B year ID without sn.

[Gary41a]

I am purchasing a John Deere B that used to belong to my dad and uncle that is missing the sn. tag. I want to use this tractor for tractor drives and the front wheels wobble when in road gear. Some advice I have recieved is to jack up the front end and check the pedistal bearings.
Two questions,how do I tighten up the steering gear assuming the pedistal bearing is replaced,and how can I come up with a model year to order parts without a sn. tag?
I think this is a 45 or 46 B.
Thanks Gary

 

[Lon in NE]

Gary, if I read the parts catalog correctly, in terms of parts usage and serial number breaks, it doesn"t make any difference what year the tractor was made, as long as it is an early styled B, made between 1939 and early 1947. The only exception to the above statement is if the tractor was made in early 1939.

If you don"t have a parts catalog, go to jdparts.com and download(and save) one for free. You don"t have to register to get a parts catalog. When it asks for the catalog number, type in pc330.

Lon

 

[Greenday]

There are no bearings in the bottom of the pedistal just a bushing and thrust washer. Your problem is the worm gear and sector gear are worn at the top of the pedistal under the cover. A manual will tell you how to adjust this but sometimes a flat spot will gety worn in these and will need replaced to adjust correctly.

 

[Gary41a]

Here is a photo of the actual tractor. Can anybody tell from the photo what year this is?

 

[AWK]

Going by the pic it could be 1941-42 or 1946. I would advice you to find a parts book and go through it page by page and look at serial number breaks. It could be a clone of mine if it had fenders and mine is a 41. I do know the drawbars are different on the 46 and the pto is the 1-3/8 size where as the 41-42 had 1-1/8 pto. If you have a pic of the drawbar, could you put it on here?

 

[Gary41a]

Thanks AWK. I do not have any more pictures now. Is the smaller PTO the same as my 38 B?

 

[AWK]

Yes it would be the same.