David Brown 885G update

We replaced the hydraulic filter (under the bottom of the tractor) and in the middle of where the filter goes is a bypass valve that is spring operated. It also has a magnet to pick up any small metal grindings from wear and tear. This thing was all gunked up and the bypass valve wasn't "bypassing". We drained the entire system and flushed everything with diesel fuel. Cleaned everything up and replaced the filter and hydraulic fluid fresh. Everything works like a charm now.

One new "problem" of sorts...when the tractor is first started, there is some clunking in the bottom end of the engine for about 1-2 seconds and then it goes away. Mike (the seller of the tractor) thought it might be a bearing because once the tractor heats up, the oil pressure drops to about 20 PSI (assuming, of course the old gauge is accurate to begin with).

We pulled the pan and sure enough, the front main thrust bearing had worn away, or fell out (it's a little, half cirlce bearing that fits into a rather narrow and shallow channel in the side of the front and rear main caps) and the crank was moving back and forth a slight amount. It has worn into the side of the cap to the point one of two things needs to happen. A new cap needs to found and bought, or a machinist needs to build the area up and machine it back to correct shape. New bearings are coming as well. Mike is going to have this work done for me, and there is no extra charge for any of it.

I almost feel sorry for Mike...this tractor ended up costing him more than he intended to put into it, and although I have already paid for it, he still insists on doing these things so that it's "right" when I finally get to take it home. He has already spent a fair amount of the money I paid for it to fix some things up. All I can say is it sure is good to find an honest, hardworking guy these days that's willing to do what it takes to make things right. If/when I need another tractor or other implements, or any type of work on the tractor, Mike will definitely get my business.

I wondered about the surface area of the thrust bearings (based on my own experience building car engines over the years), but I didn't say anything to Mike since I know zero about tractor engines at this point. So far he has proven his knowledge on just about everything that I've seen him work on, so I figured he knew what he was talking about.

I suspect he will end up using the factory type thrust bearings. The only question is do we replace the cap or have this one built up and machined as you did.

Actually, for me it doens't matter, Mike is the one dealing with it and it's not costing me anything, so I personally don't have a preference as to which method he uses, I just want my tractor ;-)

Thanks for the input.

As it stands, Mike and the machinist have an idea of milling the caps so they will accept bearings that have the thrust bearing part built onto the main bearing as one unit (very much like a lot of other bearings have) and using those instead of the factory two-piece units. Mike and the machinist seem to think this really won't be a problem as long as everything is within spec tolerances for fit and gap in the bearings and the crank. It seems plausible and considering the function of the thrust bearings and how everything fits together, I too think this would probably work (but I am not an expert so...)

Parts source on the other hand, would be a welcome thing.

Thanks