John Deere F935 rebuild

Hey Greg,
Great progress on the F935 rebuild. I don't feel so bad on my brake rebuild, its child-play by comparison:encourage:.
Saddie looks right at home hanging out with "Pops".
As far as your low temps, man I got chilled readingo_O, stay warm. Our high temp today is 77ºF with a low of 46ºF.

I use the purple degreaser as well, I found heating to 105-120ºF really cuts through the old grease.
Keep on keeping on!
Paco
 
Yours is more of a precision rebuild Paco, this is just a lot of parts that need cleaned painted and reassembled. Hopefully in the correct order.
I think there must be a bit of Velcro in her genetics, she sticks pretty close. Usually outside the shop but she's enjoying the indoor climate lately.
Back to -27 C or -17 F last night, I hate winter, but the good news is the mosquitos and black flies aren't too bad right now.
Will try warming it up on the next go around, used 2 gallons in this clean up.

Greg
 
I'm sure you'll have the machine back to running condition soon enough. Our four GSD's are the same, seems our two females really stay close to me while our two boys stick close to my wife.
-17ºF, I never felt that before, the coldest I ever experienced was - 3ºF while in a nasty storm in the Bearing Sea looking for Russian Subs.
We had to refuel underway requiring a team of monkeys to pull the cables from ship to ship. I stashed the issued Parka and never needed it again but thats fine by me.
Take care Greg'

Paco
 
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[QUOTE="f350ca, post: 543090, member: 25609"]John Deere makes a snow blower for this tractor but its of course priced green. The pto speed on this is 2400 rpm so they use either a gear reducer or some have a chain drive, we'll go chain, needed a donor for the box that drives the auger. Mentioned it to a buddy who had a Gravely Snow Cannon. What a beast, Im sure OHAS would love it.

Greg[/QUOTE]

Green pricing isn't cheap, but in the long run I think you get what you pay for. Nearly 18 years ago I was looking for a new garden tractor. My wife said that whatever I bought would be a once in a lifetime purchase, so I should look carefully and make a wise decision. When I started looking Green wasn't even on my list.

I started with Wheelhorse, Toro, Simplicity, Ariens, Lawnboy Cub Cadet, and a few others. By the time I looked at all the brands available locally the list had expanded to nearly 20 possibilities. JD was now on the list, but only as a courtesy, mostly because of the price. A little more research revealed that most brands have several different models, so now the number of machines had expanded to nearly 40. At that point I needed to create a spread sheet to keep all the models, accessories, and prices straight.

As time went on and the search got more detailed JD started rising through the ranks. It seems that most brands were advertising "base models" with few if any accessories. By the time the necessary accessories were added the prices went up dramatically. In several cases the base machines were 1/3 the price of a comparable JD, but a "well equipped" machine was actually more expensive.

In the end it came down to 3 different brands. The final question was "how long are the machines supported, and how long would parts be available? As it turned out JD was the only brand that supported machines over the 15 year mark. I was a bit surprised when I found parts were still available for the first models they built in 1966. The other brands still had some things available, but by in large they felt the machines had gone beyond their expected service life.

In the end I purchased a JD 445 equipped with a 22 hp fuel injected engine, all wheel power steering, full hydraulics, limited slip differential, front, mid, and rear pto, hydraulic 3 point hitch, cruise control and a number of other features that were expensive options on other brands. It wasn't cheap, but believe it or not it wasn't the most expensive on the list.

I've had the machine nearly 18 years, and in that time maintenance has amounted to annual oil changes, one tune up, one new battery, and a few transmission and gear oil changes. The initial cost was well worth the quality and durability. I believe my wife was right in that this may be the only tractor I'll ever buy.
 
There's no doubt John Deere machines are well built, this one has seen a hard life but shows little wear. They have great support, on line parts manuals are there for just about anything they've ever made it seams.
I bought a Sears riding mower a couple of years ago, turns out they use a plastic trans axle. Yep the whole housing is plastic. Have already had problems with it, thats what prompted this rebuild.
When I bought my tractor it was a toss up between Kubota and John Deere, both about the same size, weight and price. The John Deere dealer couldn't get one in for me to look at in a timely manor so I bought the Kubota. Im sure either would have been fine. You get what you pay for.

Greg
 
Going through the machine I found that the pin the axle swivels on was turning in the frame rather than the bushings. Made 1/4 inch washers from cutouts off the inc plasma table and welded those in along with a key to hold the pin from turning.
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The mount for the steering cylinder was equally worn, it got a simple washer patch.
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Pardon the chicken scratching welds, the moon wasn't in the right phase today.

Greg
 
A buddy lent me his compressor, made short order of sand blasting the frame and the bottom parts of the machine.
Nice compressor,
Used a fine grit sand, not sure the grit, Kelly even supplied it. Finer than anything I've ever used before. Left a nice surface finish and cut quick. Only intended to brush blast the unrusted areas but ended up with totally bare metal everywhere.

IMG_3929.jpg

Parts hung ready to prime and paint tomorrow.

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Greg
 
Hey Greg,
Great progress, won't be long now for fresh paint. I wish I had access to a real sand blaster, sure would save time and more importantly ensure nothing was dropped or mishandled.
 
On the engine it sounds like the rings were seized in the pistons. If you cranked it for any amount of time b4 it fired, the fuel , ether, and rusty crud all would end up in the oil. I’d warm it up and do an oil and filter change on it too.
 
Installed some paint.
I've been pleased with Napa's industrial enamel, they sell a hardener that converts it to a urethane. (Way beyond my pay grade). Seams to be fairly tough and good UV resistance.
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Start assembling Monday,

Greg
 
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