Doubt I can get this BGS-H Cletrac running...

[mopardude318]

So here lies an old Cletrac that belonged to my father in law. It WAS running 20 some odd years ago, but he parked it right here and that was it, I don't know what could be wrong with it. He sadly passed away a few years ago.

After successfully bringing his old Oliver 550 back to life that sat for just as long, maybe just maybe I can get this thing running again. It's in rough shape, guess I can start by checking if the engine isn't seized. Any advice? Run away? LOL

The 2 brother in laws think I'm nuts, but I would get a kick out of it if the family saw this old heap run again.

Let me know if these pictures went through. And after seeing them, would you also agree I am nuts? lol














 

[mopardude318]

those pics are about worthless. dang. sorry about that.
 

[Anthony76]

I thought the pictures were great. It doesnt look like it is in to bad of shape. I would try to get it running again.
 

[Traditional Farmer]

Pictures look fine to me.Tractor looks good too I once got a Allis Chalmers UC started after working on it for a couple hrs that hadn't run in over 30 years.It smoked and burned some
oil but that was the case before it was parked probably what helped preserve it.
 

[IanC]

Undercarriage and blade cylinders don't look too bad, needs to be brought back. If you haven't dealt with a Cletrac/Oliver before, THE guy to talk to is Landis Zimmerman in Ephrata PA 717-
738-2573.
 

[RBoots]

If it ain't seized up, it'll run. Looks
like you're in a drier area like the
southwest US? If that was setting outside
in MI, the condensation would have probably
stuck the engine in a year or 2. Clean the
carb, get fuel down to it, clean the
points, get power to the coil and from the
coil to the distributor, and I'll bet
she'll run. Oh yeah, check all the fluids
first and dump a little oil in the
cylinders through the spark plug holes
before you try to crank it over.
 

[oliver90owner]

Simple. They ain?t making them anymore. They will only become more rare than they are already. It is always worth at least checking out
what is actually wrong and possible fixes. There are poeple out there that actually know what they are talking about. Speak to them, not the
average (or below) reply on a forum.
 

[Tractorcedric]

If the motor is not stuck, it should not be all that bad! You should try cause that thing could still do a lot of work. I would like to run it!
 

[scootergmc]

The surrounding scenery could be any one of a thousand places in California. That means if it's not stuck, it will run, probably fairly easily.
 

[mopardude318]

I'm in Hollister Ca, 40 miles south of the San Fransisco Bay Area. It stay pretty dry out here.

Today I pulled the plugs, which came out easy, and poured some Marvel Mystery oil down the cylinders. Some of that oil made its way past the rings and was dripping out of the carburetor.

I checked the oil, it was low but it had some!

I took the Carb off, I'll take it apart and do a rebuild. The shift lever isn't stuck, I can shift into every gear with ease. Clutch pedal was movin nicely. Its got a front mounted hydraulic pump, so I don't think I'll be able to turn the engine over that way, I'll have to use the starter. Unless there is another way? These are probably positive ground machines? Not all the wiring is there, I'll have to figure out where to hook wires up to so I can bump the starter.



I can spin the PTO shaft out back by hand.

I took the seat off so I can gain access to this trans cover plate.



Not sure what this little lever does, PTO engagement?









Where's the oil filter on this thing?
 

[scootergmc]

It came out the carb because it came through the head and manifold, not past the rings.

Grab the fan and see if the belts are tight enough to make the motor turn.
 

[mopardude318]

[hd6gtom]

An hour with a power washer would do wonders. It may not have an oil filter. Some of my early tractors did
not have them.
 

[scootergmc]

[oliver90owner]

While Cletrac engines can be a problem for spares (more particularly the oil burners, I think), it is usually the undercarriage which is the
expensive part, if completely shot. This one does not look too bad, and anything can be rectified, but this can be the expensive part of restoring
a crawler to tip-top running condition.


I would get power to the starter motor and check that oil pressure can be raised (without spark plugs in place) before trying to start the engine.