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Comments for John Deere Unstuck
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Mark Klein wrote on Saturday, April 01, 2000 (PST):What is Knock em loose and where did you buy it?
Doug Kenney wrote on Saturday, April 01, 2000 (PST):This minute-by-minute description of exactly how to free up ancient rusted pistons is very helpful to an amateur like me who is considering the purchase of a 15-ton "Linn Tractor" with a siezed-up engine. Many thanks for this down-to-earth example.
The Red wrote on Saturday, April 01, 2000 (PST):Gary a nice blow by blow description on getting the pistons out. You should have little to no problems rebuilding that engine. The JD board has a wealth of experience.
teri wrote on Monday, April 03, 2000 (PDT):Gary that was a great article! i love it when i dream and they come true! to bad you hadn't dreamed someone restored the whole thing for you! good luck on the rest of the restoration! sounds like it's going to go easy!
Ed Emery wrote on Tuesday, April 04, 2000 (PDT):Where there's a will, there's a way - demonstrated.
M.JOHNSON wrote on Thursday, April 06, 2000 (PDT):KNOCK'ER LOOSE IS PROFESSIONAL STRENGTH. IT LUBRICATES & PENETRATES. IT COMES IN 1GAL STOCK #(1728) 5GAL STOCK #(1705),AND 55GAL STOCK #(1750) MANUFACTURED BY K&W PRODUCTS 239 W. GRIMES LANE BLOOMINGTON, IN 47403 USA 1-800-423-9446
Dan wrote on Saturday, April 08, 2000 (PDT):Stay with it,sounds like you have a good start.I have a small 60 acre farm on which I use J.D. 2-cyls. and J.D. 2-cyl. related equipment.I also work a full time job.Your no. 8 mower was manufactered starting 1958 replacing the no. 5 mower which I have.Good luck!
Gary Hickman wrote on Saturday, April 08, 2000 (PDT):Here's an update on how the project is not going!! Dan, I tried to send you an email, but it came back address not good. We used # 5's on the farm before we got a Hesston windrower. Dad & I mowed many acres with 2 JD B's & those mowers. My # 8W is complete, the only problem is the pitman stick rotted from sitting in the trees (the mower came with the property, and had a 2" diameter sapling growing up through the frame!) and the PTO shaft is stuck in the fully collapsed position. Seems to be damaged, not stuck from rust. The mower is in very good condition, gear box free and sickle sections good. In my humble opinion, I think JD went backward by replacing the # 5 with this mower. The # 8 appears to be much lighter built, and the position of the trailing wheel looks like it puts quite a twist on the mount. Stick with your # 5!! I probably won't even use this mower, just fix it up to have around. May mow roadsides, once I get the B running. Actually, I haven't done anything to it since I got the pistons out! Too many other things going on, plus it is outside, and I need to get room in my garage/shop so I can work on it inside. But then, Dad overhauled his 2 cylinder JD's outside! Gary Hickman
Tom wrote on Sunday, April 23, 2000 (PDT):I have a 45 H that we bought stuck with all the cultivators (I planned on putting in a big truck patch with it). As fate would have it I poured everything in it from Diesel, brake fluid, vinagar, to about every kind of penatrating oil that I could get my hands on. I even made a bar that would exactly fit in the holes in the flywheel to try to turn it. But with all my efforts all that I was able to do was flatten the babbit in the rod bearings. The way I finally got it broke loose was to remove the cylinders (rods and all) and grind the edges off a 2x4, then with a 8lb sledge hammer drive out the pistons. I suppose this might be extreme measures BUT... Ya gotta get 'em out, since then we got her rebuilt and puttin in that truck patch. Good luck with yours. Tom
Russ Johnson wrote on Thursday, April 27, 2000 (PDT):I just thought I'd add that what I have found that will brake up the rust and debris in locked cylinders is good old coka cola soda pop. I don't know why, but I have had better luck with it than with any thing that i could buy in town.But this is just a suggestion.
Larry L. Ressler wrote on Friday, April 28, 2000 (PDT):It's stories like this that inspire.
Adam Moore wrote on Monday, June 26, 2000 (PDT):I bought a '40 h fairly reasonable for having a stuck engine. Thank god the previous owner put hydraulic oil in the cylinders(better than nothing). I found a bar with the right sise holesin it, bolted it to the flywheel, put some weight on it and got it to turn about half way. the rest was pretty smooth. the only problem now is that trere is no compression. Any ideas besidesnew rings?
Randy Eixon wrote on Wednesday, September 27, 2000 (PDT): You can get your JD unstuck the easy way; park your JD flywheel side beside a tall pole like a telphone poll, pull out spark fill with penetrating oil attach a chain to the post up high then to a weight like a shorter post or something maybe 30-40 pounds. Then to the top of your flywheel. You want about 1 1/2 feet of slack in your top chain. Then just wait it may take one week or maybe a month . you will notice one day the weight will come down and JD will at last be unstuck!
Theron Marcellus wrote on Thursday, September 28, 2000 (PDT):Gary, I wish getting the pistons out of my 1948 JD "A" was that easy. I needed 20 tons on a hydraulic press to finally bust them loose And that was after they had soaked in penetrating oil for several weeks. My "A" is still in about 2 million pieces though. Good luck with your "B". --Theron
Andrew Curry wrote on Thursday, October 19, 2000 (PDT):Just a quick note; If you do not have the time or know how to dig into the crankcase, try this method; After letting penetrating oil sit in the cylinders, run a short length of chain through the hole in the flywheel, securing the ends together and making a small loop. Back the tractor up to a tree where you can get a come-along attached to a tree. (A chain secured around a tree works well) Run the cable end on the come-along under the axel of the rear of the tractor bringing it up clockwise around the flywheel, and attaching it to the length of chain on the flywheel. Chock the wheels of the tractor so it doesn't move. Then, CAREFULLY, tighten the come-along, making sure the cable stays on the center of the flywheel. When it gets tight, be careful. Tighten it up more. Then, rock the wheels of the tractor, so the come-along cable tightens and pulls each time the tractor moves. Too much tension on the come-along, and you run the risk of breaking something. Remember, you can tighten the come-along quite tightly, but when you really have to start putting some major heft into it, that's enough. This worked for me when I freed up my 36 B which had sat in a field for over 25 years. I have found no problems caused by this method yet......Hope it works..AC
gerald robbins wrote on Sunday, November 19, 2000 (PST):i got a 1941 b john deer the motor was stuck for25 years after i ritered i put chainsaw gas in the cyl and too long bolts in the fly whell and after a while of
Kris wrote on Monday, February 19, 2001 (PST):You guys can save all your money on expensive penetrating oil and use coke. I've been there and you will not believe the results!
Ray Gallenberg wrote on Wednesday, May 02, 2001 (PDT):Great story, my dad did the exact same thing with his A about two years ago.
Grant Kincaid wrote on Tuesday, May 29, 2001 (PDT):I have a 1935 Model B With the motor locked. Now since you have given me some ways of to break it loose. THe Tractor has been sitting since 1970, at least. And she wont budge. Yes, my exhaust is rusted out to, so i know what to expect. Thanks for the helpful tips!!!!!
Bert McCumber wrote on Saturday, July 21, 2001 (PDT):Like you said , its a great way to relax. enjoyed your page. look forward to hearing about the finished product
Wendell Dake wrote on Friday, February 15, 2002 (PST):I have a 1944 B, which was stuck--had water in engine & manifold and carb. I suctioned the water out, then refilled the bours with trans fluid, left set for two weeks then "C" clamped a 1X8 board six feet long to the flywheel. then each time I was near the tractor, I would try the board, then one day it begsan to move. I, now have been using this tractor for 10 years.
DICK SUMNER wrote on Wednesday, April 17, 2002 (PDT):THANKS LOADS -- PERHAPS ,I MIGHT TACKLE MY PROJECT WITH RENEWED VIGOR
redrev wrote on Saturday, September 28, 2002 (PDT):Nice account of your JD venture. I've been lucky most of the time freeing up pistons, but one took over 2 years. I had a 1 cyl. gas engine that I cound not get loose, no matter what I tried so I sold it to an ol mechanic friend of mine. He had it RUNNING in two days. Nothing beats knowing what you're doing. Good luck with the JD. They are a fine tractor. In fact, I don't think I ever met a tractor I didn't like! George
Mickey Cook wrote on Monday, December 09, 2002 (PST):Thanks for taking the time to wright this article. I have a TO35 MF in just about the same shape as the tractor you wrote about. Your article has inspired me to get started with the restoration asap. Thanks again. Mickey Cook Louisiana
Dwight wrote on Friday, January 24, 2003 (PST):I know this will sound insane but if it is stuck bad enough ya will be removing the head for rework anyway ,I unstuck a 49 B by making two plugs for the sparkplug holes and injecting get this coke-cola, heck they say it will eat a spoon why not rust and then i let it sit over a month or two and wala it broke free easy and the acid in the coke cleaned up the cylinder walls to the point a basic hone of the cylinder was all it needed i realize this means draining cases and putting in new oil and ect but you probably will wanna do that anyway.
Alton Hargrave wrote on Thursday, February 06, 2003 (PST):I have several tractors and just recently managed to build a shed to get all of them out of the rain. If you don't do the same, you should remember all of these neat ways to unstick these engines.
Tony Tuttle (ORNGBOY) wrote on Monday, June 09, 2003 (PDT):That is a GREAT story!! I love it when an old tractor is given NEW life! ;-) I live in Farwell, NE. (not too far from you) and if I have a similar situation with one of my WD Allis's I hope I can ask for help. ;-) Take care and good luck!
marty wrote on Thursday, August 07, 2003 (PDT):next time ya run on to a stuck engine try filling cylinders with rust eater let set for about two days/then try pull it free with another tractor.we pulled a ac wd 45 thats was stuck with a jd 4840.left nice black marks on road till unstuck.it worked better than tearing engine down.
Larry wrote on Wednesday, August 20, 2003 (PDT):Yes We,my Wife & I can relate to that story ,as we repaired an old 1940's Howard 500cc Tiller with a stuck piston & Valve .We were up till midnight here in the summer lol ,Wife was holding the torch while I was giving it a valve grind lol .I used molasses & mixed with water to break the rust around the piston. We Still use that Howard today.
Alan D. wrote on Saturday, February 28, 2004 (PST):Nice inspiration.......
C Headrick wrote on Tuesday, May 18, 2004 (PDT):I wished that I had read your article several months ago. The following is why. In 1953 I was 15 years old and my dad said it was time to go to work. He took me out to a farm and told the old farmer to put me to work. The old farmer set me on a 1930's JD model D that burned what he called "distillate" after first warming up on gasoline, something a kid could not tear up. The instruction was to start on gasoline and then switch to distillate after a time or else you will run out of gas as the gas tank is small and the distillate tank is large. He showed me the shift pattern and of course the hand clutch. Also said to stay away from the rather large green flywheel. Since I had never backed up a tractor to hitch an implement, he backed the tractor up to a cultivator and showed me how to raise and lower it. Then said to go x miles north and y miles west and lower the blades enough to cut the weeds. Do this for z hours, switch to gas, shut it off and check the oil, etc. Everything went as planned. He came out at noon and we went to the house to eat. Return to the tractor to continue. That night, my head throbbed and ears rang all night long. Needless to say, it took me about a week to cover the section and my ears have never stopped ringing to this day. The old farmer then had me feeding cattle from a silage pile. Then chop cockle burrs from a corn field and later route irrigation water by digging small channels. The old Jonny popper was the easiest of all these tasks, but I had enough of it. Pay was 50 cents an hour, but believe this or not, after 2 weeks, there was enough to buy a 1929 Model A for 45 bucks. This car took me through my Junior year in high school and was sold for 40 bucks. Try doing that today. But anyway, the farm was tough duty, so when I was 17, my dad signed me into the Navy. Fast forward to April 2004. I had stopped at a park with my dogs in a small town in Nebraska when the distinct and unmistakable sound of 2 6.75 inch pistons under heavy load came into hearing range, a sound not heard by me for 50 years. A 1936 John Deere D was making the sound. It was one of the sweetest sounds I have ever heard, unlike the sound of my youth that was drilled into my thoughts. After watching the old guy for a time, he pulled under a tree and stopped. Naturally curious, I went over to talk to him with the following results; 1. He enjoyed driving this old rig more than any of his big tractors and could do it efficiently because the field was only 1/4 section. 2. He had restored this tractor and said parts were generally available. 3. He had 14 old JD tractors, most had been restored. 4. This one he thought was worth $3,000 and could be worth $5,000. 5. There was a farm sale in 2 days with several JD, one of which was a 1930's D. I delayed for several days and went to the sale with my dogs. There was probably 100 acres of junked machinery that had been setting out for 50 or 60 years. Much of the machinery went for scrap iron prices. For example, a large stationary single cylinder engine that had been disasembled sold for $7.00! The D was inspected and the engine was found to be frozen. Rubber rotting, some rusted sheet metal, both fuel caps off meaning that the carburetor was full of water as well as the cylinders and crankcase. The tractor had set out for at least 40 years. It was disheartening to see the old soldier in such status. It sold for $300 and since the engine was frozen, I did not enter a bid. At any rate, I would have had to transport it back to Texas, so maybe it was better that I had not read this article......... Thanks for listening. Next time, I will tell the story of the snakebit horse we saw at the local vet up there.
Charlie Chan wrote on Monday, December 20, 2004 (PST):I have had pretty good sucess freeing stuck pistons with a mixture of brake fluid, WD 40,real turpentine, and a little acetone.
TnT wrote on Friday, June 24, 2005 (PDT):MY Ex-wifes folks lived over around Spalding Nebraska. I hadn't heard the name St Libory in Years. She is in Southwest Oklahoma now. That family's name was Gilroy.
ted t wrote on Friday, June 24, 2005 (PDT):Have to ask where did you come by the knocker-loose. Have been trying to find some for years. Thought they quite making it. It always worked better than anything I ever used to get rust loose. W-D 40 can't hold a candle to it. Some folks have the misunderstanding that they are both the same thing. Long way from it.
Hick wrote on Wednesday, June 29, 2005 (PDT):I hae not been able to find it for some time now. But then again, I haven't looked real hard. I found that Liquid Wrench is about as good. WD-40 is a lubricant, LW is a penetrant. Now, back to the "B". About two months ago a friend of mine in Colorado was asking about prices for B's, as he was looking for one. We emailed back & forth, and he sent me a link to a photo ad here for a 1946 A. Now, we had one of those on the farm, I liked the slant dash, and . . . IT WAS ONLY 40 MILES AWAY!! And the price was almost too good to be true. Much less than I would have spent on the B getting it all back together. I bought the '46 A (for even less than they were asking, they were IH guys!!). And last Saturday (June 25) I sold the B at our garage sale. I needed the room in my shed. The engine block was out so the buyer could see the serious pitting, pistons pitted, one wheel rusted very bad, no tires. I got $700 for it. That offset the price of the A considerably. But it was kinda hard to see that ol' B go down the road on someone else's trailer. ;(
Dave Larsen wrote on Monday, January 09, 2006 (PST):I've been working on unsticking a Farmall F-14 for about 4 years now. I've used diesel on the cylinders, brake fluid, penetrating oil.... raised the rear wheel, put it in high gear, rocked the wheel back and forth. I've a tiny bit of movement on the crankcase pully wheel, but haven't got it free yet. I may just have to pull the head. Don't want to bend anything by drastic energy put to the connecting rods etc.... maybe I'll try coke before I quit. thanks.....Dave Larsen,.Utah
charlie wrote on Sunday, August 27, 2006 (PDT):My father and I bought a 1952 A that was stuck good. We got it home and put transmission fluid in the cylinders for 1-2 weeks then drained it. We removed the valve cover and head and found that both pistons were about midway in their cylinders. What we also found was about 1/4 of rust in front of the from the carb that was missing. Two days later we got the pistons out with 4x4 blocks and numerous size hammers. It goes to show that it is a good idea to take the head off to see what is going on inside because if we had tried to get the motor moving without taking off the head, we would have ruined the bore and pistons. We were able to hone the cylinders and clean the pistons up to reuse them.
Scott wrote on Saturday, August 11, 2007 (PDT):I just unstuck my 47 JD M. I tore it down to the block, filled it with penetrating oil, called my Dad, threw it in 4th and we rocked itback and forth by each gripping a rear tire....2 inches at a time. Eventually 2 inches became 3 became 4 and you get the picture. My arms are tired but the engine turns freely. I m going to try the CocaCola in the cylinders as they are rusty by not that bad. Thanks for the inspiration.
redmon wrote on Thursday, September 20, 2007 (PDT):folks,i really appreciate the various tips on stuck cylinders.i have a john deere b model that is stuck tight.i,ve tried atf,air pressure,bolting a bar onto the flywheel.so far nothing has worked ,so i amm going to try these methods.thans again,redmon
wayne norman wrote on Monday, September 29, 2008 (PDT):the best way to unstuck an engine. remove the rocker cover and remove or loosen the rockers so that the valves are all closed hopefully they don't leak too bad. then remove all the sparkplugs. take a old sparkplug and break out the porcelin, weld on a 1/8 inch pipe coupling and screw in a grease fitting. put this in the hole that has the piston closest to the top. fill a grease gun with 90 w gear lube mixed with penetrating oil and grease until you get some pressure in the cylander. wait a few minutes to an hour or more and grease again. this will not only force the piston down it will force the oil mixture around the piston into the corrosion. had good luck with this
Rod Wagner wrote on Sunday, June 27, 2010 (PDT):Don't discount your dreams, God will use whatever means available to help His children. I have had dreams as well and put them to use with perfect results. Give Him your praise. Rod.
bruce werner wrote on Sunday, July 25, 2010 (PDT):I sure want to hear the final part of the story when you fore it up.
Trent Spivey wrote on Monday, August 02, 2010 (PDT):Hello everyone, I'm new to tractor owning, I recently acquired a 1949-50 Farmall C that hasn't ran in quite a few years. After a week of working, I have it running, but the hydraulics are locked up, does anyone have any dealings with stuck hydraulics, I've drained and put new fluid in, but the pistons aren't budging....any help with my situation would be greatly appreciated. Thanks Trent Spivey,, Waco, Texas
dave wrote on Tuesday, June 21, 2011 (PDT):great idea with the flywheel and post pounding it worked for me too on my 47A thanks
Steve wrote on Sunday, December 18, 2011 (PST):Good info ! Made me think of days with my Dad on our 52 B !! Keep the story comming ! and I am going to stop drinking Coke !!
Robert McCormick wrote on Saturday, September 01, 2012 (PDT):I am looking for information from anyone who may know the where abouts of a 1937 John Deere Model B tractor purchased from an auction in Gary South Dakota about 15yrs ago. Please contact me with any information about this tractor. It had a cracked block at the time of purchase. It also had an aftermarket Road Gear with a large lever on it, flat spoke rear wheels with rubber - may or may not of had front spoke rims as well.
Chris Haley wrote on Sunday, December 01, 2013 (PST):Know the feeling! They are so easy to work on also.
Bob Johnson wrote on Sunday, January 28, 2018 (PST):Great story about mechanical reasoning and dedication to accomplish the task. Serves to remind us all that work does have rewards.
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