1940 John Deere H

[Keith Nebel]

I just got my first antique tractor. I noticed that my engine fan is not spinning. Is the fan supposed to spin all the time? If not when does it start spinning?

 

[n29we]

The fan is supposed to rotate anytime the engine is running. You have an issue to be sure. Others here on the site will have the answers as to what might be needed to fix your problem. JimO

 

[PBrowning]

That's not right!!

First off, the fan shaft is gear-driven by a pair of spiral-bevel gears in the governor. You could have a disconnect (rare) in the governor.

Second - The fan interfaces with the fan shaft via a clutch disk type mechanism - which, if the shaft is turning, may be shot. Is the fan shaft still turning???

This condition could be hazardous to your radiator core!! If, for instance, you have a bad fan clutch and all of a sudden it catches - it could toss the fan into the radiator.

Now -- do you have a Part Catalog? I suspect not. The Parts Catalog has some neat illustrations showing you how things are connected up there. It can be downloaded without charge at the "jdparts" homepage. I will tack some instructions on that below my sign-off.

You are welcome to call me anytime to chit-chat about your "H" tractor(830-627-0430), and also welcome to visit the JD-H restoration website (URL below) for lots of great & free information. (PatB)
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Downloading Model “H” Parts Catalog from the “jdparts” site
Page 1

NOTE: If you aren’t a subscriber & have no clue about signing in – go to Google; enter “jdparts”, and then select the John Deere Parts Homepage – you can take it from there without obligation of any kind except to obey the sites rules!

For more on the Jdparts Homepage, see page 2 - - -

Once the “jdparts” saga is behind you - - -

Sign in.

At left, move the cursor to “Start Searching Here”

The move cursor down a tad so it is over “John Deere Parts Catalog”. A small flag will appear out to the right saying, “Contains parts catalogs back to 1975. For older models, please contact your dealer.”

Left-click on the image of the catalog, and a new screen will appear saying, “John Deere Parts Catalog.”

Over in the space just under “model search”, enter the model designator. Example, the letter H. Then press ENTER.

A listing will appear showing all the catalogs for equipment items with the designation entered above. Scroll down and select “304 – Model H, HW, HNH & HWH Tractors”. Click on that line. A new, blank-looking screen appears – it is the downloading screen.

You are now downloading the catalog! (Go get a drink – it may be a few moments or minutes depending on your receive rate).

The front page of PC304 Parts Catalog will appear when D/L is completed.

Move your cursor to the toolbar and observe the comments shown as you rest the pointer on each icon. One will say, “Click to save this file to your computer or other location.”

You now have a choice to make. You can store PC304 in your Documents area, or even to CD or other storage device. Once on CD, you should also be able to have a copy printed locally at a USP Store or Kinko’s quite reasonable. You now have a Parts Catalog for you Model “H” tractor! ++++





John Deere Model “H” Restoration Guide, 3rd Edition
(Excerpt, Chapter 1)
Page 2

JD Parts Homepage -- This is a ready tool for those having Internet access. The simplest way to establish initial contact is to go to Google, and enter "jdparts". Finding your part here also gives pricing and availability data. One of the entries when you set up initially is your local dealer. This site gives you the power to actually look on that dealer's shelves to see if he has what you are looking for, and how much it will cost you! As indicated above, nearly every part in the "H" tractor has the letter "R" as its last character in PC304. It IS a part of the part number, but it isn't always the best way to research your part on the JD Homepage. Always begin with the full part number including the "R" at the end. If this fails, try the part number without the "R" suffix. Bearing part numbers are a classic example here. The "R" has very little if any meaning with bearings. Be aware that a couple bearings have a suffix other than "R" which may indeed change the meaning of the part number, so again - try it both ways. Fasteners are an interesting feature. If yours is found, you will see a basic engineering description -- such as a machine screw, where you receive diameter and length data plus how far down the bolt the threads go! Bear in mind, however, that data here is "replacement data" which means the JD Parts Homepage WILL NOT tell you that hex head clutch drive machine screws are used on a model "A" tractor built in 1951 (which is true). You would only find the hex head data and not the drive data -- which is indeed a bona fide replacement, just not original. You might discover that the JD Parts Homepage is a living extension of your parts catalog, and by "living", I also mean changing. ++++

Be sure to visit me at http://www.jdhpubs.com/ for a boatload of free and hi-value information about early John Deere Tractors.
Restoration Site, JD H

 

[John T]

Welllllllllllllll, YES its supposed to spin any time n every time the engine turns cuz its driven via matching governor shaft to fan shaft bevel gears which is (the horizontal govenor shaft)driven by the camshaft rotation which is driven by the crankshaft.....Perhaps the bevel gears inside the govenor are bad or one (its key) is sheared... See if the fanshaft itslef (not just the fan hub n blades mind you) is free and if it turns, cuz IT SHOULD NOT when shes setting there NOT running cuz the fan shafts bevel gear mates with the govenor shaft bevel gear which mates with the cam then the crank. If that shaft is free there may well be a problem inside the govenor, especially the bevel gears......

John T

 

[ncpapaul]

Keith this I do know........PBrowning is THE resource on the H model, so learn. He will share his knowledge freely, thanks Pat, Paul Dakin in Mississippi

 

[PBrowning]

Hi Paul - Thanks for your kind words of encouragement. It means a great deal to me to know I can still help.

BTW, I just finished getting my arms around the governor oiling issues that plagued he early "H" tractors. See the latest on that one over at the JD-H site (URL below). See "Governors" under "Articles 2". In that piece, the new data begins at the bottom of page 3 with a new figure, and then the new narrative on page 4. This is very important data for anyone with an "H" tractor with a serial number below 16625. (PatB)
Restoration Site, JD H

 

[dieselhotrodder]

well have 3 john deere hs and 2 bs, the most common problem i have is the key way in the gear on the fan shaft itself, and actually the internal shaft breaking due to a frozen bearings.. but the gears that drive the shaft could very well be missing many teeth of compleley broken and gone. i have also seen that to.

 

[Keith Nebel]

Thanks for the info guys. I looked at it last evening and found out that the snap ring holding the gear at the end of fan shaft is missing. This allowed the shaft to eventually work its way towards the radiator, not making enough contact with the gear from the governor.

These snap rings, are these something I can get at a local parts store? Any of you have a favorite place for me to order these?

Also I noticed the gear inside the governor that is driven from the (what I can tell) crank shaft? It looks like it broke at one time and someone brazed it back together. Is this common practice? It seems to work so I guess it must be ok.

My History. I'm from Butler, Pa which is about 30 miles north of Pittsburgh. My father bought this tractor off a local older fella in 1999. The tractor was in good shape when he bought it. He got it repainted, bought some fenders for it and just putted around the house with it. It was willed to me and I just can't stay off of it. I love driving it around. (It seems everyone waves to a guy driving a John Deer H)

Thanks again
Keith

 

[PBrowning]

Keith - you should give me a call sometime today (830-627-0430). It appears that you have become victim to someone's shoddy repairs. A serviceable snap ring would not just come off.

Gear discussion -- A gear on the crankshaft drives the camshaft gear, which (in turn) drives the governor. And that governor gear, far to the left side of the tractor is called the governor drive gear (H389R). Repair of that gear by welding or brazing is not common practice. Those are hard to find used, and new ones remain available from Deere for in the $325 range. I have them for substantially less.

Before you begin piece-meal repair of your governor assembly, I recommend that you take stock of its condition altogether. A new gear and the two ball bearings (if bad) come to a total of $500. And if the fan drive and pinion gears are shot, that's anther $500! Now, if you arrive at this point, it becomes quickly apparent that perhaps a serviceable used governor would be a far better choice. I may be able to help you find one so long as you aren't in too big of a hurry. Let me know if I can help. (PatB)