48 JD Model D, advice?

[artski]

After 20 years of looking at my wifes grandfathers Model D I finally decided it was time to see if I could get it running. The exhaust was covered so when I put a battery in it, it turned over no problem.
After pulling off the carb and magneto I cleaned them up, put them back on and after sitting in the field since grampa passed away in 63 it started like I ran it yesterday.
I just changed the oil (looked like grease) and the coolant, should I do anything else before I start using it for logging the property?

 

[ToadHill]

Grease everything well. Change the trans fluid, I'm sure moisture has contaminated it if it's been sitting for over 40 years. Replace all filters and clean air filter. Drive it slowly to make sure the brakes work and listen for any grinding sounds. If your lucky the clutch won't be frozen to the flywheel.

 

[artski]

greased and oiled everything before it was started the first time, have already had it driving down the road from the pasture, everything seemed fine but its pretty hard to hear if there are any strange noises, this tractor is pretty loud.
checked out the thread on the hydraulic winches, I am looking at setting up a winch. What would be faster, hydraulic or something run off the pto?
what about the hydraulic system, I will drain that out, but will it need new seals and such?
wish I could find the pics on my computer

 

[artski]

Found a pic, hope it goes on right

 

[wolc123]

That tractor really looks to be in great shape. If you have not done so already, pull the bowl off of the air cleaner, clean it out and fill it to the mark with fresh oil. Also, if it is real loud, the muffler may be blown out. A new one will really quiet it down. I could not believe the difference when I put a new one on my 1950 JD M. Also, if it has sat that long, there may be sludge buildup in the bottom of the oil pan. It may be a good idea to remove the pan, scrape out the sludge, and replace the oil and filter again. If you plan on working it real hard, you may extend the original valve life a little by using a lead substitute. Certainly change the rear end oil if you have not yet. Those are tough, hard to kill old tractors and that one looks like it has a lot of life left in it. You probably have no intention to sell but there are not many tractors that fetch more dollars than old JD's in excellent original condition like that one. Most of them have been run a lot longer and wore down a lot more (like my old M) rather than parked while still in thier prime.

 

[artski]

This tractor has 1500 acres of old growth pine to clean up. Some of the trees are 36" diameter at the base and 80 to 100 ft tall. It should keep me and my JD busy for a little while.
The sludge in the oil pan has already been cleaned out but I'll have to look at the rear end.
I'll definitly get a new muffler, you can see in the pic that I put on an aftermarket unit, its quiet that way but the extra back pressure robs a lot of power.

 

[chh]

That's a good looking old tractor. I think if I had had it sitting that long and it started up that easy I'd have it painted and put it up in the garage. It would have deserved it. Good luck with the old workhorse.

 

[artski]

Building a shed is the first thing that will get done once the spring comes. Then I have a buddy that is going to help me clean it up with dry ice blasting and a coat of paint.
I could feel my wifes gramps looking down on me and smiling the first time I fired it up, sure felt good.

 

[diyDave]

I'm no fan of 2 bangers, but that should suit your purpose very well. Just remember that a D develops most of its torque, as the motor is approaching 0 rpms. In other words, when you think it is about to stall out, it will suddenly, inexplicably move another 4-10 feet forward, and not stall out. That bit of info, and a set of good earplugs is all you need to remember!

 

[jimmysisson]

I DO like the 2-pot Deeres, even love listening to them. Plus the bottomless torque band.
That tractor wouldn't look that good if it sat outdoors in New England for 45 years. Once you get your work done that'll make a great pulling tractor. I think you get a good perspective sitting way out back like that. Nice!
Jim

 

[artski]

It is pretty wierd sitting way out back like that, my wife took some video of me driving it and it looks like I'm floating behind it.

The torque is amazing though, I hooked up to a log that was down in a gully, must have weighed 1000 lbs and my little JD pulled it like there was nothing there.

Can't wait for some warm weather to do it some justice

 

[artski]

Can anyone tell me about hooking up implements to my JD? The PTO is offset to the left side, does that mean if I use something with a PTO drive it needs to be pulled from the left side so that the shaft stays as straight as possible?

Is there any way to alter the tractor so that I can us a 3point with it ? I was looking at the farmi winches for skidding out logs, but they are only available for 3point hookups.

 

[wolc123]

Pto shafts on all implements telescope and have double universals and will work ok when offset to the left or right. You may be able to find a 3-pt adapter kit for the D, check yesderdays tractors website for info. I looked at one for my M quite some time ago but the tractor was just to worn out to put that kind of investment in it (around $500 back then) and I found a real sweet Ford 8n to handle my 3 pt needs. You might be stuck with pull-type pto implements however as the offset might interfere with the 3 pt lift arms. I imagine that, like my M, that D has a belt pully in addition to the pto shaft. That would work good to power an old sawmill which you could probably put to good use with all that timber.

 

[artski]

I am purchasing a bandsaw mill this week, just want to use the JD to pull the trees out of the ravines and such. I built a logging arch that works very well for the trip down the road that runs through the property.
If I can set up a pto driven winch on the tractor that would make the whole setup ideal.

 

[bontai_Joe]

Sitting outside since 1963? WOW! It really looks like it had been stored in a barn. Did you have to replace the tires?