I"ve noticed the hand start engine crank and the shutter control level is stuck on the H I bought this summer. I wondered if this common and ask about any tricks before I dig into freeing them up. Any tricks to breaking loose the hand crank mechanism? is there a spring that you press against to make it engage under the radiator?
Did people purposely disable the shutter control when they removed distalate manifolds and starting tanks? I haven"t checked yet to see if the crank had a bead of weld holding it in place.

the starting crank mechanism does get rusted and stuck pretty good. it is spring loaded. fine field dust works in there to help it stick too. use a pressure washer and blow out as much dirt and chaff as you can, then let it dry. abundant doses of you favorite penetrating oil, tapping and turning and eventually it will loosen up.

They just rust up.
Using heat on the crank snout is the best way. heat it almost red then allow it to cool. It will break up the rust. then use loose juice of your choice and tapping repeatedly with a brass drift or chunk of aluminum between the hammer and snout to keep it looking good. Similar techniques work for the crank. Jim

Most people ripped the shutters off when they took the rest of the dist stuff off. I have heard more than one story about overheating a tractor because somebody forgot the shutters were closed.

I remember dad saying that when he bought his H he sold the shutters to the dealer.We are in New Mexico and don't need all the cold weather stuff that they came with.

As far as the shutters, likely caked in chaff that drew moisture and has the hinges on the vanes rusted tight.

That's how I found the ones on my SuperC. It never was a distillate tractor, was delivered with a gas motor and shutters in the Southern Catskills of NY.

Took mine off, cleaned 'em up, freed 'em up and put 'em back on, us 'em all the time. I don't know if the H is as notorious for it or not, but the 113/123 motor in the A/B/C series is notoriously cold blooded, and doesn't warm up quickly, whether or not it's a warerp ump and thermostat or a simple thermosiphon. I don't like shuttin' down a tractor cold after a short run, so I've been known to run with the shutters closed even in summer just long enought to warm it up. It DOES require watching your gauge and remembering to open them up so it doesn't overheat, but even in warm weather with the shutters closed, she don't warm up any too quickly doin' just light work.

The SuperC and I are in Maine now, so I'll also use the shutters to help warm the tractor up some before I get about the business of working her harder in cold weather.

Your locale. Your work. Your tractor. Gettin' shed of 'em or cleaning 'em up and using
'em -- your choice. I find 'em handy.

After you get crank loose look and see if it has a grease fitting up under under side. I know an M & 450 have grease fittings.

I have some pics of one taken apart on my web site.
The Farmall H
Click on "43 H More Tear Down Pics 3" and its about a third of the way down.

It takes time & patience to free it up. Use lots of penetrating oil ( I use the 50/50 ATF/Acetone mix) when I really want to soak something down and not worry about burning up a can of Deep Creep which I really like.

Try and shoot some grease into the zerk below and just keep tapping with a brass hammer or punch. Once it is free you will need to remove the snap ring, be careful that you don't bend or distort it. Then that collar will be the next pain to get loose. same drill on that, oil and light tapping as it is just sheet metal and will bend up easily.

Good Luck

Randy