seized John Deere B

[mark nagele]

I have a 1948 B that has seized up. Tried pulling the crap out of it and squirting diesel fuel into pistons but still no luck. Any suggestions other than tearing it apart?

 

[Anonymous-0]

WELL IF YOU HAVE NOT DONE MAJOR DAMAGE BY PULLING YOU MAYBE ABLE TO REBUILD THE MOTOR .......MAYBE YOU HAVE BENT THE RODS OR WHATEVER VALVES MITE OF BEEN STUCK ETC IF YOU HAVE TO PART IT OUT THERE IS A GUY IN SO MN THAT SPECIALIZES IN PARTING B'S MOST PEOPLE HAVE HEARD OF HIM

 

[toot]

make sure the valves are free, pour automatic tranny fluid in cylinders and let sit.

 

[2-banger]

ive done this twice in the last couple weeks with 2 diff tractors. take head off and loosen rod caps, leave caps and nuts on rod bolts..usally by doing this you can move fly wheel a little back and forth and bang pistons loose. i used alot of pb blaster too, once pistons start moves use sand paper and clean cylinders walls best you can so the rings dont hang up. it could also be water frozen in first reduction cover. you need to have tractor in heated shop and drain crankcase and tranny if your in the cold like us in ny. emails open if you need more help

 

[old]

Trying to pull one is a extra big no no and can/will brake parts and can turn it into a large boat anchor fast do not do that again. Jack the front of it up about 18 inches. Then FILL the cylinders with ATF and let it sit for a few weeks. If it has a starter on it then with the plugs out, always put them back in to keep dirt etc out. Pull the plugs and set a 12 volt battery in and use short fast taps on the starter. If it is going to free up doing this will do it but it may take weeks months or even longer. I have a 1935 JD-B that say for 15 plus years that was locked up and it runs fine now but does smoke some but it did that before it locked up. Oh by the way most tractor I buy are locked up and most I get running so for I'm 20 for 3 or 4

 

[almrm]

On a late B or A and numbered series, with the flywheel cover removed, you can use a long pry bar on the flywheel. The tip of the bar rests against the cast balance lug. The head of one of the attachment bolts is used as a fulcrum. This applies smooth and massive rotational pressure on the crank. I freed a very badly stuck A this way without damage. I did remove the head. A factory pry bar with a square tip is best to hook up good. They also allow the addition of some 2" pipe for a cheater if you want even more torque, as I did. Of coarse, you should use the penetrating concoctions of your choice and allow time for them to work.
Sure, some will criticize this, but let's face it, at some point you are going to have to apply force to get the pistons out. The tractor itself serves as a great fixture to do it smoothly rather than beat them out on the bench with the rods attached.
If it is stuck real bad the pistons will probably be junk anyway. If you bend a rod (and I doubt you will), pick up another pair. I do not believe that you could damage the crank or mains this way. If you have an otherwise good tractor that sits inside and just did not get started for a couple of years, you could choke up on the pry bar and see if it will gently come free without taking the engine apart at all.

For what it's worth,

Mark

 

[fixit]

I have a A that was stuck bad. Found that, not just the pistons, governor gears were badly rusted & oil pump was stuck. If I had gotten it to turn over it would have damaged these also. Take the time & pull it apart. We've got to make these poppers last another 50 years you know. Good luck!! Fixit

 

[630man]

Go to the hardware store and get a couple of cans of PB blaster penatrating lube. I used it on two of my tractors and after a couple days they were free.

 

[Anonymous-0]

You Probably should pull the head anyway in order to assess the amount of corrosion and then raise the front end as was previously recommended and put in as much penetrating oil as you can.

Iloosened up a US A doing that plus making a plate that matched the head bolt pattern using the old gasket as a pattern.

I then put a hardwood 4 by 4 in the cylinder and then put the plate up against it and used the head bolts as jack screws. You can do this on both cyl and once you get some movement you can work the pistons both ways.

Good luck and let us know how and what worked