Whatis the torque to tighten the Super A pan plug?

Claven2 · Aug 24, 2015

Doing an oil change on this beast for first time. Got all the info I needed, except, what is the torque you use on the pan plug?

also, the replacement copper gasket I got from NAPA fits, but is a solid copper gasket. The one that came out was a hollow crush type copper gasket. Does this matter? Well the solid one work OK? The NAPA guy said it should be fine.

I'm going to drop the pan and re-gasket at the same time. Have the new cork gasket and know the not over-tighten the pan bolts. Light snug with a 1/4" stub ratchet, or about 10 ft-lbs.

DeltaRed · Aug 24, 2015

Good and snug with a 12" crescent."torque" on a drain plug???Cant immigine anyone ever useing a torque wrench to do an oil
change.

cool hand · Aug 24, 2015

No torque wrench needed. Just, like the old Deutsch neighbor might have said, "gutenteit.")

DeltaRed · Aug 24, 2015

Do you have the manuals? If not,get them! Without a doubt the CHEAPEST thing you will EVER buy for your 'new' tractor.

Claven2 · Aug 24, 2015

(quoted from post at 20:39:51 08/24/15) Do you have the manuals? If not,get them! Without a doubt the CHEAPEST thing you will EVER buy for your 'new' tractor.

I have the owners, service and parts manuals - yes. The manual just says 'replace the drain plug' - not terribly prescriptive.

I just want to know if the solid copper washer will seal reasonably well and whether this plug is prone to stripping the pan threads like the pan mounting bolts are known for stripping easily.

gene bender · Aug 24, 2015

Be sure to put the four long bolts in their proper place

riverbend · Aug 24, 2015

The solid copper washer will work fine. Next time you do an oil change heat the washer red hot with a propane torch and
let it cool. It will work as good as new again. Just get the drain plug tight. You don't need to test your strength on
it and you don't want it falling out. You will feel it when it is right.

Greg

jeffcat · Aug 24, 2015

On my CUB I put on brand new nylon rings from NAPA. Oil pan and hydraulic plugs. As far as how tight, hummmmm. Doing a few tourqe INCHES is enough. Take it all of the way up till the nut and rings touch and stop. This means JUST with your finger tips. Then take it maybe 1/8 or 1/4 turn more. Just enough to sqweeeeze the ring a little. Never had any fall out yet. Remember you are the one who will strip it out if you go crazy. Yup the pan bolts only are like 10 inch pounds. Yup very little. When you get the pan off do yourself a big favor. Use a straight edge square or the back of a full size hand saw and check the pan for straightness. GENTLEY tap NO hit TAP any little bends to make everything straight again. Remember.......tap tap tap only cause you do not want to stretch the metal any more than possible. Ask these guys what sealer they would use on the pan gasket. Sound OK guys?

Claven2 · Aug 25, 2015

(quoted from post at 00:55:23 08/25/15) On my CUB I put on brand new nylon rings from NAPA. Oil pan and hydraulic plugs. As far as how tight, hummmmm. Doing a few tourqe INCHES is enough. Take it all of the way up till the nut and rings touch and stop. This means JUST with your finger tips. Then take it maybe 1/8 or 1/4 turn more. Just enough to sqweeeeze the ring a little. Never had any fall out yet. Remember you are the one who will strip it out if you go crazy. Yup the pan bolts only are like 10 inch pounds. Yup very little. When you get the pan off do yourself a big favor. Use a straight edge square or the back of a full size hand saw and check the pan for straightness. GENTLEY tap NO hit TAP any little bends to make everything straight again. Remember.......tap tap tap only cause you do not want to stretch the metal any more than possible. Ask these guys what sealer they would use on the pan gasket. Sound OK guys?

A lot gf guys use grease or nothing at all, I was going to use Permatex No.2.

Dan Richardson · Aug 25, 2015

Finger tight plus 1/4 turn. That's if you put it together right the first time.

Claven2 · Aug 25, 2015

(quoted from post at 09:04:56 08/25/15) Finger tight plus 1/4 turn. That's if you put it together right the first time.

The reason I'm dropping it is twofold:

1) There is likely old sludge built up inside the bottom of the pan I'd like to remove and;
2) There are some significant dents in the bottom of the pan and I want to verify they are not interfering with the oil pump and possibly to pound them back out a little.

Can I reasonably pound dents out of a pan bottom without worrying about bending, twisting or cracking the pan? Of if it's not interfering with the pump, should I leave well enough alone and just re-install without working the metal?

denglish · Aug 25, 2015

I have a Super A and have been thinking about dropping the pan to have a look at the pump screen. Please let me know how the reassembly goes and how the screen looks and if you clean it.

Claven2 · Aug 25, 2015

(quoted from post at 12:54:43 08/25/15)
I have a Super A and have been thinking about dropping the pan to have a look at the pump screen. Please let me know how the reassembly goes and how the screen looks and if you clean it.

I'll try to get at it on the weekend and will post some pics

Nebraska Kirk · Aug 25, 2015

A lot gf guys use grease or nothing at all, I was going to use Permatex No.2.

Permatex #2 is a good choice, forget the grease.

DeltaRed · Aug 25, 2015

Yes,you can safely pound out the pan.It's just soft 'tin'
(sheet metal).If for some reason you should get a crack,just braze it shut. BTDT

Claven2 · Aug 28, 2015

Got the pan dropped and the dents in the pan pounded out to "good enough".

Here's the oil pump screen as I found it, since you asked

There was lots of semi-congealed sludge in the very bottom of the pan, but only a little sludge in the screen. I cleaned out what I could get at and put it back together. What little is left will get sucked up to the filter soon enough

banneredinboston · Aug 29, 2015

(quoted from post at 17:22:10 08/24/15) Doing an oil change on this beast for first time. Got all the info I needed, except, what is the torque you use on the pan plug?

also, the replacement copper gasket I got from NAPA fits, but is a solid copper gasket. The one that came out was a hollow crush type copper gasket. Does this matter? Well the solid one work OK? The NAPA guy said it should be fine.

I'm going to drop the pan and re-gasket at the same time. Have the new cork gasket and know the not over-tighten the pan bolts. Light snug with a 1/4" stub ratchet, or about 10 ft-lbs.

bass · Aug 29, 2015

(quoted from post at 17:36:49 08/24/15) No torque wrench needed. Just, like the old Deutsch neighbor might have said, "gutenteit.")

ya, dos ists goot

Claven2 · Aug 29, 2015

Fluids change progressing.

Got the pan off, and the dent beat out (well enough). Pluge re-installed. Pulled the valve cover gasket to check things and tore the old petrified gasket (damn). Ran to local Case dealer and bought the last gasket in stock in Ontario (really!).

Glad I pulled the valve cover before dumping in oil as I found a stuck valve and a bent push rod. Got the push rod true again in the arbor press and after soaking an hour in PB blaster, I got the valve to free up and close. Used the hand crank to rotate the cam a dozen or more times and the valve is moving freely again.

Had a LOT of cleaning to do to the underside of the valve cover, it was gooped in brown sludge. Put it all back together with some Permatex No.2 on the cover gasket and poured the oil in until it dribbled out the upper test-cock.

So the oil change is done - hurray! I had already changed the filter for one from WIX earlier in the week.

I also did the tranny fluid, which was easy and I did my new "least favorite" Super A job - dropped the final drive pans for new gear oil in the drives. Yuck. Messiest, most uncomfortable lay-on-your-back-and-get-dirty job EVER. Glad I did it though, I believe nobody had changed the drive oil since 1952 (and I now know why - gosh my neck is stiff!). The ancient paper gaskets were fossilized and all that remained in the pans was about 1/8" of oily sludge in the bottom of the pans. The drive gears were OK, but might not have fared well for much longer if I'd not done this. They were barely touching the oily sludge. To get the plugs out, I had to work for 20 minutes with a cold chisel to get the hardened goop out of the fill plug sockets - that's how long it had been since it had been topped off.

I also rebuilt the fuel strainer (stopped it from leaking), new in-line fuel filter, newly rebuilt Zenith carb (to replace the crappy Carter that was on it), and new exhaust system including manifold.

I still have to do the steering gear housing gear oil change and the hydraulic fluid change - perhaps tomorrow.

This "quick fix" to run my small brush hog is turning out to be a lot of up-front work (!). But better to baseline the machine for another 50+ years of trouble-free operation.

denglish · Aug 31, 2015

I'm enjoying your reports as I have a 1953 Super A that was gifted to me this summer. I got it home a few weeks ago. I had to fix the 12V charging system and some other small stuff before it would run and now I am going through the lubrication as you have described. My next task is to change the final drive oil. Your post made me look forward to that job even more!

Thanks for the photo of the pump screen. I will probably go there on my tractor this winter.

denglish · Aug 31, 2015

Also, I have a 1/4 turn of slop in my steering box. I'd be interested in knowing what you have and if you decide to do anything about it.

Claven2 · Aug 31, 2015

(quoted from post at 14:08:05 08/31/15)
Also, I have a 1/4 turn of slop in my steering box. I'd be interested in knowing what you have and if you decide to do anything about it.

I have almost no play in my steering box, nothing really measurable, but it looks like that was rebuilt at some point. The original leather seal is no longer installed, it has a more modern seal with a metal casing and rubber-like internals.

denglish · Sep 1, 2015

That's a good deal on the steering. I can tell from your photos that your Super A has seen much better care than the one I inherited. They're tough little tractors though. I'm hoping to get mine into good working condition. It has the single point fast hitch and the cultivator bar and I have a disc, a sprayer, some sort of leveling blade, bottom plow and cultivators for it so I'd like to put it to work next year.

Claven2 · Sep 1, 2015

(quoted from post at 10:44:05 09/01/15)
That's a good deal on the steering. I can tell from your photos that your Super A has seen much better care than the one I inherited. They're tough little tractors though. I'm hoping to get mine into good working condition. It has the single point fast hitch and the cultivator bar and I have a disc, a sprayer, some sort of leveling blade, bottom plow and cultivators for it so I'd like to put it to work next year.

That's a good blend of attachments. I wish I had a fasthitch setup. Instead, I'm converting from drawbar to Worksaver 3 point.

Whatis the torque to tighten the Super A pan plug?

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