1953 Louisville Super M

[wjohn]

I finally have the hand clutch back together. I need to find a new stake washer since most of the tabs are broken off from mine, and I probably need to put a little more grease in before it's good to go. Getting the new brake band into the housing was a minor pain but it did eventually go in.

I do have a question on the input shaft coupler bolts. The old ones I pulled out were very worn. I bought new ones from a popular aftermarket supplier. The new bolts seem to be just a bit longer between the bottom of the bolt head and where the taper down starts, because I am getting a gap when I tighten the nut down (pulling the taper tight/bottoming out before the rubber washers begin pulling up against the bolt head and coupler). I threw in a big flat washer (arrow in other picture) just to see what it would do but it was a little too thick and the taper wasn't seating, but the washers were pretty clamped down.

How critical is the fit with the rubber washers? Is a small amount of play okay or do I need to be making a shim/washer to go under the bolt head and get the same effective "squish" on the rubber washers that the original bolts had?

There was a ton of gunk in the breather line from the governor housing to the head. If I'm lucky that explains some of the white smoke out the blowby tube. That line is cleaned out now.

[560Dennis]

On 11/22/2022 at 10:36 AM, 560Dennis said:

I don’t recommend 80 / 90 wt for your differential,your got brass bushings  in there. Straight Sae 90 wt Gl1 mineral oil.
for that tractor differential. 

you can get it at tractor supply or napa 

gl4 or gl5 has high sulphur for hypoid gear extra pressure . That sulfur latches onto brass in extra pressure situation and fret soff brass . Made that mistake in supercc and c had frets of brass collected in bottom of differential in a year latter ,drain all that stinking gray crap out and went to napa and got sae 90 gl1 and put it in.cs . 
 

my advice do what you want your choice 
 

Took this photo of the super C after one year using 80/90 gl5 high sulphur oil . Blue trowel  used to wipe out differential case shows the brass frets .

Brass frets came from the bronze bushings in the transmission that sulfur attacks (attaches to bronze ,under load tear small frats off bearing surfaces). The oil smells ,reaks with sulfur ,and has a gray color. 

why I only use sae 90 gl1 mineral gear oil in my and c super c now .

Guys post why is my transmission so noisy ,well I would say it could be ,they used  got gl5 oil in differential . Or I lost the pto bushings , shaft is wobbly , Took out the bronze bushings. My opinion.

I had a discussion with lube specialist at Warren lubricants, recommended me to switch. To Sae 90 gl1 ,. Ok all I’ll say about it. 

[wjohn]

That's pretty severe after just one year if it was caused by the sulfur in the GL-5! Interesting. I wonder if the stuff you had was something with a really bad score (like a 4) in the ASTM D130 copper strip test. There is a lot of variation in GL-5 oils as far as reactivity with yellow metals. Some score great and some score horribly.

[wjohn]

Fun fact I learned from digging through spec documents: any GL-5 gear oil that is also rated MT-1 (look at the label to verify) is required have a 2A or better score for the ASTM D130 copper corrosion test. Even the 5 gallon pails of 80W-90 at TSC are MT-1 rated. I wouldn't be surprised if 20+ years ago this was not the case, however. I know GL-5 back in the day could cause some major issues. I'm not worried with modern fluids (and verified ratings per these specs) in my SM.

[wjohn]

This tractor is back together minus the battery I stole out of it for a Gravely. I'll swap that back in and start it up.

I sleeved the PTO shaft and installed two new seals to replace the old leather one, and made up some washers to act as shims to get a little squish on the rubber coupling washers for the transmission input connection. Adjusted the clutch lever arms to get those back within spec (clutch facing is not worn down, but the arms were all over the place). Cleaned out the gigantic amount of grease that had accumulated at the bottom of the Liftall cover... Someone went crazy on the clutch components over the years.

The water pump shaft started leaking so I had to dink around with tightening up that nut. It has quit leaking again for now. I may need to add/replace the packing in there if it leaks again.

Putting gear oil in the trans is a bit of a pain, but there are 13 gallons of fresh stuff in there now.

I also drained out the non-detergent oil  from the engine and replaced with SAE 30 w/ detergent. No surprises - the oil was a little filmy with some different colored components, but overall what I expected. No water, so that's a good sign as far as my concern about the steady white smoke out the blowby tube.

[wjohn]

I've also been thinking about putting a Fast Hitch or 3-point on so I can at least move round bales around. I don't already have any 3-point stuff to use since my mounted implements are all Allis-Chalmers Snap Coupler. Any votes one way or the other on 3 pt. vs. FH for this Stage II SM? I have read that a FH off of a 400 or 450 can be made to work. 3 point setups look to be $1000 or so if I were to buy a new one.

The only other option I can think of is a loader and I'm not sure I really want to put one on this tractor to move 1200 lb. bales out of the pasture without power steering.

[DT Fan]

I would vote Fast-Hitch as you can easily use three point stuff on one.

[MacAR]

17 hours ago, wjohn said:

I've also been thinking about putting a Fast Hitch or 3-point on so I can at least move round bales around.

I would vote for the 3 point, a Saginaw if you can find one. I know they can be expensive, but I've seen a few for sale recently for roughly $500 if you don't mind a used one. However, if you can find a 400/450 fast hitch set-up close by for less money, then go for it. It doesn't take much to build a top link bracket to bolt to the rear end housing, and fast hitch to 3 point prongs are readily available. 

 

17 hours ago, wjohn said:

The only other option I can think of is a loader and I'm not sure I really want to put one on this tractor

You don't, trust me. When Dad bought the SH, it had an old pipe frame loader on it. We kept it on for about 2 months and took it off. If you want a loader tractor, get something with a lower center of gravity and power steering. Our first loader tractor was a 3000 Ford, til the old man traded it in on a ragged out Deutz. At least the Deutz would start when it was 15 degrees, but otherwise it was a pile of junk. 

Mac

[wjohn]

I dug a little more into the FH possibility. Looks like SMs don't have the mounting pads/holes on the sides of the transmission case, behind the axle housings, in order to mount them, so you have to find or make some brackets that tie into the axle housing bolts with some brackets that come back to the rear sides of the case to simulate the later model mounting holes, and then attach the FH to those. Seems less than ideal especially if I'm going to have a decent sized round bale hanging back there and shifting a little side to side. Used 3 point may be the way to go. I have a little time before I have to locate one.

The tractor started yesterday and I wiggled it out of the shop. I'm going out now to check for leaks and see if I can get any mowing done.

[Caseihtecher]

 

4 hours ago, wjohn said:

I dug a little more into the FH possibility. Looks like SMs don't have the mounting pads/holes on the sides of the transmission case, behind the axle housings, in order to mount them, so you have to find or make some brackets that tie into the axle housing bolts with some brackets that come back to the rear sides of the case to simulate the later model mounting holes, and then attach the FH to those. Seems less than ideal especially if I'm going to have a decent sized round bale hanging back there and shifting a little side to side. Used 3 point may be the way to go. I have a little time before I have to locate one.

The tractor started yesterday and I wiggled it out of the shop. I'm going out now to check for leaks and see if I can get any mowing done.

Well I don't know where your located but there is one going up on auction soon here in northeast Missouri.  Looks like a Saginaw 3pt but it's yellow.

[wjohn]

33 minutes ago, Caseihtecher said:

 

Well I don't know where your located but there is one going up on auction soon here in northeast Missouri.  Looks like a Saginaw 3pt but it's yellow.

That would be a drive for sure, but thanks! I'm keeping my eyes open around here. Heck, it'll probably be about as cheap to buy a parts M with a 3 point on it, so I won't rule that out either.

[Caseihtecher]

21 minutes ago, wjohn said:

That would be a drive for sure, but thanks! I'm keeping my eyes open around here. Heck, it'll probably be about as cheap to buy a parts M with a 3 point on it, so I won't rule that out either.

That would be a good idea. I got tired of looking and started building my own for my H. 

[wjohn]

Mowing went well this afternoon. I had to tighten up the water pump packing nut again. The tractor is still running a little rich and I need to check ignition timing since I've not done that yet with this tractor. The coolant temp gauge needle hung out just inside the bottom edge of the "run" range. Don't think I can complain much about that as that's probably as much as I can get this tractor up to temp with the load I'm putting on it. Oil pressure looks great on the gauge after fully warming up. The engine seems to have plenty of power which backs up my earlier compression test readings.

It's still putting white smoke out the breather tube so I haven't figured that out yet. No white slime or droplets/gunk hanging out at the end of the tube, either. I'll check the coolant level tomorrow, but there was nothing in the oil when I drained it out the other day. I'm still stumped as far as that goes. I guess as long as I'm not losing fluids anywhere, keep running it? Surely any condensation is long gone by now. I ran it for 3 hours or so this afternoon.

I did note a couple of leaks from the trans case - one just dribbling out of the LH side of the brake shaft, and one that's a little worse up top that I knew about before. I do have a new trans top gasket for whenever I decide to tackle that. Since it only leaks while running that'll be way down on the priority list.

I'm also liking the wide front end after doing some brush mowing. It functions somewhat like a push bar in the sand plums, dogwood, etc. shrubs and trees that are skinny but up to 7' or so tall. I think I'd dent up the grille some if I just had a narrow front on it... More things to consider. I just hate the turn radius.

This thing is fun to run!

[wjohn]

Figured you red folks might appreciate this... The SM got to unload a D19 today. I need to take up some free play in the left brake (brand new M brake band, part of the M & W clutch housing assembly) but it works well. The right brake is still an original disk and it doesn't have much pedal travel at all. If I really put all my weight on it I can get it to slow the tractor down. There's another thing to add to the list to investigate and fix.

[wjohn]

I tried checking the ignition timing the other day, and... couldn't. I'm using a newer style light that clamps on to the #1 spark plug cable, with a digital readout, and you can dial the advance to be whatever you want. It's worked well on a number of random engines I've used it for so far. On the SM, maybe about every 10 seconds I could get the timing mark on the crank pulley to show up at all, and it wasn't in the same spot.

I'm thinking I need to go through the distributor unless I'm missing something? Seems like lots of scatter. I only went as deep as replacing points and condenser so the internals of the dizzy haven't been touched since I've bought the tractor.

[DT Fan]

wjohn, I've seen that 'dancing light' while timing my old Allis's. Pretty sure worn bushings in the distributor is at least partly to blame. Someday, if I live long enough, I'm going to rebuild some starting with the bushings! On that same someday list, going through the front bolsters on both 45's to tighten/seal them up. Maybe I'll even get around to fixing the range shifter on the 1066? That 'someday' list just keeps getting longer!

[wjohn]

With the weather cooling down I figured it would be a good time to pull the distributor and look at that timing scatter. As soon as I pulled it off of the hydraulic pump I noticed that the drive coupling was floppy - the screw in the middle had backed way out. This is probably the source of most the of the scatter.

I'm hoping the keyway inside the drive from the hydraulic pump is still okay. The keyway in the coupling (last pic) seems to be okay with the wear being in the the tiny key. The flats in the coupling don't appear to be worn. I still need to check the mating shaft in the distributor drive side and see if those drive tangs are okay. I do see you can still buy new shafts so at least I will have an option if needed. The little key is still available from CNH. My only concern with hardware store keys is if they're not as hard as the OEM one was.

I'll check the distributor for play later this week. If it's loose I'll tear into it, and if not I'll probably leave it alone since I found the main source of the issue.

[iowaboy1965]

I dont know that you really want the key to be all that hard. In a catastrophic failure of another component I would think you would want the key to shear. Usually you want the shaft to fit correctly enough so there is not much or any slop for stuff to walk around. I would think a snug slip fit would be ideal for this? Others would know better than I. 

[DT Fan]

You must have been downright busy working on tractors this weekend!

[wjohn]

On 11/20/2023 at 8:41 AM, DT Fan said:

You must have been downright busy working on tractors this weekend!

Shh don't tell them about the other color tractor!! People get worked up about that model 🤣

[wjohn]

I did wind up further disassembling the distributor. There's a little slop between the weights and the pins, but not enough for me to bush the weights, make oversize pins, or whatever the fix is for that (I would be curious to hear if anyone has done that before... don't think replacements are available?). I think the drive coupling screw and key will make the biggest difference. It wasn't very gunky or rusty inside. I can see where someone used some points plate screws a little too long and they caught on the weights a little, and then they ground the screws down. I'll plan on cleaning things up and putting it back on the tractor, and hopefully having much better luck setting the timing.

I ended up ordering the key from the local Case IH dealer. It was ~$20 to get a bag of keys that only come in packs of 5, but it's an odd size that must not be used much any more. I couldn't find them at Grainger. Guess I'll save my extras in case I get more tractors.

Is there any way to ID what springs are in my distributor? I plan on leaving them alone but if someone tells me they're wrong or less than optimal, I'd change them out in the near future.

[wjohn]

Also... from what I've gathered, the 22L on the plate means this distributor has been updated with the 22 degree advance parts for a Fire Crater Kit?

[iowaboy1965]

On 11/25/2023 at 2:16 PM, wjohn said:

Also... from what I've gathered, the 22L on the plate means this distributor has been updated with the 22 degree advance parts for a Fire Crater Kit?

I dont recall the particulars but I believe your right. I asked some similar questions about my 400, probably 5 years or more back. At that time some springs were available, but only certain ones. Was told not to worry about it too much. Weights I think may have been available then. Not sure what options are currently.

[wjohn]

On 11/27/2023 at 12:13 AM, iowaboy1965 said:

I dont recall the particulars but I believe your right. I asked some similar questions about my 400, probably 5 years or more back. At that time some springs were available, but only certain ones. Was told not to worry about it too much. Weights I think may have been available then. Not sure what options are currently.

I wonder if this engine actually has fire crater pistons making it 284 cubic inches. Guessing there's not an easy way to tell that without taking the head off. Either way this has the 22 degree parts in the ignition system, so it'll get set to 22 degrees. Thanks - I'll leave the springs as-is.