1945 John Deere Model A

[Ray Durham]

I just purchased this tractor and the rear wheels are set as wide as they will go on the axles. I want to move them in to a narrow setting. The previous owner said his local John Deere dealer suggested it was too risky to try because of the possibility of cracking the hubs. Can anyone give me any suggestions as to the best way to do this and not risk this happening? Thanks.

 

[Mike M]

Just take your time and soak them in PB the longer the better. How bad do they look ? greasy or heavily rusted ? They may just surprise you and loosen up. If they are clear to the end I'd try to get them all the way off then clean the axles before I moved them in.

 

[Rusty wheel]

Don't try to move them with the wheels on. Remove them first and then use a puller, don't beat on them. Keep them wet with PB. rw

 

[Ravgardner]

The 44 A I have was as rusty as they get. Spent much of the last 20 years as the manure spreader tractor. The hubs and almost everything else was rust welded tight. I soaked them with PB blaster and Thrust and made a puller out of chains, Eye bolts and used a 10 ton hydraulic jack to pull on the hubs. I even pumped up the jack and hit the hubs with an 8 pound sledge. Oh yeah I also drilled holes into the hubs down to the axle and put PB blaster in holes to help soak away the rust. Forgot about that desperate move. I shouldn't waste your time with that story, because all of that work didn't move the hubs.

What finally made the difference was a lot of heat. A friend lent me his acetylene set up and Rose bud tip. We heated it very hot and let cool. Then tried to move them. It took three heating and cooling cycles to get the job done. A Rose Bud tip and a hot torch is my recommendation.

 

[PBrowning]

Two things jump out at me here. (1) This is an EXTREMELY dangerous method for the beginner because the weak point in this system may be the chains, or even the eye bolts. Here you call out a ten ton jack. Another fellow might think -- "by golly, I bet a 20-ton would do the trick" but he fails to increase the strength of the chains!!! He's got his mug down there, jacking away, and "POW!" -- a chain breaks. His face can become instant hamburger, and if he is working alone, he may die right there.

I favor a more "captive" setting fo the hyd jack; one using three pieces of B7 All thread and a suitable flat plate for the butt of the jack to push against -- I don't like chains!

(2) The other small detail I may toss in here is that for a hydraulic jack to work in a horizontal poisiton, the jacking cylinder must be on the bottom. And here once again, that draws the operator in very close to the application of some awesome force! Be Careful -- that's my lesson here. (PatB)

 

[alexm]

you might as well go round up 2-3 boltlels of o2 cause its gonna take some extreme heat!

 

[RobMD]

My gosh... all it takes is a 16 ounce hammer and a brass drift...

*********I WISHHHHHHH**********

LOL!

 

[a_sad_anorak]

I have just done this job on my 47A. I used a half inch steel plate with 6 22mm threaded rods drilled to fit through the six holes in the hub. Put the plate on the end of the hub and the rods through the plate and the hub then tighten each in turn. A 1/6 of a turn on each is probably to much. It took half an hour slowly tightening before I realized I wasn't stripping the threads and the hub was actually moving!! It then took 4 and 1/2 hours before the hub finally came off. Never did use heat.

 

[Ray Durham]

Can you post a picture or contact me at my home email address ([email protected])? Thanks.