Introduction and first tractor

[Cessnapilot89]

Good Afternoon,

My name is Cody, I am up in Nebraska and just bought my first tractor. Monday I get to go pick up a new to me 52 John Deere A with a hydraulic American Loader on it.

My goal is to get it tuned up and taken care of and just keep it running and in the family. How difficult is it to maintain one? Currently I do my own vehicle maintenance, most recently on my m35a2 deuce. Are there any special tools that I should try to find? How difficult would it be to remove the loader?

 

[matthies]

No special tools, an owners manual will help a lot. Loader is easy to remove, either use another loader and support the rear, unbolt and back away, or support from a tree and do the same. Switched one between two JD 60 tractors a few years ago, with another loader less than an hour.

 

[Cessnapilot89]

Thank you! I appreciate it!

 

[NoDakInMN]

I would start with an I&T manual. It covers more than just the A, but it is a good general service manual.

 

[jeztractor]

Welcome!!

 

[Fixingfarmer]

The wonderful thing about those is the special tools you need are your plain old craftsman tool set. With one exception your late A probably will have clutch head screws holding the sheet metal on that’s the only special tool but if you want to clean the radiator or need to get into the gauges. They also will take a 6 point if you don’t care about paint but technically there is a correct tool I learned this just last year.

A lot of stuff can actually be done without pulling the hood even up to pulling the cylinder head off and out to do a head gasket it’s a whole different animal they designed them to to be easy to work on.

 

[Cessnapilot89]

Thank you! I am pretty excited as I love learning how machines work.

 

[Cessnapilot89]

Made it home this afternoon! Now to give it a thorough cleaning

 

[David from Kansas]

Good Afternoon,

My name is Cody, I am up in Nebraska and just bought my first tractor. Monday I get to go pick up a new to me 52 John Deere A with a hydraulic American Loader on it.

My goal is to get it tuned up and taken care of and just keep it running and in the family. How difficult is it to maintain one? Currently I do my own vehicle maintenance, most recently on my m35a2 deuce. Are there any special tools that I should try to find? How difficult would it be to remove the loader?

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Made those high lift loaders mainly to stack loose hay as they had a very high lift (easy to lay over when they are high in the sky with a load on them, keep it level and go slow).
There are lots of excellent videos on whootube that show how to do many of the routine repair jobs like carb repair, brake repairs, clutch repairs, and on-and-on.
You mentioned the M35A2 deuce; I was in the military (ARNG) for many, many years and have put thousands of miles on those old trucks, everything from the 1/4T to the 10T M125cargo trucks with the 844 CI V8 LeRoi gas engine. What a beast that was. We used them as prime movers for the 8" towed howitzers (I think they were the M115). Good luck with your new project.

 

[Cessnapilot89]

Thank you! It should be pretty fun. The widow I bought it from was very excited to know it wasn't going to be scrapped. Her late husband had over 100 vintage Deeres.

 

[flying belgian]

Thank you! It should be pretty fun. The widow I bought it from was very excited to know it wasn't going to be scrapped. Her late husband had over 100 vintage Deeres.

Those old A's can be completely worn out and still keep running. Neighbor I worked for as kid had one as his main workhorse on 90 acre farm. He was the worst mechanic and operator you could imagine.