Jubilee Differential- 3 shocks!

[ericinvermont]

Hi there and happy holidays!

I'm new to the forums, but not new to Yesterday's Tractor or to Fords- I've had an 8N for years.

I now have a '54 Jubilee and decided to change the fluid in the three compartments- transmission, hydraulics, and differential- not like the 8N that has one big compartment.

Working from the front, I first changed the fluid in the transmission- no problem. Then the hydraulics- no problem. All drained properly and took approximately the amount the manual says.

BUT! When I removed the differential drain plug (square plug, furthest back on the bottom), I got shock number 1- no oil came out! I stuck my finger up in there and there wasn't any blockage that I could feel. Crap! No oil in the diff can't be good.

I replaced the drain plug and then removed the fill plug as well as the fluid level plug- the last ones to the rear of the tractor. I started adding fluid to the top and then I got shock number 2: nasty molasses oil immediately started draining from the fluid level plug! I put in maybe a gallon of new fluid until the new stuff ran clear from the fluid level plug.

Then I started the tractor, engaged the PTO and let it run for 5 minutes. I removed the fluid level plug and a slight amount came out.

Then shock number 3: I removed the bottom drain plug and again, NOTHING came out!

I'm baffled by this. It's as if the differential oil is caught up at the top and not going all the way down. Please set me straight!

Thanks so much!

eric in vermont

 

[ErnieD]

pull the pto shaft out the back and check. how much did you add?

 

[Powered By IH]

Hi there and happy holidays!

I'm new to the forums, but not new to Yesterday's Tractor or to Fords- I've had an 8N for years.

I now have a '54 Jubilee and decided to change the fluid in the three compartments- transmission, hydraulics, and differential- not like the 8N that has one big compartment.

Working from the front, I first changed the fluid in the transmission- no problem. Then the hydraulics- no problem. All drained properly and took approximately the amount the manual says.

BUT! When I removed the differential drain plug (square plug, furthest back on the bottom), I got shock number 1- no oil came out! I stuck my finger up in there and there wasn't any blockage that I could feel. Crap! No oil in the diff can't be good.

I replaced the drain plug and then removed the fill plug as well as the fluid level plug- the last ones to the rear of the tractor. I started adding fluid to the top and then I got shock number 2: nasty molasses oil immediately started draining from the fluid level plug! I put in maybe a gallon of new fluid until the new stuff ran clear from the fluid level plug.

Then I started the tractor, engaged the PTO and let it run for 5 minutes. I removed the fluid level plug and a slight amount came out.

Then shock number 3: I removed the bottom drain plug and again, NOTHING came out!

I'm baffled by this. It's as if the differential oil is caught up at the top and not going all the way down. Please set me straight!

Thanks so much!

eric in vermont

Can you poke around with a long screwdriver inside the drain hole and see what you find?

 

[sotxbill]

looking at the manual diagram,,, there is an oil pan drain on the front half, a tranny drain about center, a hydraulic drain just at the rear end of the running boards, and a diffy drain center of the axle housings... I am intrigued as to why nothing comes out of the diffy drain. Flashlight?? push a stiff wire up to see how far it goes? Same for the fill cap looking down., Can you push a stiff wire all the way to the bottom ie a coat hanger. Manual is showing 5qts in trans, 8qt in hydr, 8.5 qts in diffey. Hope you let us know what you find.

 

[Eman85]

I think the other shock might be it's not a Jubilee, I think they were only 53's.

 

[Sean in PA]

I think the other shock might be it's not a Jubilee, I think they were only 53's.

The model was NAA for both 1953 and 1954. The Golden Jubilee name was a marketing thing that was added to the 1953 NAA tractors for marketing purposes in order to take advantage of the 50th anniversary of the Ford Motor Company. If you go to the parts site and put in "Golden Jubilee" or "Jubilee" for the model search, you won't find it. You will only find it when you search for NAA (or NAB for the kerosene version).

 

[tractorford]

if you can get a cheap boroscope tool from "the river" you might twist it up in there and have a gander---- prolly some alien fuzzy jello slime deposits lurking in there.... suppose you could spray some weak diesel in there, let it soak and then rinse it out proper.... some folk apparently swear by that....but im far too earthbound for such adventures.

 

[wjytexas]

I think the other shock might be it's not a Jubilee, I think they were only 53's.

Late '52, '53, and '54 were all NAA,s The late 2 and all 53 were badged as Jubilee's. The '54 is basically the same tractor but doesn't have the Jubilee badging.

 

[sotxbill]

Still wanna know why the drain plug does not drain... if he added in the rear fill plug behind the seat, till it ran ouf of the check hole on the rear end housing... Something a miss. I would put a light on the fill hole and look up from the drain hole, and reverse... Dang beavers built a dam or something. Bottom full of 90wt mud and goo?? Or used car salesman filled the rear end with bananas.

 

[tractorford]

Still wanna know why the drain plug does not drain... if he added in the rear fill plug behind the seat, till it ran ouf of the check hole on the rear end housing... Something a miss. I would put a light on the fill hole and look up from the drain hole, and reverse... Dang beavers built a dam or something. Bottom full of 90wt mud and goo?? Or used car salesman filled the rear end with bananas.

leprechauns are known to gather in such banana-plenty dwellings ive heard folks say as well

 

[Sean in PA]

Late '52, '53, and '54 were all NAA,s The late 2 and all 53 were badged as Jubilee's. The '54 is basically the same tractor but doesn't have the Jubilee badging.

The NAA was officially only made for the 1953 and 1954 model years. The ones made in late '52 were 1953 model year tractors, just like the car manufacturers introduce the models for next model year in the fall, before the beginning of the calendar year.

 

[Sean in PA]

Still wanna know why the drain plug does not drain... if he added in the rear fill plug behind the seat, till it ran ouf of the check hole on the rear end housing... Something a miss. I would put a light on the fill hole and look up from the drain hole, and reverse... Dang beavers built a dam or something. Bottom full of 90wt mud and goo?? Or used car salesman filled the rear end with bananas.

I agree, he needs to put a probe up into the drain hole from the bottom, or maybe a bore scope with a light, to see how far up the "nothing" goes.

 

[ericinvermont]

Based on your replies, I'm not crazy. (well... maybe a little crazy) What I'm seeing is definitely not normal as I suspected.

Tomorrow, I'll try pushing a wire down through the top holes (fill and check) and also try running one up the drain hole. I may be able to borrow a borescope after Christmas.

I've had this tractor for a year or so. I inherited it from my Dad. I recall him telling me that the Jubilee has 3 compartments and that he had drained and refilled them. The tractor has been run very little since, so I'm just now changing the fluid. It was a little milky on the dipstick, indicating some moisture in there, probably from condensation.

Also, the tractor runs GREAT- engine and rear lift. I haven't run anything off the PTO yet. And there are no strange noises from the rear- no bearing noise or grinding or anything.

I'll report back with what happens with the wire test.

Thanks very much and hope you had a great Christmas.

eric in vermont

 

[ericinvermont]

Update!!!

I finally got a chance to go out and look things over this afternoon. I removed the top cover and put a strong light over the hole. Then I removed the drain plug- no oil, no light.

I could just get the end of my pinky up in there a little and couldn't feel anything. So I brought the light down and shone it up the hole. I could definitely see something up there, blocking the hole. I grabbed a welding rod and stuck it up in there and was able to pull out a dollop of congealed oil/grease that was blocking the hole- sealing it. Immediately the oil started running out!

That was it. Simple explanation. Man, do I like simple explanations!

Thanks again to all that responded!

Happy New Year!

eric in vermont

 

[sotxbill]

Thanks for solving the mystery and letting the gang know. Happy New Year!!

 

[Sean in PA]

Thanks for the follow up. Definitely a logical explanation.

 

[Hemmjo]

You have a situation known as "Oil Gelation" it can be caused by several situations, including mixing incompatable oil types. You need to flush the case as good as yuo can to remove all remnants of the gel.

Lubricating Oil Gelation

 

[ErnieD]

If it was mine; I would pull the pto shaft and manually clean the sump. BTDT.

 

[showcrop]

A mechanic in the shop next to where I ran my business once showed me an oil pan full of jelled oil. When it wouldn't drain he dropped the pan. You could see the paths of the crankshaft lobes in the gelatin. He told me that they had put a lot of STP in the oil.

 

[Mad Farmer]

Some diesel fuel might loosen up the jello and rinse out the rear end