1965 JD 110 restoration

[RetroMower 349]

Had a few days off and I was bored today so I decided to start on the JD 110 I purchased earlier this year. I'm hoping it wont be needing too many new parts. I was able to drive it and the only major issue is either the tranny is grinding something or the variable speed split pulleys need bearings. The variable speed mech is going to make this rebuild a little more tricky than the horses I've done. Wish me luck 

[8ntruck 7,013]

Going to go regal red on the repaint? 

 

Good luck and have fun with it.

[oliver2-44 9,756]

Following along, I’m interested to learn about the vari-drive

[RetroMower 349]

19 minutes ago, oliver2-44 said:

Following along, I’m interested to learn about the vari-drive

Its actually a very clever device which, to some degree, is how most new belt driven mowers operate but has been simplified greatly. Most often today's riding mowers have a park, reverse and forward selector and another "gear* selector but it doesn't actually change gears,  it widens and narrows the drive and driven pulleys thereby changing ratio. The John deere has the same feature but it has an actual 4 speed tranny so you have a range of speed in every gear. I'm not sure which manufacturer claims the first to have this feature but being a 65 is the earliest example I've seen. When I was 17ish someone gave me an Alice chalmers b112. After replacing a T-box it was a beast of a machine until the tranny went. It was a collar on one of the shift gears that a shift fork engaged but in order to get to it I had to disassemble the vari drive on it and it was so complicated I never got it back together correctly so I disabled the split pulleys so it was just a 4 speed. I'll post pics of the vari drive on the john deere when I get to it. Thank god for camera phones lol 

[oliver2-44 9,756]

In an article about the JD110 design they mention the prototype vari-drive had many premature failures until engineers had some parts Crome plated in them. Curious how that had held up over time 

Edited November 5, 2021 by oliver2-44

[T-Mo-(Moderator) 4,496]

The variable drive first appear on a JD in 1963, which was the first year of the 110.  As mentioned above, JD went through some ideas before they settled on using the variable drive.  A few years back, Deere celebrated it's 50th anniversary of being in the L&G market, and a few videos were created to celebrated that event.  I have to see if I can find some, or even one, video of the celebrations.

 

There is also a video of the variable drive working on a round fender 110.  Deere kept the variable drive alive until 1987 with the 200 series.

[Handy Don 12,233]

The "modern" evolution of the Vari-Drive is the torque converter found in many go karts, mini-bikes, snowmobiles and side-by-sides. Same principle of two pulleys changing their effective diameter only using engine torque instead of a manual lever.

[Maxwell-8 4,276]

2 hours ago, Handy Don said:

The "modern" evolution of the Vari-Drive is the torque converter found in many go karts, mini-bikes, snowmobiles and side-by-sides. Same principle of two pulleys changing their effective diameter only using engine torque instead of a manual lever.

MTD has used it for years, whit manual lever. Maybe they still due? That was mainly done to not have to build a tranny with multiple gears.

[Handy Don 12,233]

1 minute ago, Maxwell-8 said:

MTD has used it for years, whit manual lever. Maybe they still due? That was mainly done to not have to build a tranny with multiple gears.

Oh yeah, and MTD made units under many brand names including Craftsman. This was a popular "upgrade" that cost little to make (as you note, no extra precision gears or bigger gear box) and brought a good markup at retail. My Dad loved the one he had on his lawn tractor.

[RetroMower 349]

2 hours ago, Handy Don said:

Oh yeah, and MTD made units under many brand names including Craftsman. This was a popular "upgrade" that cost little to make (as you note, no extra precision gears or bigger gear box) and brought a good markup at retail. My Dad loved the one he had on his lawn tractor.

I got my first riding mower in the late 90s and it was an MTD sold by Agway. I have nothing bad to say about it as it ran and ran after years of mowing 3+ acres of rough stuff. Only thing I ever changed was the oil and deck belt that broke and ejected itself. I used it for 10+ years and gave it to a friend who might still be using it.

[RetroMower 349]

Got a lot more ripped apart today and for being a 1st generation variable speed drive it's less complicated than I thought. No chrome plating yet on my 65. Some worn clevis pins and bushings but it's still solid thus far. 

 

This vari drive is much simpler than the version I had on a 69 Alice chalmers b112 that had a god awful linkage system to simultaneously widen one pulley while narrowing another. This clever design has a central disk that moves back and forth to change ratios. This JD 110 has one serious flaw. The large main pulley on the transmission is about 1/4" away from the axle tube making removal of the big 5/8 belt impossible without removing the entire transmission. I may try to find a pulley that is a tiny bit smaller in diameter so this is never an issue.

[Maxwell-8 4,276]

Is that tranny cast iron?

[RetroMower 349]

3 hours ago, Maxwell-8 said:

Is that tranny cast iron?

It certainly is along with a lot if other cast parts including the main pulley off the motor that drives the tranny as well as the PTO. Both the variable speed lever and implement lift are cast and thankfully came off their woodruff keyed and roll pinned shafts with little fuss. 

[T-Mo-(Moderator) 4,496]

I don't know if I linked to this video or not. but it's from 1963 when Deere launched the 110 GT.

 

 

[T-Mo-(Moderator) 4,496]

Here is a link from WFM on "How-to" videos, mainly attachments, etc.

 

https://www.wfmachines.com/threads/mrbeefs-how-to-video-series-round-fenders.35186/#post-1094310

[RetroMower 349]

Did the final breakdown today in preparation to send the frame, fenders and rims off to sandblasting this friday and I hit a very concerning stumbling point. Before I detached the tranny from the frame I drained the oil so it wouldn't spill all over the floor. Wasn't a drop of oil in it but there was a half gallon of water. I drove it for five minutes to load it when I bought it and a few minutes when I got it home but the guy I got it from could have driven it to new Zealand for all i know. I guess I'll have to split the tranny to see just how awful it is before i commit to sandblasting anything. Please pray for me 

[RetroMower 349]

Well I split the tranny and it's not the absolute disaster I was wholly expecting. Besides the chocolatey goodness from mixing oil and water, I think being a gear oil box the bearings were somewhat protected. They are all intact and free. One of the large mains is a little stiff, but no missing gear teeth or any that are sharp. They will all be replaced regardless but I'm more hopeful its salvageable. The only real damage is one of the case ears is broken off but I think I can braze it. I just need to figure out which peerless tranny this is and get some gaskets and bearings. 

[Handy Don 12,233]

1 hour ago, RetroMower said:

 

 

Can't see inside the differential yet, but so far these look remarkably clean!

[RetroMower 349]

1 hour ago, Handy Don said:

Can't see inside the differential yet, but so far these look remarkably clean!

Yea this is after I wiped out a pound of sludge but I'll take it over serious damage. The differential feels smooth but I'll open it tomorrow and have more pics. Was wondering if these peerless transmissions were ever used by WH and if anyone here knows anything about them. 

[Handy Don 12,233]

4 minutes ago, RetroMower said:

Yea this is after I wiped out a pound of sludge but I'll take it over serious damage. The differential feels smooth but I'll open it tomorrow and have more pics. Was wondering if these peerless transmissions were ever used by WH and if anyone here knows anything about them. 

I know they've been mentioned in posts. Do a search!

[RetroMower 349]

Got all the pieces cleaned and oiled waiting on reassembly. I cant find any significant damage other than a lot of missing shims telling me I'm not the first one in there. Opened the diff as well and its pristine after a vigorous cleaning of course. The needle bearings are all really good and a cheaper guy may reuse them but I'm ordering new seals anyway. Also got the frame degreased for sandblasting and discovered something interesting. I was chiseling off a lot of weld splatter and noticed JD painted over all the weld slag. It must have been stick welded. A slight lack of quality control 

[Handy Don 12,233]

4 hours ago, RetroMower said:

Got all the pieces cleaned and oiled waiting on reassembly. I cant find any significant damage other than a lot of missing shims telling me I'm not the first one in there. Opened the diff as well and its pristine after a vigorous cleaning of course. The needle bearings are all really good and a cheaper guy may reuse them but I'm ordering new seals anyway. Also got the frame degreased for sandblasting and discovered something interesting. I was chiseling off a lot of weld splatter and noticed JD painted over all the weld slag. It must have been stick welded. A slight lack of quality control 

 

Looking good. If the spatter isn't anywhere cosmetically important and paint will cover it, its not worth removing in a production setting. Rework is costly.

[oliver2-44 9,756]

Do you have a list of the bearings and seals to get them from a bearing supply house or are you getting them from a green vendor. 

[RetroMower 349]

6 hours ago, Handy Don said:

Looking good. If the spatter isn't anywhere cosmetically important and paint will cover it, its not worth removing in a production setting. Rework is costly.

I get not worrying about weld spatter from production point of view and it's just the welder in me feeling a need to remove it but the heavy slag caps on almost all the welds is really not cool. Not removing it you'll never know if penetration was sufficient or if you actually knitted both parent metals. 

 

5 hours ago, oliver2-44 said:

Do you have a list of the bearings and seals to get them from a bearing supply house or are you getting them from a green vendor. 

The only actual breakdown diagram I could find was indeed a green vendor. And it's a downright awful diagram that looks like a photocopy of a manual that was redrawn in ms paint. I'll be lucky to get the right stuff and as for the prices $$

[T-Mo-(Moderator) 4,496]

Maybe this will help:

 

 

PC0855.PDF.pdf SM2059_Apr67.pdf