48 John Deere D

[bice]

This tractor came from my family farm. Its been sitting as long as anyone can remember. I was going to sell it at a recent antique tractor auction but just couldnt do it. I ended up buying anonther on thats a '45 at that auction. Im planning on redoing the 48 now. I took the heads off to see how bad it was going to be. It was bad. It looks as if it has sleeves in it. Any comments or advice from you experienced rebuilders is very welcome and appreiciated. This will be my first one in this shape.

 

[BushogPapa]

NICE-looking Cylinders...!!

Might as well have them like that and there is NO Guessing..!!
Hope the rest is OK..!!

Ron.

 

[BushogPapa]

I would doubt that it has sleeves..

Ron.

 

[Mitch D]

That looks worse than my D was even.... atleast there are .250 over kits for them and they have such low compression pitting shouldn't be to big of a problem

It will be well worth having the family tractor up and running again

 

[Vern H]

Mitch D, Now that looks like a cool project. I think I d have a Bud or two and get started. Good luck. VH

 

[Rusty wheel]

It"s a real shame that it got in that condition, but faith and patience will win out every time. Looks like a real challange, but well worth it in the end. rw

 

[Mike M]

That's nasty !

Keep pulling it apart take the rods loose and pull the whole thing off. Then clean it up some and then stand it upright on something and fill it up with diesel or something ? and let it sit until you can see it drip from the bottom. Then try a block of wood and a sledge to get them moving out the bottom. Good Luck.

 

[F-I-T]

If you could prop it upright, you could put some nice electrodes in there and cleaned it with electrolysis. I think you would be amazed how that red rust would convert. You might still lose the block, but you never know.

You could even use some caulk to seal a sheet of plexiglas to the front and cook it where it sits. Hold it in place with some spacers over the studs. Until it starts leaking out past the rings, it might clean up most of it.

 

[jd b puller]

Aren't you glad you aren't one of these guys who just tries to dump some ATF in the cylinder and pull start them without looking to see what's wrong? There's enough garbage in there, you could have "rustlocked" the cylinder and really garfed things up.

 

[Earl - IL]

Mike, Some of the guys have good luck standing the block upright with diesel in the cyl.& light it & let it just burn the fuel off.That small amount of heat will let the fuel leak down around the rings .When I had the machine shop several of the guys said it worked well for them.

 

[bice]

I knew this was gonna be bad so I figured I'd go ahead and take it apart before forcing. I've got a tub and a DC welder ready to do some work with electrolosis when I get that block off. I've still got to take the parts '45 apart to see what's up with it. It's stuck too. Maybe it's in better shape? I'd better make friends with a machine shop fast.

 

[Wayn_h]

put the heads back on, some fresh fuel, new plugs and start her right up!

Seriously, that looks like a challenge! Have fun and take your time. Remember, this is a hobby!

Wayne

 

[WeirdDeere]

If the block is pitted bad, but the pistons are OK, you could always bore it out and have sleeves installed, using the original pistons.

Here's a restoration journal of our unstyled DI. It might have some tips. And you're always free to ask! Your pictures are sure a flashback to our adventure!

<a href="http://www.johnnypopper.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=13319">http://www.johnnypopper.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=13319</a>

Brandon

 

[Shawn MN]

Just curious, how much did u pay for the 1945 D?

 

[jd b puller]

just zoomed in on that bottom picture. Looks like it ate clear thru the cylinder. The liner looks real thin, you can normally bore those things 0.250" and still have plenty of meat left over. See if you can measure the diameter of the cylinder if you can find a place that would be fairly true. I'm curious.

 

[Paul from MI]

My D was about that bad when I got it. I removed block and pistons as a unit. When you take it off be sure to support the connecting rods so they don't drop and break a piston skirt. Don't ask me how I know this. Turn it upright and soak with your favorite penetrant. Any way I made 6-3/4" dia. plate x 1" thick plate to lay on top of the pistons and put the block in a 50 ton press. Took 8-1/2 tons to move each piston. Then I bored the block to fit new pistons, and ended up sleeving one cylinder. It's been running fine for over 20 years now, and it's a tractor I use on my little farm so it doesn't get babied. Good luck with it.

 

[bice]

I got the 45 for $550.

 

[bice]

Ive got the block off and one piston out. It was not as bad as I thought it would be. Other piston is soaking. Everything behind the block looks great. Crank turns and tranny engages and moves. No chipped teeth on gears. How deep should I go?