BN Restoration

Apart from the motor being stuck, the two most obvious challenges to getting the BN back in shape were the overall rust and the oil which had become one with the dust and chaff to plug every weep hole surrounding the transmission and final drives. New seals were indicated, and inspection of the bearings during the disassembly process suggested they ought to be replaced while things were apart. Did I mention the sorry state of the brakes? They were part of the project, as well.

The degree and extent of the rust and pitting persuaded me I would be doing some sandblasting. The abrasives used are not always sand, and I opted for glass beads in two grades. Regardless which abrasive is used, the stuff gets into EVERYTHING. Thus, it made sense to me to do the blasting first, then clean up the mess as I started repairs. Of course, the humidity of the day can rust newly exposed metal.  An overnight dew can wreak havoc, so the rear end was cleaned up one side at a time -- wire brush, blast, dust and prime. Wash, rinse, repeat. Once both sides were primed the heavy work could begin.

I dropped the pans, axles and bull gears from the lower part of each final drive first, with the idea that this would lighten up the load to be lifted when the rest of the final drive was pulled from the tractor together with its shaft housing. It also makes for a safer job -- removing those parts first leaves a flat bottom that can be rested directly on blocks, so I didn't have to rely on jack stands that can tip when muscle is applied to the job. That done, I pulled the housing and final from the left drive first. I used my engine hoist to do the heavy lifting and am delighted to report that a two-foot tow strap rigged just outboard of the jack pad on the bottom of the shaft housing makes for a balanced load. The same point works on the right side, though the balance is not quite the same (because the brakes are in different positions) but not at all unwieldy.

A great deal of sweat and ungentlemanlike language was necessary to separate some of the parts. One friend reminded me of the hammer selection rule -- beat with progressively bigger hammers until you break something, then back down one size. Good advice. In general, though, judicious applications of heat, hammers of various weights and materials, a little prying, and liberal doses of verbal lubrication all combined to get things apart.

Once inside, I was actually pleased to find things so dirty near the critical parts that the abrasives from the sandblasting were either dry and blew away very easily or had stuck to the remarkable accretions of oil and dust, meaning that they could be easily cleaned away so as not to get into the moving parts as the work went forward.  The ends of the shaft housings were cleaned up with a scraper, some kerosene and a brush.

The seals and bearings are all pretty readily accessible for either pulling or driving out. Those in the transmission will try the patience a little, but the engineering is apparent and persistence with  the occasional sanity break will get it apart. Lessons learned on the left side survived the brief storage period in my feeble mind, and were applied to the other side of the tractor to great advantage. (The general rule in repairing things that there are two of is that the second repair will take one-fourth the time of the first).  With all the bearings out, I cleaned the sludge from the inside of the final drive housings, paying special attention to the seats for the new bearings and seals. All the shafts, spacers, and loose hardware got a good cleaning with kerosene. I polished up the seal and bearing surfaces on the shafts and axles with some brake cleaner and a Scotch-brite pad. Being as I had brake cleaner at hand, it seemed a good time to knock the rust off the brake drums, too.

Things went back together pretty easily, though I've got to admit I was surprised at how much tighter things fit with those new bearings in there.  Left side done, on around to the right.

I've gone into some detail here (more than most might be interested in) and you may notice that I have not yet mentioned duct tape. After six straight days of beautiful wrenching weather (sunny, highs in the low 80s) and not even a dew to complicate things, you'd know that it had to rain on my parade sometime. The shower started up just as I finished driving the differential shaft on its bearing into the housing. All I needed was to bolt it up to the transmission.  Of course, I had the bearing open on the outside end of the housing. On the transmission itself, the very hole the shaft needed to fit into was open, with its bearing and seal. The plastic to cover the housing was easy, and a hammer and block of wood to hold it down. For the transmission, I was able to fashion a little lean-to of duct tape, carefully layered to shed water. Worked like a charm. I must admit being impressed by the foresight of the engineers at International Harvester, who ordered that the support pads on the inner end of the housing be cast in a dimension that makes any piece of lumber sold with a 6-inch dimension (meaning that it is really 5-1/2) just perfect for supporting everything. Clever folks!

This shot shows how I rigged the engine hoist to lift the assembled housings up to the transmission. That blue gadget is a two foot nylon axle tiedown, usually used for lashing cars down to flatbed trailers. The point where I've put it balances everything really nicely on the left side where the brake drum and band are on the inside end. On the right the brake assembly is on the outer end, so the balance isn't quite as nice but is certainly safe and still easy to handle.

And here she is all buttoned up. Once the housings were on the transmission, I had to switch back to jack stands to get the bull gears and axles back in.  I had the transmission cover with the shifter off to clean out the inside of the tranny, and because oil had been seeping out around it. A new gasket there and one on each of the lower pans, and everything was bolted up tight. The last step was to take a brush and a degreaser and clean off the handprints and smudges. Wash, rinse, repeat. A few spots that got bumped or dinged needed sanding, and a last coat of primer was put on. All that's left back here is to put the wheels and the rims with the big new sneakers on the back.

The next step will be to roll her down onto the ground and begin the serious dismantling. The front end will come away, the engine will come off and be mounted on a stand, and the torque tube pulled and hauled out into the field for a serious sand blasting and cleaning.

 The Next Step
Putting Things Back Together
 
 
 
 
 

A Very Good Friend
An Honorable Mention
 

This is my good friend. It slices, it dices, makes perfect Julienne fries. You hook it to an impact wrench and bolts that haven't been touched in 55 years magically come out. Hook a spray gun to it and unsightly blemishes disappear. Want to cut some rivets? No problem, they make an air hammer with any number of punches and chisels to fit. And sand blasting! I can't believe I worked the SuperC over by hand when Sears Roebuck had a carload of these things looking for good homes.