A couple of newbie questions

[edrobyn]

Hello,

I have already learned a lot of info. from this forum as I am a new (again) tractor owner. I owned a WD Allis Chalmers years ago and sold it when I sold the land I had at the time. I just bought a few acres of land and of course had to have a work(play) tool to go with it. I purchased a 93 1920 Ford with a front end loader with 1470 hours. I have a couple of questions since it has been a while.

1) How do I know if my tires have fluid in them? If so, is there a way to tell how full they are filled?

2) The PTO grinds the gears when I try to engage it. I have the engine at an idle and the clutch fully depressed.

When I bought the tractor when nothing was attached it engaged fine but with an attachment it sounds like I am killing it although I have the clutch pedal fully depressed.

I have read about adjusting the clutch to try help with this. I read somewhere about adjusting it to about 1" of free play. What does this mean exactly? Does that mean that the clutch doesn't start to engage until the pedal is released 1" from the bottom of the travel or does that mean that it doesn't start to disengage 1" from the top of travel? I would think that if the PTO clutch is not disengaging that means the clutch pedal needs to pull the clutch in sooner so I would adjust the clutch rod so it is shorter and pulls the clutch in more?

3) Okay more than a couple questions. This is my first experience with a loader. Is there a way or a tool available to tell when the bucket is flat against the ground other than practice? I can't see the bucket so I am guessing when it's level with the ground. I am not very good at guessing so far because when I empty the bucket very little comes out of it. I must have it tilted wrong. I thought there might be a secret to it.

 

[jinman]

I think it's likely that Soundguy will see your post and answer your questions since he used to own a 1910 or 1920. Anyhow, one thing I can answer is your clutch free play. The pedal when released will not have any pressure and it will not start to engage until you depress it 3/4" to 1". This ensures the clutch is fully engaged and the throw-out bearing is not riding on the pressure plate fingers.

One other thing that often helps is to put your tractor type in your title. You'll get the hang of it, but a title that said, "Ford 1920 clutch adjustment" might get more attention than just saying "newbie questions." You have to get your title right the first time because it can't be edited.

Welcome to TBN! I hope we can be of help.

 

[Jerry/MT]

Hello,

I have already learned a lot of info. from this forum as I am a new (again) tractor owner. I owned a WD Allis Chalmers years ago and sold it when I sold the land I had at the time. I just bought a few acres of land and of course had to have a work(play) tool to go with it. I purchased a 93 1920 Ford with a front end loader with 1470 hours. I have a couple of questions since it has been a while.

1) How do I know if my tires have fluid in them? If so, is there a way to tell how full they are filled?

2) The PTO grinds the gears when I try to engage it. I have the engine at an idle and the clutch fully depressed.

When I bought the tractor when nothing was attached it engaged fine but with an attachment it sounds like I am killing it although I have the clutch pedal fully depressed.

I have read about adjusting the clutch to try help with this. I read somewhere about adjusting it to about 1" of free play. What does this mean exactly? Does that mean that the clutch doesn't start to engage until the pedal is released 1" from the bottom of the travel or does that mean that it doesn't start to disengage 1" from the top of travel? I would think that if the PTO clutch is not disengaging that means the clutch pedal needs to pull the clutch in sooner so I would adjust the clutch rod so it is shorter and pulls the clutch in more?

3) Okay more than a couple questions. This is my first experience with a loader. Is there a way or a tool available to tell when the bucket is flat against the ground other than practice? I can't see the bucket so I am guessing when it's level with the ground. I am not very good at guessing so far because when I empty the bucket very little comes out of it. I must have it tilted wrong. I thought there might be a secret to it.

1) Loaded tires are usually filled the height of the rim so draw an imaginary horizomtal line across the tire that just touches the rim and that's will be the approximate fill level. You can tell the tires loaded by the "feel" of the tractor but if you set the tire so that the valve stem is about 3 or 9 o'clock and then remove the cap and press on the valve, you'll know if the tire is loaded or not.

2) It sounds like you have a live pto, i.e there is a dual clutch. One stage drives the driveline and the other drives the pto. The first clurtch disengages the drive line when you step part way down on the clutch pedal and stepping all the way down disconnects the pto shaft also. It sounds like yours needs adjustment. You'll need a shop manual for the instructions.

 

[Soundguy]

it should have a dual clutch, it's possible the pto section is stuck and not disengaging.

with a mower on the pto and depressing the clutch all the way ( make sure the flip down lever is not set so that you are only depressing it half way ), does the mower stop?

ditto what the others said. most tires are filled between 75 and 90%.. usually to the level of the valve stem when it is up.. you can press it when it is on it's side and see if a drip of fluid comes out. you can make an angle gauge / bucket level indicator with some scrap metal and paint or crayon strips.

yep jinman.. I had a 1920.. loved that machine.. really shouldn't have traded it.. but..

soundguy

 

[jimmysisson]

Don't know where you live, but when the tractor's cool and a humid day heats up, the loaded tires will show a condensation line. Usually as stated about level with the top of the rim.
Jim

 

[edrobyn]

Thanks for the replies! I was able to spend some more time looking it over. I checked the tire valve and liquid came out at the 6 and 3 o clock positions but not the 2 o clock so I am assuming the tires are about 1/2 full. I wished I knew what was in them. It looked like plain water to me. I tried to smell the liquid for antifreeze but didn't smell anything. I don't know what calcium chloride smells like.

I was able to adjust the clutch and found the PTO clutch was not disengaging. Once I adjusted it I could actually feel the PTO clutch vs the transmission clutch when I depressed the pedal. I also started to look over the owners manual and the maintenance chart. The previous owner said he had changed the engine oil and greased it. I do not know if he changed the transmission/hydraulic oil or filter. I looked at the filter and it is blue so I don't know if it is the original or not. I will change it anyway. Does anyone if there is a chart for oil and filter equivalents to the Ford filters? The dealer is 45 miles away and I am not sure I can get there before they close each evening.

I also have a question about the valve clearance adjustment. I doubt this has ever been done on it. I have adjusted valves on cars before but not when the engine is running. The owners manual says to adjust the valves with the engine idling. This is new for me. Does anyone have experience with trying to adjust a valve with it moving. It seems trying to loosen/tighten and get the right clearance while the valve is going up and down 300 times a minute would be difficult!

 

[Soundguy]

take the liquid and rub it on some unpainted plain steel like cold or hot rolled. if it makes it rust in 1hr it's cacl..

soundguy

 

[edrobyn]

Thanks soundguy I will try that. I have read in this forum about Rim Guard filler. I wonder if it's worth draining what is in there and refilling with this stuff?

 

[Soundguy]

it's pretty spendy.. kinda like liquid money... your call.

 

[edrobyn]

Money (liquid or otherwise) I don't like to waste. But I have read where CaCl or antifreeze will rust the rim from the inside out after a few years and that would be lots of $$$. Don't know if that's true or not.