John Deere H GURU'S... I have Questions.....

We just bought a John Deere H we got it home Tuesday and spent some time this weekend working on it. We rebuilt the carb, changed the oil, Fixed the exhaust pipe on it, cleaned the tanks, adjusted the valves, and I went through all the fittings for the gas connections. It had a rebuilt mag and had great spark. Its a good straight tractor. However I think the person that had it before did some work on it but only half @$$... After we did all this work I couldn't get it to start, so we pull started it. Once I got the carb adjusted right I could get it to start very, very easy on the flywheel Im very happy with this. However after some run time I noticed that it is making a whining screeching noise from the clutch or flywheel. After further inspection I think its due to improper endplay on the fly wheel. The book say .05-.010 end play and it has a lot more than that. This is my first experience with an H and knowing that they are a little different than what I'm used to working on my questions is for end play on the flywheel do I just loosen the bolts and slide it in like on a bigger a, b,g? Does it also take a special wrench like my G? Also could the screeching noise just be from the clutch not being adjusted properly and or the disks shot? Also I should note that there are new bolts on the flywheel so someone has had it of at some point. Also the gear shifter pops out very easily, not out of gear but you can physically pull it up. I have not tore into this yet but I am assuming there should be a clip or something to hold it dow in. At this point I just want to get everything fixed so we can run it a little this summer until we start to re-do it... Any help would be appreciated.

I see no way the crankshaft endplay could affect the clutch. The clutch is not on the crankshaft

I agree and understand that 100 percent... I cant tell if the noise is on flywheel side or clutch side... They both seem to have too much play...

If the noise is coming from the clutch and it is while the pulley is stopped but the engine is running then it is the pulley bearing. This bearing run directly on the crankshaft. It only get lube when you assemble it. So it is common for it to be bad or dry. If it is this bearing it is fairly easy to fix if it has not been run too long and has a grove cut in the crankshaft.

If the noise is while the pulley is running then you need to check the lube in the clutch case. Some of the more knowledge two banger guys can tell you for sure but I think that on the "H" that this is separate reservoir. Not 100% sure but I think it is.

There are some differences between the "H" and the larger two cylinders.

Wrong! The clutch runs off the camshaft on the H models.

Mr. Haney: It may runoff the camshaft but it has the same bearing setup as the larger two bangers. I looked it up in JD parts before I posted. I tried posting the parts diagram but could not.

Question?? If it runs off the camshaft does the pulley run the opposite direction compared to the other tractors?? So you would have to have a half twist in any belt you used.

I've got a 1940 H and the pulley runs the opposite of other tractors. I also read that about H's need to have the belt twisted normally.
DWF

JD, yes the pulley does run the opposite from the other two cylinder tractors. Ron Mn.

Crankshaft end play on an H is adjusted by sliding the flywheel in on the crankshaft. Since the R.H. end of the crankshaft is not accessible, you will have to remove the engine cover and slide the crankshaft to the left while sliding the flywheel in. You may need to use some kind of pry bar through the opening in the main case to push the crankshaft to the left. Since the clutch is on the camshaft there can be several sources of noise. The L.H. camshaft bearing , the R.H. camshaft bearing, or the clutch bearing itself may be causing the problem. Also governor bearings can transmit noise too. When you disassemble the clutch be sure to punch mark the location of the shaft and components so you can easily re-assemble them in the correct position. The same is true of the camshaft and cam gear which is splined to the camshaft if you have to go that far.

The clutch is on the end of the camshaft.H takes it power from the camshaft.Heres why the shift lever can be lifted out.Shift lever has a ball on it held on with a snap ring.The top side of the ball rides in a plate that wears and lets the ball come up thru it.The H takes in water past the leather gasket and the plate rusts thru.Ive owned an H since 1968 and find it is a stinker to keep running.

The special fylwheel wrench will make life alot easier. Same wrench for the early B's. The H crank is notched at the end and fylwheel has reliefs so you can put a prybar in it and force it into the fylwheel more to reduce the end play.
The camshaft which runs the belt pulley is notorious for the LH side ball bearing being bad. Easy to get to and easy to check. Snap the clutch in and then pull back and forth on the handle without disengaging it and watch for end play. Should really not be any as it is a ball bearing controlling it.
Governors and bearings are commonly found in bad shape in these too.
Transmissions also like to fill up with water thru the gear shift. If left outside and if it freezes it can bust the bottom of the main case. I have seen plenty of this too.
H's seem to of lead rough lives. Most regular farmers traded them off long ago as they were to small to do much. I have also seen way too many with cracked heads and blocks.