1948 John Deere B Governor

[Sean.Crombie88]

So I have been working on looking into several items on this new to me tractor.
It runs but not very well and it had an oil issue I was looking into.

So with that I started checking into some things to check items like timing, balance etc.

Last night I pulled off the flywheel cover and rolled the engine over by hand to see the timing mark and when the mag clicks. From what I gather the mag should click when the TDC mark on the flywheel is at the rear and passes that line mark on the cover.
This did not happen. The mag was clicking at way different times than that mark.
I rolled the engine over multiple times and o served, not once did it line up.

My crankshaft just has a punch mark and says TDC, not “left impulse” like others I have seen.

So with that I am thinking my timing is way off. So I pulled the cover off the flywheel side of the governor to check the timing with the cam gear and the whole shaft popped out under tension when I removed the cover. It did not completely coming out but I can completely unmesh it from the gear and pull it half out of the housing. Furthermore there is visible damage to some of the teeth on the cam gear like this has been moving around.

I’m no expert but I feel like this shouldn’t happen. My thoughts are there is something broken or loose in the governor like one of the snap rings came off or something.
The positive I guess is that it was messed with the right teeth and the timing marks on the governor and cam gear lined up like they should so still don’t understand why it’s so far off on time. It has a Wico X mag on it which I believe is what would have come on it originally?

Any help is appreciated.

 

[greenmech]

Make sure the mag is off before you put it together. The shaft is under spring tension. When engine is top dead center the slot for the mag is horizontal. Ron MN

 

[a49deere]

It sounds to me like it might be a good idea to start from square one and pull off crank cover and check to make sure cam gear is timed correctly with crank, then get governor timed with cam. I like to roll engine over with a finger over#1cylinder plug hole and feel for the start of compression, then peak inside plug hole or bend a piece of tie wire and stick in plug hole and continue to rotate #1 piston until top dead center, then look at flywheel and see how close your TDC mark on flywheel is to tab on tractor. If it's not right, there you still have a timing issue. When this is correct, your magneto drive should be horizontal. It's been a while since I was in a governor, but no, I don't think you should be able to pull shaft halfway out of housing.

 

[Mark-Ia]

Normal for the shaft to move out. It's under spring pressure. As Greenmech said; remove the magneto before reinstalling the cover or it will break the magneto.

 

[Mike(NEOhio)]

The tooth with the V needs to line up with a similar mark on the cam gear below it. Roll it through till the cam mark shows up and see where the governor gear is. Where they line up may not be at TDC. Check the end of the crankshaft to be sure the flywheel is on in the right position then look under the crankcase cover for the crank to cam timing. They're a little hard to see and again, will not be at TDC. As was said, take the mag off first. Push the governor shaft inward to see the cam mark. And you have a crack at the bolt hole but that shouldn't be an issue. This seems to be the month for B timing problems

 

[Loosehandle]

The tooth with the V needs to line up with a similar mark on the cam gear below it. Roll it through till the cam mark shows up and see where the governor gear is. Where they line up may not be at TDC. Check the end of the crankshaft to be sure the flywheel is on in the right position then look under the crankcase cover for the crank to cam timing. They're a little hard to see and again, will not be at TDC. As was said, take the mag off first. Push the governor shaft inward to see the cam mark. And you have a crack at the bolt hole but that shouldn't be an issue. This seems to be the month for B timing problems

Looks like the shim gasket ripped rather than a crack to me

 

[Mike(NEOhio)]

Looks like the shim gasket ripped rather than a crack to me

Yup, I see that now.

 

[Fixingfarmer]

Mag impulse will be 120 degrees ahead of (counterclockwise) the lheo(left hand exhaust opening)if yours has a cover over the entire flywheel there should be a v mark. I went and looked this morning at my A.

I’ll attach a picture of one of the Bs with the flywheel stamped. Degrees and theory of operation are the same. They just quit marking it except on the flywheel cover. I have used that dot at the lh impulse with the dash on the transmission to time before it makes it easier to use a light once you have it running

Hopefully that makes sense. To actually tell where your governor and crank are in relation to each other you will have to open the top lid up above the crankcase and look for those Vs

 

[Sean.Crombie88]

My flywheel looks a little different than a lot of the ones I’ve seen in videos, even for this year.
Mine

View attachment 146054View attachment 146052

does not have the LH Impulse or LH Exhaust open markings. It just has a single punch mark that is stamped TDC, no other markings

 

[Fixingfarmer]

There should be marks on the top of the flywheel by the ring gear they are difficult to read

 

[ET]

There is a punch mark by one of the threaded holes in the center of the flywheel. I can see it in one of your photos. This lines up with a V mark in the center window of the flywheel cover at top dead center.

 

[J.Wondergem]

My flywheel looks a little different than a lot of the ones I’ve seen in videos, even for this year.
Mine View attachment 146053View attachment 146054View attachment 146052View attachment 146055does not have the LH Impulse or LH Exhaust open markings. It just has a single punch mark that is stamped TDC, no other markings

You have a newer tractor with a cover over the flywheel.

 

[620 John]

With Cyl no. 1 at TDC the bolts holding the flywheel on should be straight vertical and the counterweight molded into the flywheel should be at 3 o'clock position. Right now the counterweight is at about 1 o'clock. As mentioned the TDC mark is a punch mark that lines up with a little "dash" mark on the flywheel cover. Need to take the small center cover off the big cover to see it. It'll be at 6 o'clock position at TDC.

I highlighted the timing mark and counterweight in your picture.

 

[nutsoverJD]

My flywheel looks a little different than a lot of the ones I’ve seen in videos, even for this year.
Mine View attachment 146053View attachment 146054View attachment 146052View attachment 146055does not have the LH Impulse or LH Exhaust open markings. It just has a single punch mark that is stamped TDC, no other markings

I have this style of flywheel. Your TDC should be a V mark on the flywheel cover