Fergy giving me fits

[Al Smith]

Now I have turned wrenchs on old rusty machinery since I was15 years when I rebuild my first tractor engine,a1938 Allis Chalmers model B . Then along comes one that is giving me fits .1950 Ferguson TO 20 .Not a big deal except this old antiquie has a Davis /Midwest hydraultic lift .As such you can't see anything ,the flippen lift assembley is in your way .It makes mountains out of mole hills .
What happened was the ignition parts ,points needed replaced and with the lift in the way I had to remove the distributor and trying to find top dead center on number one cylinder I just couldn't get it right . Ended up removing the gas tank to remove the valve cover so I could watch the valves .That's where I stopped out of frustration .Best to cool my jets for a day or two over this damned thing before I take a ten pound sledge hammer to it .So it goes in the life of a shade tree mechanic .--humbug ---

 

[blades]

feel your pain , 51 8n, with old style bucket on it, no good way to get tdc without pulling everything apart

 

[Al Smith]

This is what I have to deal with .not my tractor but close

 

[Al Smith]

I might add these were good old loaders .They'll lift over a ton .How ever with no power steering it's a job to get them to turn with a load on .I had to double plate the center front axle because it spread the tires from being bent from over loading it for years by the previous owner who I worked for as a teenager .It's got barrel of concrete for a counter weight plus cast iron wheel weights other wise it will tilt the rear wheels off the ground .Heap big loader too small of a tractor .

 

[FergusonTO35]

On my TO-35, the timing marks are on the flywheel and viewed through a plug on the left side of the engine. Yeah, these tractors just weren't made to have a loader. The Continental engines used on the TO-20 and TO-30 have a reputation for cracking blocks even without a loader so I would take it off the tractor If I were you. I use a three point carryall on my tractor and it does great.

What kind of transmission oil are you using in your tractor? Original spec was SAE 90 GL-1 mineral oil, which I am using in mine. I may switch to SAE 50 motor oil the next time I change it.

 

[Mad Professor]

Can you get at the timing hole plug cover/hole and see the flywheel marks or is loader make that a no go? Maybe get the cover off and use a mirror?

If you can see the marks file some marks on the crank pulley at TDC and 7o BTDC (timing firing) with the 2nd reference on a stationary point near the pulley (like a car/truck have).

Let me know if you don't have owners/shop manuals and IPL. I have PDFs of them. Not sure if files too big to attach here?

Some tuneup part info I have handy:

Point set, blue streak DR2227P, Cap DR-405, rotor DR-158 ,condensor DR-60X, autolite plugs 386 7/8” wrench

YT Dist bushing/shim kit $30 178103

 

[Al Smith]

On my TO-35, the timing marks are on the flywheel and viewed through a plug on the left side of the engine. Yeah, these tractors just weren't made to have a loader. The Continental engines used on the TO-20 and TO-30 have a reputation for cracking blocks even without a loader so I would take it off the tractor If I were you. I use a three point carryall on my tractor and it does great.

What kind of transmission oil are you using in your tractor? Original spec was SAE 90 GL-1 mineral oil, which I am using in mine. I may switch to SAE 50 motor oil the next time I change it.

I think it's got 80-90 but with the loader I haven't used the three point in decades .The other TO 20 I have at the house also has 80-90 and in the winter it gets rather slow .The loader tractor has a front drive Vickers vane pump .I changed the vanes about 15 or so years ago .
I had a manual at one time but so far I've found nearly every one I have which are many,John-Deere,Farmall Caterpillar .Harley Davidson but no Fergy . Problem is with a front drive pump I have no way to get on the crankshaft pulley to move the engine rotation . I could remove the raditator but that's a job all by itself .I'll figure
something out -----Stop the presses I found the manual .

 

[FergusonTO35]

There is not a little controversy about using modern GL-5 spec 80w90 in old tractors. Supposedly, the extreme pressure additives can corrode soft bronze and brass parts. Modern tractor fluid such as MF Permatran are safe, but probably too thin for the loose tolerances and decades of wear in these old machines. From what I have read, and corresponding with some very knowledgeable old tractor hobbyists, high viscosity motor oil such as SAE 40 or 50 is about as good as it gets. Modern detergent and anti corrosion additives with plenty of viscosity to fill the gaps.

 

[Al Smith]

With the mention of 50 weight that's what my Oliver 0C-6 crawler uses in the tranny and for roller lube .Matter of fact I used 50 in the old Harleys .
Now wear and tear on the loader tractor caused it to lock up if you stalled it in second gear . Years of using it to charge forward in second caused cleaning out barns full of sheep manure the spacers wore allowing the gear to shift .The only way to unhang it was pull it backwards .I just cut new spacers out of brass shim stock to cure that .I got that information from a long out of print book called Dykes automotive which covered every thing from Caterpillar to Model T Fords .Since about 1974 I've had that old Fergy apart so many times I can nearly do it in my sleep .That said this timing issue has about driven me bonkers .It's a pride thing because I'm a much better mechanic than get made a monkey from a 75 year old tractor .Humbug

 

[Al Smith]

Now regarding the distributor .I had replaced the gear plus the bushing years ago along with the camshaft .Another one of the many times I've had to split that old Fergy .Rebuilt the entire clutch assembley as well ,another time .That wasn't that big of a deal because I have over head crane rails in my shop .Just time consuming .

 

[Al Smith]

I won but it was a battle .I had to get creative because of all the obstructions .I had no way to roll it over by hand so I used the starter .A six volt starter running on 12 volts really scoots so it took several tries to get number 1 cylinder up in nearly the right place . Started right up slick as snot on a door knob .Once running I'm pretty good at just using my ears .

 

[Al Smith]

Out of curiosity I doodled around and found this related to the loader .https://ntractorclub.com/manuals/implements/loaders/Davis%20100%20Loader%20-%20Owner's%20Manual.pdf

 

[Al Smith]

Information in regard to possibley cracking the engine block of the Continental Z 120 engine .If you look at the installation proceedure of this model 100 of loader the actual weight is carried by the front axle not the engine itself .How the Dearborn and Freeman loaders were made I don't have a clue .Those were lighter duty with a trip buckets .However during the time period a much better option than a pitch fork .This was long before a skid loader was even thought of .