Denny's Free Suburban Work

[WHX?? 48,743]

Stared to take apart the Clinton and found lots of corrosion & mouse stuff under the tins. Realized I was going to have to pull the whole engine apart to do this proper.

Carb very crusty so carb kit on hand with a can of Berrymans & see how that goes. It appears to be white painted so do I paint it again? Any ideas on how to keep whats left of orginal paint through the cleaning/ blasting process?  Or not worry about it?

[clip 185]

Soda blast it. I did that on my 49 Farmall carb and it brought it back to as-cast in seconds. Then I rinsed it in hot water to clean the rest of the baking soda out. 

http://www.farmallcub.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=86330

There are instructions online to make an even cheaper blaster out of a spray nozzle and box of baking soda.

wear a respirator when you do this, it burns the nose!

[CasualObserver 3,408]

I was hoping you'd do a thread on this tractor Jim. I'll be following along. 

[WHX?? 48,743]

The problem  is that I am not sure I want to take it down to cast.....wanted to try and save as much OEM paint as possible. Did get to work on it this weekend. Pics and more to follow from my shop tomorrow.
 

[WHX?? 48,743]

Got to work on this little gem this weekend and got everything tore down. Got everything bagged and tagged & lots of pics as to how it was. Can't believe my luck as fasteners came out with relative ease. Nothing stripped out or twisted off. Even the sometimes stubborn shift lever dog point set screw backed right out!

 In an effort to save as much OEM paint I decided not to pressure wash anything as that would have surely blasted alot more paint off. Will have to do it  school by hand with regular parts cleaner..lots of crud on the frame rails.

The motor really doesn't need to be tore into but I am going to pull the head to check the bore pending availability of a head gasket. The oil that came out was fairly clean.  The cylinder head and fin were completely filled with mud dauber nests. but  should wire brush up ok.

Tranny on the other hand is going to be tore down. Upon getting the shift lever out and pouring out the rally nasty looking gunk in ther I noticed metal shavings ....oh oh... lots of metal particals clinging on the lower shift lever as well.
The hubs slid right off but ther does seem to be side slop in the axle bearings or bushings in there. Seals will need to be replaced in the brake & input pulley as well.
If anyone has a good source for tranny parts I am all ears. I believe it to be a 5003-5010. Going to get the motor happening before I pull it apart to find out  if it's got the ball or needle bearings in it.

Going to be a slowww process as this $()&# thing called work keeps interfering with things. Family already asks if I  got a bed out in the garage!?!?!?

Got the easy stuff done - flywheel cleaned up and ready to go, only part I painted as it don't show anyway, gotta have some rattle can time right?  Magnet was real loose and one of the threads were mangled - chased out real nice tho and a few drops of 271 loctite should do. Don't want that bugger to come loose and take out the ignition coil!

[WHX?? 48,743]

Wheels & tires going to my tire man to see what can be done. Fronts have had it - ripped sidewalls, and I fear there might be too much damage to the rims to save them.  Backs might be salvageable but one won't hold air - goodrich silvertown...... anyone got a source for these I'm all ears as well.

drilling & grinding on the recoil tin... recoil studs were twisted  off

Edited August 10, 2015 by WHX4
SPELLING

[WHX?? 48,743]

For those who don't know the rest of the story see

http://www.wheelhorseforum.com/topic/57515-free-suburban/?page=1

[WHX?? 48,743]

Got the carb done last nite, Berrymans worked exceptionally well. Had to modify the float tang a little to get it to work with the new inlet valve. Have to figure out how to "antique" the new filter to get it look right with the rest of the engine. Can't have shiney new parts on it! Hopefully it works and makes the Clinton putt....putt.

Hats off to my friend Beef for helping.... works R&D at Kohler Engines. He used to work for Keihin Fuel Systems  and is a real carb pro!

Better shot of the tranny nos. if it helps anyone in ID it.....

[Rob R 966]

Those back tires I think will fine, scrub them real good, then armorall them and put in new tubes bet you get five to ten years out of  them.....

[WHX?? 48,743]

There were tubes in both the front and the rear so thats what I will be doing Rob. The backs are pretty good yet so thats what I will be doing.  Fronts ther were no hope for. Heres the rims after sand blasting & ready for primer & paint. Should I try to fill in those deep pits with something or leave as is.

[Rob R 966]

Not much you can do with the rust you have on the fronts as the metal has been thinned and weakened..... the backs are much better. I would say give them multiple coats of the primer then paint and hope for the best... keep your eyes open for some new front rims on Craigslist etc....

[clip 185]

Depending on how in-depth you're going, use SPI's epoxy primer, then use body filler for the pits, then use their regular or high build primer to finish before you put a top coat on.

If it was me, I'd just put a good coat of epoxy primer on and top coat, letting the pits be as long as they're blasted clean.

[WHX?? 48,743]

My tire man who took the rubber off for me was impressed about the thickness of the steel in these rims. He said alot of the (newer) lawn tractor rims that come in for tires bend when he tries to unmount or mount them. Just don't make stuff like they used to. I call it our "grandfather's steel"! Anyway he said these rims should be fine with tubes in them so I think I will take rgrottk's advice.... after all trying to keep the orginality here. Problem is he wants to sell me off his stack/rack 4.00/4.80-8 tires that look real cheap and not even close to originals. If anyone knows a source for the fronts that are even somewhat close in orginal tread, looks & quality let me know.  Maybe I am just bein anal here but what the heck......do it right the first time!

Also something else I didn't know but found out after reading the owner's manual last nite is that these tractors where shipped from the factory with what they called ballast in the front tires and that you should't put your air gauge on them cause your gonna wreck it with the fluid they used back then. My tire man says they use beet juice nowadays.

If you have never read a vintage WH owner's manual from this time period it's a must.........hilarious how the horse talks and the graphics! No wonder TV shows from the day were so good!

 

[RedRanger 1,468]

My tire man who took the rubber off for me was impressed about the thickness of the steel in these rims. He said alot of the (newer) lawn tractor rims that come in for tires bend when he tries to unmount or mount them. Just don't make stuff like they used to. I call it our "grandfather's steel"! Anyway he said these rims should be fine with tubes in them so I think I will take rgrottk's advice.... after all trying to keep the orginality here. Problem is he wants to sell me off his stack/rack 4.00/4.80-8 tires that look real cheap and not even close to originals. If anyone knows a source for the fronts that are even somewhat close in orginal tread, looks & quality let me know.  Maybe I am just bein anal here but what the heck......do it right the first time!

Also something else I didn't know but found out after reading the owner's manual last nite is that these tractors where shipped from the factory with what they called ballast in the front tires and that you should't put your air gauge on them cause your gonna wreck it with the fluid they used back then. My tire man says they use beet juice nowadays.

If you have never read a vintage WH owner's manual from this time period it's a must.........hilarious how the horse talks and the graphics! No wonder TV shows from the day were so good!

 

I have a pair of Carlisle 4.80-8 that I'd sell you.  $60 for the pair shipped to you.  Nice quality and look similar to your oem tires.  Came on my 401. Nearly new.


If you want something more original looking, check out Miller Tire.
http://www.millertire.com/products/lawn-garden-tires/4-00-8/4-80-8-firestone-turf-guide-4-ply/
 

[WHX?? 48,743]

Thanks for the offer Red but I almost have to keep my business with my tire man cause he spendt alot of money with me. He takes care of my fleet trucks so he unmounted my tires for nothin. He is a Firestone dealer tho so i am going to find the ones I want off miller tire and get him to order them for me. I see they even have the 6-12 rears with an identical thread pattern as original

Nice little 401 you got ther tho!

[CasualObserver 3,408]

Jim, if you want those you can't get them from Firestone... they're an old discontinued model and Miller Tire now owns the molds for them. Same with the Firestone 23 degree ag tires for 12 inch rims and the Firestone 8 inch Tri-ribs.

The only place you'll get those is Miller Tire.

[RedRanger 1,468]

I bought a pair of the old style Firestone front tires from Miller to replace the Carlisles above.  I believe they'll look better with my rear tires.  Guess I'm anal too.

[WHX?? 48,743]

Printed a picture off from miller tire and took it to him, called me back a little while ago and said no problem..... $50.00 each + ship.... $125 for the look alike silvertowns for the rears just in case I wanted to go that route, looks like the rears are getting reused ... I questioned him about the tread pattern and was going to see if his vendor would send him a pic. I gotta bad feeling I should have ordered them from miller at the risk of p ing him off. Thanks for the info guys.....

[CasualObserver 3,408]

Ha... you know what's going on right?  He's going to order them from Miller and make $5/tire on you!  

I'll be interested to see what you get. 

[WHX?? 48,743]

Yeah Jason you could be right but I don't mind if he makes a little off me as long as he comes to me for his HVAC needs! Hopefully get the rims painted and back over to him next week....keep y'all posted...

[stevasaurus 22,692]

On your transmission...take a look at the brake band mount on the side plate.  If it is vertical, it is a #5003...if it is at a 45 degree angle, it is a #5010.  It should be a #5010.  Bearings, bronze bearings, seals are available.  The axle seals are only available from TORO and are about #18 each.  Let's see what you need after you open it up. 

[WHX?? 48,743]

Yah...45deg Steva, hope to get it opened this week.  Have you got any instructional video on this style?

[Racinbob 11,030]

http://www.wheelhorseforum.com/topic/29372-5003-rj-58-59-rebuild/

Check that out Jim. It's a 5003 but applies to the 5010 too.

[WHX?? 48,743]

Just looking at it ...Thanks Bob

Saw it on Steves post....duh

Edited August 17, 2015 by WHX4

[Racinbob 11,030]

I missed it in Steve's post too Jim. I've never looked at Steve's youtube thingy till just now. Pretty cool! Even has the epic Watching Paint Dry video. That's right up there with Gone With The Wind and Dr. Zhivago