The big split!

So

When I got the tractor the starter was not meshing with the flywheel teeth. When I took off the starter motor, as previously shown the flywheel teeth needed replacing. To do this, the engine has to be disconnected from the tractor. Whilst doing this, we decided a few other jobs could be done:

- Flywheel teeth replacement
- Clutch plate replacement
- Other clutch components check and refresh
- Seals and bearings
- Gasket

So Dan had prepared the wood blocks to hold the tractor and we aligned a wood board under the engine. We used a trolley jack to the take the weight of the engine and roll it forward down the board. The actual disconnection took a good 30 mins of jiggling, but it all went without issue! We then blocked up around the jack to stabilise the rest of the engine.

The clutch components come off nice and easy, but getting the flywheel off was tricky! The bolts are tight, and when you try to loosen them, the flyheel turns! We couldn't work out how to lock the engine, so we used a spare axle stad to jam the flywheel teeth against the wooden board. This cracked it and I could then loosen the bolts as Dan held the stand. What was good news, was that the engine had very good compression meaning the pistons are sealing well. Based on this, i am not going to go for the full head off, piston/engine refresh.

The old clutch and new clutch can be seen below. We also worked out that the oil was leaking into the bell housing via the front engine seal- we were planning to replace this anyways- so all good.

The old clutch plate was badly worn- so definitely a good idea to swap it out. Once we got the flywheel off, we took off the metal path (below), and put in the new seal. This was pretty tricky, even with copper grease the seal tool a lot of tapping to put into place. It all went back together nicely.

This was a fantastic moment. It was the first piece on new stuff that we had put on to the tractor! Not just pulling it apart any more!

I cleaned the whole front part up and wire brushed off any remains of the previous gasket. The flywheel and new teeth set is going to the agricultural engineers to replace. the actual process to do this, is to drill out the existing teeth ring and then pop it off the flywheel. The new teeth set then needs to be headed with a oxy torch so it expands slightly. It can then be placed over the flywheel and as it cools, it tightens. A proper torch is stretching my tool acquisitions slightly too far! Hoping to get the flywheel and new teeth set back mid next week!

Turning to the bell housing, i gave this a good clean out with a rag, as there was lots of clutch 'dust', in there. The TE20 has a dry clutch, so I could clean up the area nicely without too much mess. The bearing that is in the middle of the photo was the next piece to be replaced.

This involved removing the two retaining springs, and then pulling the bearing assembly straight out. A special tool is meant to be used to take the bearing off the holder, however as always a log and a hammer did the job nicely!

AFTER:

BEFORE:

So, with that, all work required was complete. I have to leave the tractor split until the flywheel comes back. Then we can reassemble the clutch and flywheel and reconnect the tractor. This has been so far, the biggest job- and with the right tools and Dan's common sense and safety, all has went well!

We were tired, but we thought- just one final job.

I got the socket set on the rear linkages, and with some serious leverage, I managed to remove the badly corroded bolts are disconnect the rear arms from the base of the tractor. Dan then started tapping and lubricating the upper linkage point to the tractor. After a while, with lots of tapping each way and penetrative fluide, we managed to get both pins out! Allowing us to remove both rear linkages.We disconnected the chains from the PTO and lifted them right off. These are now in the pile of 'grind and prime'! stuff...

Below you can see that the back of the tractor now is much more accessible for cleaning, preparing and priming.

A great day. Tomorrow, I will spend some time grinding back the rear axles and brake plates with a view to getting some primer on the metal once the paint and rust have been removed. I also have the gaskets ready to go back on when we put it all back together.

Oh, I also took the steering wheel off and Dan taught me about the removable half moon metal catches. They are on the steering wheel shaft and the rear brake shafts. the idea is that under high pressure, they will snap as opposed to flip the tractor over or wreck the steering. In-built weakness, to avoid major damage- quite cool, I thought!

It feels good to be building as opposed to taking it apart. :)