New to restoration

MyJDA

New User
Hi all,
My neighbour just helped me drag my old JD A out of the machine shed. The tire man is coming to put a new rims on it. It had chloride in the tires and it rotted the rims. The motor is not seized but it has not been run in 30 years. My first instinct is to pull the head and clean it up before trying to start it. My neighbour says to pour diesel fuel in the cylinders and pull it with another tractor with the A in high gear and plugs out to loosen it up. Any advise on this? Is there anyway I could damage the motor buy just pulling it? Has anyone experience with this? Thanks!
 
Why would you put tires/ rims on it BEFORE you get it running ? Tires/rims are the LAST thing you need ! I have drove them around on cast centers and even bare rims before. If it has junk tires on there all the better to protect the rim.
If it is not stuck just remove the spark plugs and turn it over by hand on the flywheel to make sure it goes all the way around without binding. It it stops turning or gets hard then start investigating. I would not pull it in high gear right off the bat because if something is not right you can break things. turn it all over by hand first.
 
No to the diesel fuel it will do little or nothing. Fill the cylinders with ATF put the plug back in then pour as much ATF down the exhaust as you can till it leak some place. Then let it sit a week or so. Pull the plugs and spin it over. The ATF will clean up rust and free sticking rings and valves.

As for your term restore to truly do that one HAS to bring it back to what it was when brand new or it is not restored.

As for tires one needs to make it run before tires or you may find that to make it run will cost you a whole lot more then it is worth.
 
"[b:654c4848f0][i:654c4848f0]<font color="#6699ff">My neighbour says to pour diesel fuel in the cylinders and pull it with another tractor with the A in high gear and plugs out to loosen it up. Any advise on this?[/i:654c4848f0][/b:654c4848f0]</font>"

This would not be my first choice to "[i:654c4848f0]loosen it up[/i:654c4848f0]".

"[b:654c4848f0][i:654c4848f0]<font color="#6699ff">Is there anyway I could damage the motor buy just pulling it?[/i:654c4848f0][/b:654c4848f0]</font>"

Since "[i:654c4848f0]The motor is not seized[/i:654c4848f0]", then there is no reason to "[i:654c4848f0]pull it with another tractor[/i:654c4848f0]".

"[b:654c4848f0][i:654c4848f0]<font color="#6699ff">My first instinct is to pull the head and clean it up before trying to start it.[/i:654c4848f0][/b:654c4848f0]</font>"

Start the tractor as it was designed to start within the limits of what you are willing to spend.

Hope this helps.
 
Any tractor or for that matter any engine that has not been turned over or started in years needs to have some type of oil put in before one spins it over or your likely to break rings and maybe even cause other problems. Been doing stuck engines etc. for decades and I'll not spin one over till it has had a good ATF treatment
 

Before you attempt to start it, check for stuck valves. Remove the carb, pull the float bowl off and clean it up. Then take the cap off the mag or distributor and clean it up in there along with running a file through the points. Shine a light down into the gas tank before you pour gas in it. You probably won’t like what you see so be prepared to clean out the tank. If the tank is a mess and you want to start it just to see if it runs and has oil pressure, rig up a temporary tank with a rubber hose going to the carb. If it starts and runs OK, then it’s worth the effort to pull the hood and tank for a cleaning. This will give you a chance to remove the mouse nests from between the top of the tank and hood and patch the rust holes in the tank caused by the mouse P. Sometimes you can get lucky and just fire it right up without doing all this prep work but not often. I assume you are from Canada? The Canadian prairie provinces have a drier, friendlier climate for storing old tractors inside for a long time so you might get by easy. Diesel fuel in the cylinders is OK but not quite as good as ATF.
 

The way I see it... if you are willing to pull the head, you might as well do a full overhaul. Pull the crank, pistions, rods and even pull the cylinder block. Take it to your machine shop and they will get you right. Once you re-assemble it, you know that baby is RIGHT. And to be honest, it's an A... it's not that much work. Pretty small tractor and easy to work on.

If your not into all that... just try and crank it. You'll be surprized at how good old John Deere runs no matter how long it's been sitting. Check your fluids, new fuel, giver a shot.
 
Doctors have rule, first do no harm. This applies to old tractors as well. Rather than tearing into the head or other parts just on a whim, first do an assessment of the tractor. If it is not seized, check your compression by rolling it over by hand, if it is good there, no need to pull the head. Check your spark and then check your fuel system. If all these check out, put in some gas and see if it will start. If it does, that too will tell you if more work needs to be done and if so where. But do not just tear into an engine to see what is there. That has caused more tractors with good potential to turn into basket cases than can be counted. Assess the tractor and thenprioritize what needs to be done.
 
(quoted from post at 13:26:02 06/07/18) Hi all,
My neighbour just helped me drag my old JD A out of the machine shed. The tire man is coming to put a new rims on it. It had chloride in the tires and it rotted the rims. The motor is not seized but it has not been run in 30 years. My first instinct is to pull the head and clean it up before trying to start it. My neighbour says to pour diesel fuel in the cylinders and pull it with another tractor with the A in high gear and plugs out to loosen it up. Any advise on this? Is there anyway I could damage the motor buy just pulling it? Has anyone experience with this? Thanks!

Just curious, how's this coming along? Did you get it cranked up?
 

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