1954 Ford NAA Jubilee died need help

Hello, I have my dad's Ford NAA Jubilee for a while and trying to figure out what just happened to it... The tractor has been sitting on our property in TN since my dad bought it several years ago... A couple years ago someone broke into our garage we built for storing the tractor and stole it... It was gone for 2 years but this summer the police found it and dad got it back. He didn't want to leave it sitting on the property to get stolen again so I brought it home to MI to use it for pushing snow for the winter since he has no use or place to store it where he lives in FL...

The tractor has had no problem starting up until now... Pull the choke push the starter button it fires right up no problems. Well I get it back to MI and find out that the sluggish hydraulics are even worse in freezing temperatures which we rarely had in TN any time we we're using it down there... I checked the hydraulic fluid and they looked like baby poo. So I drained them and refilled them. Hydraulics worked good til I parked it, went out the next time and they wouldn't work even after letting it run half an hour or so to warm up... Pull the dipstick fluids look crappy again, Ok so maybe it's a shared sump with the transmission... Look at trans fluids yup crappy... Drain both reservoirs and refill... Put air in through the dipstick to pressurize the system and get hydraulic pump primed... Everything works good.

So now that it's working I decided to take it for a drive out back... I knew I had not closed the windows on my hunting blind for the year yet so drove out to do that instead of walking... Tractor idles fine while I'm doing that, get back on it and decided I would use the blade to knock down weeds to make a nicer walkway to get back there, lowered the blade but kept it just above dirt so I wouldn't be dragging dirt.. drove back towards house, get to edge of the yard and the whole front end of the tractor shakes like crazy and stalls out. It shook hard enough that the wire to the alternator pulled out of the connector. I push the wire back in figuring I'll address that with a proper wire/connector later.... Try starting the tractor and it just cranks nonstop without trying to fire.

I added more gas because I know when the gas gets to a certain point it doesn't feed right even though you can still see gas in the tank... Not the issue.... The fan is spinning so it's turning over fine... I decided to pull the distributor cap off and turned it over and the rotor does not move.

I pulled the distributor out and the gear looks fine, and what I can see in the distributor hole looks fine... But I think this has to be the problem no spark because the distributor doesn't turn. So now I'm looking for guidance to what I need to do next...my thought is it had to have broke a timing gears or something otherwise the distributor would turn... What should I do next... Pull the oil pan to look for broken parts?
 
The gear on the distributor is held on with a pin. Did the pin shear?
That could let the gear turn without the rotor turning.

What part of Michigan are you in? I'm in Ionia County.
 

The shaking sounds catastrophic to me. Try removing the plugs and checking with a screw driver for the pistons coming up to top. If they are all coming up, check compression.
 

I'm between Charlotte and Eaton Rapids.

I checked the distributor gear, grabbed the end of the shaft that turns the oil pump with a pair of pliers then tried turning the distributor gear to see if the pin sheared, doesn't seem to have because I can't turn it without turning the whole shaft.

I took a screw driver and was able to turn the oil pump freely (my father in law thought maybe it was binding up could have sheared the pin in the distributor too).

I decided to say the heck with timing and decided to crank the engine over while the distributor was out... The gear that should drive the distributor did not move while the fan was spinning, so to me that means the cam is not moving when the crank moves, so I'm thinking whichever gear is driven off the crank to drive the cam is broke.

Can you access the cam to replace gears without pulling the engine? It sounds like no fun trying to pull the engine, I probably don't have adequate tools here to remove the front end (cherry picker... I would have to try and block the tractor up and use a chain fall from the rafters to try and pull the front end off if I have to)... Would probably be a better/safer bet for me to haul it up to my father in laws up in the thumb but he usually has enough of his own projects going on in his shop so I don't really want to drop this on him if I can get to the cam with it in the tractor?
 
It is time to put a jack under the transmission, take off the hood, radiator, front axle and support and replace the timing gears .BTDT
 
From your description, I'd have to agree with Wayne.
It's not that bad of a job with the right tools.
Shoot me an email, maybe we can work out a weekend
to do at my place. I have a heated shop and some spare
parts around if needed too.
 

Hey guys, first chance I've had to do anything with the tractor this morning. I have pulled the hood, radiator, fan, and broke all of the bolts loose for the timing cover but looking like I need to split the axle apart before I can go any farther. Once I got the hood off it doesn't seem quite so big of a deal to split the axle off, so I think I will go ahead and try.

One question I have right now is it looks like the rod that comes forward from the carb the arm that runs down and goes in the side by the crank will need to come off. I don't find any cotter pins or anything holding it in place, does this just pry off? I don't want to get forceful and break it.

I think I've probably scraped five pounds of grease and oil off so far to get to the bolts. Not sure if that means it's got a bad gasket someplace or if it's just 70 years of accumulation.
 

Thanks for the offer Royse, I'm going to see if I can manage checking a couple of the easier things first but will keep it in mind if I get in above my head.



Trying to post pictures but not figuring it out from my phone
 
Tractor trivia:

Your 1954 ford is simply an NAA

Only the 1953 is the [b:c77195df48]Jubilee[/b:c77195df48] NAA

I have one as well. :)
 
You're welcome rininger85. They're fun to figure out and learn about.
If you do need a hand, give me a shout. We're less than an hour apart.
Obviously all the folks on this board will help long distance as well.
 
Rin,

Now all you have to do it call your tractor an NAA
and everyone here instantly knows it's a '54 !

If you said NAA Jubilee it would be a toss up

Good thing you threw in the "1954" to cinch the matter. :p

T
 
One question I have right now is it looks like the rod that comes forward from the carb the arm that runs down and goes in the side by the crank will need to come off. I don't find any cotter pins or anything holding it in place, does this just pry off?

The rod has a spring loaded cap, just push away from the rod to remove it from the ball on the throttle arm.

mvphoto10595.jpg
 
Hey guys unfortunately I haven't had a chance to make any progress on this. I'm hoping to get back to it... Where I'm stuck right now is I can't seem to figure out how to get the timing cover off. I just realized looking at pictures I may need to drop two bolts out of the oil pan that appear to attach to the timing cover, but I was thinking I would have to take the axle off and then pull the pulley off the crankshaft before I could pull the timing cover off but just talking to my dad as he looks at the book it sounds like some had a two piece cover and others had a one piece cover. Sounds like the difference is 4 bolts vs 5 bolts but counting holes I've taken dozens of bolts out of the cover so not sure which 4v5 bolts they are talking about. Does anyone have a picture of which bolts or where the cover splits if it is a 2 piece cover? Do I really need to take the axle off to get the crankshaft pulley off of it's a one piece cover?

Thanks!
 
(quoted from post at 21:30:15 02/11/18) Rin,

Now all you have to do it call your tractor an NAA
and everyone here instantly knows it's a '54 !

If you said NAA Jubilee it would be a toss up

Good thing you threw in the "1954" to cinch the matter. :p

T

I thought the 53 was the "Golden Jubilee", 54 is just "Jubilee" because it doesn't have the gold badge on the front but still has grey/silver badge...?
 
"I thought the 53 was the "Golden Jubilee", 54 is just "Jubilee""

Both are model NAA. The '53 was the "Golden Jubilee" to celebrate
Ford's 50th anniversary. The '54 was not a "Jubilee" at all. Just an NAA.
Same tractors either way, with minor differences on the early '53's.
 
Bad news. I got the cover off the timing gear finally. Shattered gear. Worse news, there is a crack in the cam shaft at the back of the woodruff key slot that goes back to the cam bearing. Plus broke the cam bearing thrust plate (?) And front of woodruff key slot has two cracks, small piece of metal I can move by hand.

Looking like this old girl might be in for a total overhaul since the cam shaft probably needs replaced.
 

Case dealerships handle Ford tractor work now right? I don't know if I want to tackle a full rebuild with everything else I have going on this summer seems how it took me so long just to get this torn apart to see what was wrong with it.
 
Pictures must be too big I resized now they seem to work...

My initial disgust...
mvphoto18707.jpg


Broken thrust plate (?)
mvphoto18708.jpg


Gear removed
mvphoto18709.jpg


Thrust plate remove, two cracks at front of woodruff slot, one at back goes back towards cam bearing
mvphoto18710.jpg


Missing a couple teeth on crankshaft
mvphoto18711.jpg
 
(quoted from post at 09:58:23 06/23/18)
Case dealerships handle Ford tractor work now right? I don't know if I want to tackle a full rebuild with everything else I have going on this summer seems how it took me so long just to get this torn apart to see what was wrong with it.

I would not take something old like that to a dealer.
 
Where are you located rininger85?
I have a NAA engine that was running but had a bad crank so it
knocked badly. Crank, pistons and head have been removed but
the camshaft and gears are still in it. I haven't inspected them yet,
but if you're close to me I could pull them and see if they'd work
for you. I'm in Michigan.
 

Royse I'm in Eaton Rapids / Charlotte area, just south of Lansing so I'm probably within an hour of Ionia. If you can take a look and see if they are still in good shape I'd gladly work something out to come buy them from you.

I am a little I'll equipped to work on this sort of stuff at home. It took me this long because I was worried about doing something stupid and getting hurt since I don't have proper equipment to use for lifting this old girl... Just about lost her off the jack today when I was trying to put the axle back on for safety once I got the pull I needed off the front. Got her blocked up better now so hopefully won't have that issue again. Pulled the fuel tank off so I can get to the top of the engine and have the oil pan off. Looks good other than the front of the cam issues from what I'm seeing.

Is there a way to remove the cam without completely breaking the engine down or do I need to pull the crank to get the cam out? Easiest to just pull the engine out and work on a bench?
 
Yes, you're within an hour of my house, give or take a couple minutes.
To me, it's easiest to put it on an engine stand and work on it.
I'm not saying it can't be done otherwise, just easier for me.
I'll get that engine out of the shed and take a look, I need another part
off it anyways, but it may take me a couple weeks with the 4th coming up.
 
Well, it was a good thought, and it might have been good since the
block still had oil and antifreeze in it, but I broke it pulling the gear.

18957.jpg
 

Oops! Oh well, we can get one elsewhere. Is that thrust plate still in good shape that I could buy that off you? My dad is finding gears and a cam we can get online but not finding the thrust plate.
 
(quoted from post at 16:25:02 07/07/18)
Oops! Oh well, we can get one elsewhere. Is that thrust plate still in good shape that I could buy that off you? My dad is finding gears and a cam we can get online but not finding the thrust plate.
Thrust plate is good and I’m pretty sure I have a new cam gear here as well.
 
(quoted from post at 17:51:44 07/07/18)
(quoted from post at 16:25:02 07/07/18)
Oops! Oh well, we can get one elsewhere. Is that thrust plate still in good shape that I could buy that off you? My dad is finding gears and a cam we can get online but not finding the thrust plate.
Thrust plate is good and I’m pretty sure I have a new cam gear here as well.
I got that cam gear out and looked, it is not for a NAA so it won't help you.
 
Still wondering what the Culprit was & what else might have came apart to create this mess. :?: Valvetrain :?: loose bolt :?: those gears did'nt break on their own. look closely! :shock: Definitely pull that oil pan before you put that thing back in service if you have'nt already! Basic Gasket sets are cheap (online)..:lol: :twisted: Keep us posted!
 

Not sure what caused the issue or if I'll be able to figure that out... I haven't came across anything suspicious other than the broken parts that I mentioned.

Royse was generous in offering me the cam thrust plate all I had to do was drive over and get it, unfortunately it's been a crazy busy summer and I haven't had a chance to. I've collected all of the other new parts that I needed except for the cam thrust plate and had been intending to go visit Royse to get it, but after not being able to make time to go there all summer I decided to just buy one online... so I start looking and found a UF17381 part number that replaces EAA6269B thrust plate... only problem was by the time you pay shipping they want $85 for a 3" chunk of metal with three holes in it. I found an EAA6269A that said it was for the same era of ford truck for $15 with shipping, it looked like the same thing so I hoped the A vs B was a revision level so I bought it to try... it looks to be good, fits properly, same thickness as the old one... so I think I have all of the parts I need to put it back together.

Saturday I went out to try and pull the old cam out. I loosened the rockers and slid the push rods up out of the way, try to pull the came and no luck... argh found out you have to split the engine block from the tractor and take the flywheel off the crank in order to access a panel that has another gear on the back of the camshaft that has to be unbolted and removed before you can pull the cam... nothing is ever easy.

So now it is on hold a bit longer. Not sure when I'll get to it, hopefully mid November at the latest -- snow will start flying soon after that, but I have some time off for hunting that hopefully I won't have to spend the whole time in the woods looking for bambi and can spend some time on the tractor... my weekends are shot between now and then so it'll have to work.
 

if I do ever get this thing running again it'll be with a bunch of new parts... I have a new cam shaft, new cam gear, new crank gear, new gasket set, new oil pump, new water pump, new front tires... my dad has been collecting parts to have me replace on it while I have it tore apart... figured might as well do it all at once... so we'll see what the flywheel looks like when I get it split apart, might get a new one of those too as it sounds like that might be a common part to fail according to a coworker that just brought his dad/grandpa's old ford home and is going to have to replace it on his old 8N.
 
(quoted from post at 10:09:46 10/08/18)
if I do ever get this thing running again it'll be with a bunch of new parts... I have a new cam shaft, new cam gear, new crank gear, new gasket set, new oil pump, new water pump, new front tires... my dad has been collecting parts to have me replace on it while I have it tore apart... figured might as well do it all at once... so we'll see what the flywheel looks like when I get it split apart, might get a new one of those too as it sounds like that might be a common part to fail according to a coworker that just brought his dad/grandpa's old ford home and is going to have to replace it on his old 8N.

Rininger, while you have it split you will want to renew your rear main seal as well as transmission input seal, clutch release bearing and pilot bearing. When you split it do it the safe way using a HoboNC rear housing support, blocking the front and rolling the rear.
 
Rininger, while you have it split you will want to renew your rear main seal as well as transmission input seal, clutch release bearing and pilot bearing. When you split it do it the safe way using a HoboNC rear housing support, blocking the front and rolling the rear.

Rear main as in crankshaft bearing? I'm not planning on doing anything with the crank. I did finally manage to split the tractor today and got the old cam out. The rear cam gear (hydraulic gear) is missing a tooth so need to replace it while I have it out and the clutch plate is pretty worn so going to replace that while it's apart.

I made a lot of progress today, was hoping to put it back together tomorrow but now need more parts...
 
The new cam shaft is slightly different, the old one the gear was held on with a washer and bolt, the new one is a tight fit and has a groove on the end I'm assuming for a retaining clip. The new is a little longer, but probably no longer once you add the washer and bolt, so hopefully it's still going to work.


mvphoto26797.jpg


mvphoto26798.jpg


mvphoto26799.jpg
 

Oops it posted one of the pics twice and didn't post the third pic I tried uploading but it was another of the cam. The oil pump gear is not quite as wide on the new cam either but hopefully it's not an issue.
 

Just be glad it's not a 172 diesel! I only know to well! You can buy a new cam, I couldn't.

Did you bend any push rods, or valves? When the cam stops, the crank doesn't!

I had a '70 dodge 383, I turned it off after a 150 trip. Came back to start it, the timing gear let go (fiber), just trying to start it. It bent 12 push rods, 8 valves, and one rod. Just trying to start it.

Pat
 
(quoted from post at 16:45:56 11/14/18)
Just be glad it's not a 172 diesel! I only know to well! You can buy a new cam, I couldn't.

Did you bend any push rods, or valves? When the cam stops, the crank doesn't!

I had a '70 dodge 383, I turned it off after a 150 trip. Came back to start it, the timing gear let go (fiber), just trying to start it. It bent 12 push rods, 8 valves, and one rod. Just trying to start it.

Pat

I hope not... I don't want to replace anything else on this thing. We have started putting it back together... Cam lifters are back in place, new cam shaft is in. Need to go get bolts for the hydraulic gear to bolt onto the cam... Which by the way I don't know if I mentioned it but the gear was missing a tooth when I got it out, which didn't matter since the new cam shaft doesn't match the old cam shaft we had to buy a new hydraulic gear anyways... Once I get bolts tonight I can put that fear back on and be on my way.

We replaced the clutch plate and retainer since the engine was split off, and put a new bearing on the back shaft but not messing with the smaller bearing which I assume goes in the block (unless there is something I haven't come across yet...not messing with the crank so not replacing that bearing if it is for the rear of the block).

Have cam shaft retainer back in place. A few bolts and we should be able to put the two halves back together.

I'm looking up torque specs and I cannot find any method for how to tighten the rocker bolts that the push rods touch... It is just the screw head then a retaining nut... Can anyone advise me how to tighten those properly? Since it's a screw not a bolt do I need to employ feeler gauges or something? The service manual I'm looking at either doesn't tell me what I'm looking for or is in language I'm not understanding.
 

Oh I think I found it... Tappet gap 0.014-0.016 so feeler gauge on the valve stem side and I'm assuming you measure some at TDC and others at another point? Or what?
 
(quoted from post at 17:00:43 11/16/18)
Oh I think I found it... Tappet gap 0.014-0.016 so feeler gauge on the valve stem side and I'm assuming you measure some at TDC and others at another point? Or what?
ach valve is set when fully closed and lifter is on heel of cam.
 
Well I'm hoping we have everything pretty much back together. I hope we got the thing timed right but didn't read ahead to see how to time it was based on the flywheel markings, can't read the markings on the flywheel well enough to know if I hit 31 BTDC or not.

The tappets are hopefully all spaced properly.

Found another broken part... The alternator mounting bracket was broke some time ago because it was full of grease and grime in the crack. So we could put it back together how it was but I'm going to order a new mounting bracket they are cheap.

I think the only other thing that is keeping the tractor from running now is the battery is shot, it was getting bad before but will have to pick up a new one.

We swapped the two front tires today so it has new rubber and tubes.

Still need to put the skin back on but I'm going to run wires to add lights before we do that.
mvphoto27024.jpg
 

It's alive!!! Got the new alternator bracket yesterday. Installed it today then went back to trying to time the thing... Once I tinkered for a bit I realized what I messed up... I couldn't find the timing marks that had angles noted because I went to TDC then looked for the marks, so I just tried installing the distributor at TDC. I read the book again and it said to turn until #1 just starts to come up on compression then look for 31 degrees BTDC (before TDC). Then I was able to find the marks and put the distributor in and it fired right up.

I did realize I need one more part though, I broke the oil pressure line when I split the case, and I didn't know that oil pressure is read based on pumping oil up the oil pressure line. So I had oil spewing out the oil pressure line. For now I jammed a finishing nail in the line until I can order a new line to replace it. I had also discovered the engine rpm gauge had quit working because of a broken cable when I was tearing it apart before, so I need to order a new one of those too...

And I broke the exhaust pipe when I split the case, I found an exhaust piece I could get a pretty tight fit over it just need some clamps and maybe wrap it to keep exhaust from leaking in front of me and making me stink every time I run it.

I still need to put the hood back on but I'm going to run wires for lights front and back before I put the hood back on because it has not had lights since it was converted to 12v.

I rode the tractor around the yard a few times and went and hooked on to the box blade that had been sitting in the back field all year and the hydraulics are incredibly responsive compared to what I remember so not sure if that was due to the tooth missing off the back cam gear or a bubble in the lines or just that it's not as cold right now as it was when the tractor died, but anyway it's back to working now!

Total repair:
New cam shaft
New cam shaft front gear
New cam shaft rear gear
New crankshaft gear
New clutch disc (did it just because the case was already split)
New clutch plate (did it just because the case was already split)
New clutch bearings (did it just because the case was already split)
New alternator mounting bracket
Bunch of new gaskets
New water pump (not needed, just did it since it was cheap and already apart)
 
(quoted from post at 10:02:02 11/25/18)
Total repair:
New cam shaft
New cam shaft front gear
New cam shaft rear gear
New crankshaft gear
New clutch disc (did it just because the case was already split)
New clutch plate (did it just because the case was already split)
New clutch bearings (did it just because the case was already split)
New alternator mounting bracket
Bunch of new gaskets
New water pump (not needed, just did it since it was cheap and already apart)

Oh plus the new front tires and new battery. Hopefully this thing runs for another 60 years ;)
 
Glad to hear you got it running.
That copper line for the gauge can be bought at the local parts
store. It comes in a 6 foot roll with various fittings for each end.
I'm staring at one hanging on the shop wall. It was $17.99 :shock:
 

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