Hard job.

[Ultradog MN]

I don't remember if I posted that I had
brought my yellow tractor home and have
been working on it. I put it together 6 or
7 years ago then had to bring it up to our
property and leave it.
Lot of things I never finished then so I'm
doing them now.
One thing then was the right side king pin
was awful tight and now you couldn't even
steer it at all.
So I attacked that today.
Had to cut the king pin in 3 pieces then
drive the pieces out individually.
Took me all afternoon.
The pieces in the spindle came out ok but
the hard one was the one in the axle.
I have two Victor oxy/acet torches. Big one
and mid size. I don't think I have ever had
to use the big rosebud. Small one was
always enough. But today I had to turn the
pressure up and really cook this thing with
the big torch. Took a quarter tank of both
gasses.
And it was hard to hold the drive pin with
one hand and swing the 8 lb sledge with the
other. I'll be 69 in a month - if you know
what I mean.
But I got that rascal apart!
Ordered new pin and bushings, etc for it
from my local dealer. They should be here
next week.
Interestingly enough the left side is fine
so I just ordered parts for this right
side.
Still have a bunch of things to do to
finish this tractor. Have new tires for the
rear to put on, finish the power steering,
pull the trumpet to see why the diff lock
doesn't work, bunch of small stuff but I am
looking forward to putting it to work some
time this summer- at last.
Always wanted a short, Low 4000 for the
heft and grunt they have. Brakes too.
This will probably be the last tractor I
rehab. Thinking about moving on to other
projects while I can still swing a sledge
hammer.
Sorry for rambling on here. I had a real
good day working on this old Ford.
And I'm grateful I can share my handywork
with others who understand.

 

[Matt in Oz]

Thanks for sharing UD. Good to get a win and I admire your patience and persistence. What model is that one? I had a 4500 for a while very different to the ag 1000 series machines.

 

[Jerry/MT]

Why do you figure that king pin was so tight?

 

[Bern]

40 years worth of rust and corrosion. It's a light press fit to start with when it's new.

 

[Sean in PA]

(quoted from post at 19:09:04 06/04/22) Thanks for sharing UD. Good to get a win and I admire your patience and persistence. What model is that one? I had a 4500 for a while very different to the ag 1000 series machines.

Looks like a 3550 or possibly a 4400 to me. The radiator shroud isn't quite correct for either, but everything else that I can see looks correct for both. The main difference between them is the engine displacement and the placement of the power steering cylinder.

 

[Ultradog MN]

I do not know.
Someone had tried to do something to it in the past and had pounded on the axle itself trying.
This is a 3500/4400 axle.
I had replaced bushings in one of these before.
Wasn't hard to do.
They have a retaining pin that holds the king pin in place.
Retaining pin goes in from the back side and is secured by a nut in front.

I could NOT drive retaining pin out.
Ended up having to drill through it length ways then use the cutting torch through the hole to wash enough of it away to drive it out.
This thing fought me pretty hard.

 

[warbaby]

The Flat-rate book allows an hour per side. Did you go over that?

I once spent an entire weekend ''heatn' and beatin' '' a set of JD ''G'' splined wheel clamps. I broke a large gear puller, used up a tank of acetylene and lost about 10 pounds myself sweating, swinging and swearing before they moved!

 

[pdhntr]

(quoted from post at 15:49:29 06/04/22) I don't remember if I posted that I had
brought my yellow tractor home and have
been working on it. I put it together 6 or
7 years ago then had to bring it up to our
property and leave it.
>

Hi Ultradog,

If I may ask, what is that tractor?

Thank you.

Jim

 

[Bern]

It's not uncommon for those kingpins to put up a fight like you described. I've done several of those that were as stubborn as yours. In one case, I had to cut the king pin in two pieces to get the spindle off, and then after that I had to blow through the center section with a torch. That was one messy job.

 

[Lynn Patrick]

We did the same w/my son's 3500 a couple years ago. One side went (comparitively) easy, but on side #2 his 2# hammer did nothing. His 6# sledge did nothing. Lots of heat & my 20# sledge finally did the trick!

 

[Ultradog MN]

It is basically an all purpose 4000 with a
3500 industrial front end on it. The front
end lowers and shortens the tractor. The
Nose is from a much newer 545 industrial -
just for looks.
I call it my 4450 though Ford didn't make a
model with that number.

 

[Ultradog MN]

That would have been a pretty good pierce with the torch.
3+ inches. I would have tried drilling it through.
The pin is not real hard. Center punch dents it easily.

 

[jimtrs]

(quoted from post at 18:49:29 06/04/22)
I have two Victor oxy/acet torches. Big one
and mid size. I don't think I have ever had
to use the big rosebud. Small one was
always enough. But today I had to turn the
pressure up and really cook this thing with
the big torch. Took a quarter tank of both
gasses

Sometimes ..... stuff just wants to fight back!

You probably know this, but worth mentioning - For safety sake, watch the acetylene withdrawal rate, especially with large rosebud tips.

 

[UPFord]

FWIW regarding the non working diff lock. On a 1989 445C with the hand operated park brake on the left side, the brake cable that pulls on the right side brake actuator was blocking the diff lock lever from moving enough to engage.

The diff lock pedal would depress, it has a spring connector to pull on the diff lock arm. The way the park brake cable bracket was shaped was preventing the diff lock arm from moving downward.

I removed the park brake cable and the diff lock worked fine. I modified the park brake cable bracket so I could reinstall the cable without blocking the diff lock arm.