Nothing new to add...

Yep, the tractor is still sitting in two pieces in the shed. I need to devise a way to lift the engine so that I can get the oil pan off and replace the rear engine seal. There are only a couple of hours of work left, so I don't know what I'm waiting for!

The Repair Begins

I picked up my clutch parts from the dealer in Norton at lunchtime today. Let's hope they're the right ones.

On Saturday, I did some cleanup of the shed before driving the tractor in headfirst for surgery. I then removed the battery, disconnected the oil pressure guage, unhooked the starter cable, removed the air breather hose, disconnected the throttle rod (Ouch! -- more on that later), disconnected the steering tie rods, and the radius rods.

All I have left to do is actually unbolt the transmission case from the engine block. This will require blocking the front axle and the rear of the tractor under the transmission, then jacking under the engine. The idea is to roll the back end away from the front. We'll see how that goes. I'll have a picture.

Ouch: The u-bolt (item 19) that holds the throttle rod to the throttle assembly was the only rusted piece I encountered. Of course, the u-bolt snapped off when I tried to remove the nuts. And, of course, I scraped my arms up when they snapped. I left a good deal of arm hair on a clamp on the muffler during that little encounter. OUCH!

I'll see if I can buy one the right size from the hardware store. If I have to, I can make a new one from some threaded rod. I'll also use anti-seize grease.

Jenn's brother and family have come to stay the night tonight, so I don't know if I'll get a chance to do anything...

The Clutch

I finally called my dealer (www.hallbrosenterprises.com) yesterday to check about ordering my clutch parts. The parts guy couldn't find anything for my tractor at first, so he said he'd check with his supplier and get back to me. (Yikes!)

I was just about to leave work when he called back with prices for all the parts I needed:

Pressure Plate         $325.00
Clutch Disc            $ 84.50
Clutch Release Bearing $ 59.84
Rear Crankshaft Seal   $  9.48
Clutch Pilot Bearing   $  8.78

I decided not to get the pressure plate, for obvious reasons. I can have my current one resurfaced, if necessary, by an auto shop.

I should have the parts in about a week! :)

Model Trains: "Dayliner"

When I was a kid, growing up in Nova Scotia's Annapolis Valley, there was still some passenger rail service in the form of the Via Rail "Dayliner". The Dayliner was actually a Rail Diesel Car (RDC) built by Budd, which were self-propelled passenger trains.

These are a model of the machines, in N Scale, made by a company called Kato:
I've dabbled in model railroading over the years and am slowly getting back into them after building a partial N Scale (1:160) layout on a hollow-core door about 8 years ago. These Dayliners would be a perfect addition to my as-yet-unfinished railway. When you're a grownup, you can buy the toys you couldn't have when you were a kid. :)

A British Ferguson Site

I enjoy reading the "News & Diary" section of this web page:

http://www.holland-brand.co.uk

It's a repair shop in England that specializes in Fergusons. They also sell a huge variety of parts for Fergusons. :) However, I don't think they'll ship to Canada... :(

Tractor Clutch

The clutch on the tractor hasn't been working for quite a while now. I need to make that call to the Massey-Ferguson dealer one of these days. I might as well order all the clutch bits, including the rear engine seal, which should be replaced while I have it apart.



Still, I can't resist taking it for a drive around the back lawn every so often. The trick is to start the tractor, let it warm up, then shut it off. Then I'll bump the starter to get it running again and quickly slip it into reverse before the engine gets rolling so that I can back out of the shed. Then, I shut it off again, and bump the starter and quickly slip it into 1st gear to drive around. The only trick is to remember to turn off the key to stop and always drive a low throttle. It's not safe, but I always try to take it slow.

Summer!

Ok, summer is half-over and where have I been? I've been busy with a new baby in the household and a bunch of summer projects.

I am in the middle of repainting the trim on the house, when the weather permits. For some reason a lot of the paint on the eaves and gable end trim has peeled off. I think it's due to moisture getting in behind the wood. I've been taking a closer look at the roof edges and adding a drip edge where necessary to keep the water off of the house itself. If Mike Holmes (HGTV "Holmes on Homes") saw how our roof had been done however many years ago, he'd have an aneurism. I swear these people had no clue. For example, instead of an upside-down course of shingles to start the roof, they just put an extra course of tar paper. And, like you'd expect, the tar paper has now given out, allowing water through to the plywood sheathing, which is now rotten on the edges. I pulled the nails along the bottom course and nailed another shingle up underneath, like it should have been done in the first place. I mean, really, for the price of plywood these days and considering how cheap shingles are, I really wish they'd done it right to begin with. When the roof finally needs a complete replacement, I'll have to replace the bottom edges of the plywood. Thankfully, which is a 12/12 pitch (45 degree) roof, so water doesn't stick around for long.

I also put a window in my shed using a little 20"w x 36"h aluminum storm window that some neighbours threw out when they replaced their old wooden windows with vinyl inserts. All I did was cut a rectangular hole in the wall, squirt some caulk around the edges and fasten the little storm window with screws. I also built myself a nice little 2'x8' workbench along one wall. It just needs another coat of paint and then I can mount my Record vice! It's kind of exciting to have my own space and a proper place to put my tools.

On Saturday morning, the kids and I stacked about 1.5 cords of the firewood we had delivered on June 30. It's so nice to get that out of the way and many hands make light work. The baby supervised from under the bug netting in his carriage, of course. :) Once these 3 cords are safely inside, it'll be time to order the final 2 cords and we're ready for the winter heating season.