Hi All,
Thanks in advance for your time! This is a long one...
I am the proud owner of a new to me '54 70 Gas, PS, Rollomatic, 6 speed with a single-acting PTO driven trip loader (says Farmhand on the tank). I have acquired the IT svc manual, the Deere owners & parts and PS manuals for it. This is my first tractor and its safe to say that I have contracted to green disease so I am sure it will not be an only child.
I discovered this site several weeks ago and have been lost down the rabbit hole since.
I have been unable to disengage the PTO (live) from the lever on the transmission or at the PTO clutch handle. I am in the middle of the initial fluids flush & fill. The 1st reduction, transmission, powertrol, PTO, and loader reservoir were milky/nasty. I understand the contaminated (and overfull) pto case oil can cause issues with the clutch plates.
I am midway through a complete fluid/filter flush, check-up, tinkering, etc.
My questions are:
1. does the PTO clutch/brake lever have a positive detent/action to it? Thinking of how the pulley clutch lever feels... I can pull up and push down on it but beyond the slop in the linkage there doesn't seem to be much travel and I can't feel any significant movement from inside the housing. (Other than the brake?) The PTO stays engaged all the time. How much should the lever move at the handle normally?
2. Is there a trick to releasing the small pto "shifter" next to the range selector? I have cranked on it pretty hard by hand but not with any tools. (Engine off) I am concerned about damaging the linkage etc if I try a wrench or cheater on it. Thoughts? I just want to be able to disengage the PTO when not using the loader...
3. Is there an oil level check plug on the 1st reduction cover? I see the drain and fill plugs but not a way to verify the oil level. Am I missing something? Manual says 1.5 qts of gear lube. If I can't verify the level with a plug am I safe to go 2-2.5 qts? I don't want to blow a seal etc...
4. The loader lift cylinders are quite long (8 ft? More?) The loader seems to lift crooked. Left side goes up first/stays higher than the right. The cylinders seals are leaking, does anyone have experience with these? There doesnt appear to be spanner holes or wrench flats on the seals (gland nuts?). Is there any way to identify the model/type of the loader? Just looking for some guidance on this... The loader bucket appears to have a smaller tined bucket inside of the larger outer bucket. Is this a common loader type for this vintage tractor?
5. Engine seems to run colder than I would expect. I can run for 15-45 min and the gauge won't climb off the bottom of the scale. Granted this is Minnesota in the middle of winter but I expected to see some temp on the gauge so, I tried a 40 gal garbage bag over the grills. After about 30-40 min running/driving I can get it to about 170 on the gauge but if I remove the bag (partially or fully) the temp begins to fall back off. Is it normal for these to run this cold? It looks like it is supposed to be a pressurized system. The rad cap gasket is pretty much nonexistent, I didnt think that would prevent warm-up. Anyone else have a similar issue?
6. How much play is considered normal / too much in the fanshaft? I can rock the fan back and forth a quite a bit; over 1 " at the blade tips... It is tight on the friction clutch though. Shluld I be worried about it?
7. I need to have the choke pulled out between 1/2-1" to make it run smoothly. If I push it in fully it will stall out at the lowest throttle setting and surge in varying amounts anywhere else... According to my research it should have a DTLX-82 carb. Should I be looking for anything special when I dig into it? I have not worked on a duplex before...
The auto fuel shut off was keeping my plug wires well moistureized so I figured that would be the safest thing to fix first lol. Now that the sediment bowl and fuel line area stays dry I figured I would be going into the carb next...
8. It looks like someone took a can opener to the nose to add an air stack and (well aged/cracked) precleaner. Were these factory options? Looks like a hack job...
9. Just because I am curious, did these come with a round or oval muffler? Mine is an oval, complete with 3 hold down bolts and a pop can rain cap. I have noticed on my few trips out that it is distracting looking through the "forest" on the front of the hood and I am wondering if a round muffler is easier to see around and what if any difference there is in the sound?
10. Question on spark plugs, it had loose and very black Champion D21s in it. None of the part #s listed in the book I have make sense to the guys at my local parts stores. I bought a new set of the D21s & had them find the closest thing to the Autolite 3116 (think I saw that referenced # in one of the archive posts) they sold me a pair of Champion D23s. Is there a common consensus on a good light load plug brand & # for the 70 engine?
Thank you again for hearing my (first) ramble of questions.
Carl
Thanks in advance for your time! This is a long one...
I am the proud owner of a new to me '54 70 Gas, PS, Rollomatic, 6 speed with a single-acting PTO driven trip loader (says Farmhand on the tank). I have acquired the IT svc manual, the Deere owners & parts and PS manuals for it. This is my first tractor and its safe to say that I have contracted to green disease so I am sure it will not be an only child.
I discovered this site several weeks ago and have been lost down the rabbit hole since.
I have been unable to disengage the PTO (live) from the lever on the transmission or at the PTO clutch handle. I am in the middle of the initial fluids flush & fill. The 1st reduction, transmission, powertrol, PTO, and loader reservoir were milky/nasty. I understand the contaminated (and overfull) pto case oil can cause issues with the clutch plates.
I am midway through a complete fluid/filter flush, check-up, tinkering, etc.
My questions are:
1. does the PTO clutch/brake lever have a positive detent/action to it? Thinking of how the pulley clutch lever feels... I can pull up and push down on it but beyond the slop in the linkage there doesn't seem to be much travel and I can't feel any significant movement from inside the housing. (Other than the brake?) The PTO stays engaged all the time. How much should the lever move at the handle normally?
2. Is there a trick to releasing the small pto "shifter" next to the range selector? I have cranked on it pretty hard by hand but not with any tools. (Engine off) I am concerned about damaging the linkage etc if I try a wrench or cheater on it. Thoughts? I just want to be able to disengage the PTO when not using the loader...
3. Is there an oil level check plug on the 1st reduction cover? I see the drain and fill plugs but not a way to verify the oil level. Am I missing something? Manual says 1.5 qts of gear lube. If I can't verify the level with a plug am I safe to go 2-2.5 qts? I don't want to blow a seal etc...
4. The loader lift cylinders are quite long (8 ft? More?) The loader seems to lift crooked. Left side goes up first/stays higher than the right. The cylinders seals are leaking, does anyone have experience with these? There doesnt appear to be spanner holes or wrench flats on the seals (gland nuts?). Is there any way to identify the model/type of the loader? Just looking for some guidance on this... The loader bucket appears to have a smaller tined bucket inside of the larger outer bucket. Is this a common loader type for this vintage tractor?
5. Engine seems to run colder than I would expect. I can run for 15-45 min and the gauge won't climb off the bottom of the scale. Granted this is Minnesota in the middle of winter but I expected to see some temp on the gauge so, I tried a 40 gal garbage bag over the grills. After about 30-40 min running/driving I can get it to about 170 on the gauge but if I remove the bag (partially or fully) the temp begins to fall back off. Is it normal for these to run this cold? It looks like it is supposed to be a pressurized system. The rad cap gasket is pretty much nonexistent, I didnt think that would prevent warm-up. Anyone else have a similar issue?
6. How much play is considered normal / too much in the fanshaft? I can rock the fan back and forth a quite a bit; over 1 " at the blade tips... It is tight on the friction clutch though. Shluld I be worried about it?
7. I need to have the choke pulled out between 1/2-1" to make it run smoothly. If I push it in fully it will stall out at the lowest throttle setting and surge in varying amounts anywhere else... According to my research it should have a DTLX-82 carb. Should I be looking for anything special when I dig into it? I have not worked on a duplex before...
The auto fuel shut off was keeping my plug wires well moistureized so I figured that would be the safest thing to fix first lol. Now that the sediment bowl and fuel line area stays dry I figured I would be going into the carb next...
8. It looks like someone took a can opener to the nose to add an air stack and (well aged/cracked) precleaner. Were these factory options? Looks like a hack job...
9. Just because I am curious, did these come with a round or oval muffler? Mine is an oval, complete with 3 hold down bolts and a pop can rain cap. I have noticed on my few trips out that it is distracting looking through the "forest" on the front of the hood and I am wondering if a round muffler is easier to see around and what if any difference there is in the sound?
10. Question on spark plugs, it had loose and very black Champion D21s in it. None of the part #s listed in the book I have make sense to the guys at my local parts stores. I bought a new set of the D21s & had them find the closest thing to the Autolite 3116 (think I saw that referenced # in one of the archive posts) they sold me a pair of Champion D23s. Is there a common consensus on a good light load plug brand & # for the 70 engine?
Thank you again for hearing my (first) ramble of questions.
Carl