center pin. Nice grader ,good luck.
Dan

A nice looking D grader with lots of the options. I have a parts book for s/n's 5425 and up and they do not show power steering as an option. It looks as if it has not been abused as every one that I have seen so far has had some welding done and in some cases reinforcing added to repair cracks in the pipe frame. The step down auxiliary transmission would be nice as they are geared a little fast. I have added power steering to mine and I can steer it with one finger even when it is not moving. As others have said, fill the air cleaner to the height of the pin. The engine is the same one as used in the WD45 and D17 farm tractors so used parts should be easy to aquire.

Thanks guys! I'll fill it to the top of the pin. I suspected that might be the case but wanted to make sure before I did it in case it was too much and sucked the oil into the intake.
DonBC, I've read about your power steering setup and at some point I will go in that direction but probably all-hydraulic depending on what parts I can get cheap. This machine was ex-city and I don't think it got a lot of use, but it didn't get much love. None of the shims had been removed from the circle and ball joints and the steering gear had never been adjusted so it's in tough shape. There is one reinforcement on the tube frame on the other side in front of the scarifier cylinder but that's it. The engine I don't think is original but it seems pretty fresh. Starts easy cold and runs great and oil pressure is good. Now I'm just waiting for a little rain to go play on the driveway.