I finally get my A...I hope!

I started over a year ago reading, asking, browsing, and researching for info on Farmall A tractors. Now it looks like I will finally get to pull the 'A' my Dad left me out of the shed and bring it home when I go see mom for Thanksgiving. I wanted to get it a long time ago, but was unable. The only thing wrong with it when it went into this stall(4 yars ago?) was Magneto troubles. Water and gas was drained out of it for storage. I am already making plans to replace the mag as soon as I get my hands on it. What else do I need to do to it before I try to start it?



By the way, yes those are hose clamps holding the tie rod ends together, yes that is a Super A radiator (which keeps the grill from fitting on the tractor), and yes that is a Dr. Pepper can posing as a radiator cap. Right now she is definitely stuck and troubled.

I forgot to mention, that shed has holes in the roof. The tractor still gets a little wet in a rainstorm. What maintenance do I need to do when I get it?

I would change the oil and filter, install new hoses and possibly V-Belts, put in a fresh battery (check the Cables) and turn her over for a few times to check for oil pressure on the gage. You might consider putting a small amount of "mystery Oil" in the sparkplug holes before spinning her over; thatway you could check compression. If everything is good, get that mag and get her timed and go for it !!
Jim B.

First off, congratulations!

You recognize that you've got some work to do (like getting that steering squared away!) before you want to move her around a lot and figure out what else she needs. So I'm thinking I'd go at it in a three-stage process. First get the motor running. Then some running and driving it as sort of a test/analysis phase to figure out what else needs doing. Last is to prioritize all those things and set about fixing them.

For the motor, there isn't much to it, as long as it's free and turning, and hasn't accumulated too much water in the crankcase, than to replace the oil and filter. As someone suggested, it couldn't hurt to pull all the plugs and drop a teaspoon or so of oil into each cylinder before turning it over. Before the obvious step of draining from the plug on the bottom of the pan, open the upper petcock on the side of the pan first. If you get nothing or only oil from there, a straight change of oil will do. If you get water from that high up in the pan, it's probably prudent to drop the pan and make sure the water didn't get high enough to get to the crank and bearings. If that's all good, finish draining, put the plug back, close the petcock and add five new quarts and a filter, and that part's ready to give it a try.

As far as valves that might have stuck while it was sitting, it's your choice. You can wait until you try starting it to see if they're moving freely, or give them a cursory check first. IF the latter, do that before you refill with new oil. Pull the valve cover, and watch the action of the valves as the motor turns. Best done by turning with a hand crank, with the plugs out and oil in the cylinders. That's also a good time to clean off any sludge and gunk under the valve cover that will accumulate around the rocker and spring assemblies. A good wiping down to get the heavy stuff off followed by a brushing down with diesel or kerosene will be sufficient at this point. The excess kero will flow down into the pan and drain away. And a sozzling of diesel kero down through where the push rods come up will help to flush down any fine stuff. A new valve cover gasket, and you're ready to add new oil. After you've replaced the drain plug and closed the petcock. (I've mentioned that twice now, for reasons I prefer not to dwell upon!)

Of course, you'll fill your radiator before you try running it. I use plain water when first starting up like you are, just to save having to handle antifreeze in case I have to drain it back to deal with leaks that might show up. If you're satisfied that it's not leaking, drain it when you're done if there's any danger of it freezing and then refill each time, or put an antifreeze mix in it to get you by until you deal with the oversize radiator.

Couldn't hurt to check the transmission lube while you're waiting for/working on your magneto. If it's overfull, that's likely a case of water in it, too, in which case I'd drain it and refill to the level plug. Anything that it takes on refill that is less than its five-quart capacity will be an indication of how much sludge is in there, but that's information for another day. You'll be ahead in the short run just getting any water out and having the gears turning in oil.

The only other thing that comes to mind that might make for an in immediate problem is that the clutch may be stuck. It's kind of 50-50, but a lot of times when they've set for that long, the friction disc can bond to the flywheel and it won't disengage. You can check for that by having some one in the seat depressing the pedal and, with the transmission in gear, have someone else try to push the tractor. If she rolls, you're good for the moment.

There are plenty of other things to check out. Noisy bearings and leaky seals around the tranny and final drives. Clutch and brakes. Oil and coolant leaks. YOu may find your piston rings are stuck. The steering box, in addition to the jury-rigged tie rods. But getting the motor turning and firing comes first.

And a little caution in moving it around at first will be in order. I don't know how tender that steering is, but you may also have little or nothing for brakes.

A's are great little tractors to work on. Stick around and let us know how you're making out.

in anddition to what Scotty said. Take a minute to remove the gas tank and rinse it out really good, you dont know what kind of crap has accumulated in there and could cause irreation further along.

follow the brake rod back into the outdrive housing ... mice LOVE to make nests in there >:-(

Ummm once you get it running drain the tranny out and fill with kerosene and drive ti for a little bit to get it all washed out. then refill with oil (90wt?)

What Scotty said. Be very careful if you are pulling from the front. My advice, DON"T. Pulling is the main cause of breaking of the "ears" that hold the front end to the block. I have seen many A's that have been broken Try to pull from the rear drawbar. That looks like a fun project. Take your time and do it right. Henry

I will also add take out the clutch inspection covers to look for meece nests there as well.
The first A I bought and the most recent Super A I just got this summer were full of nest, and both of these tractors were regularly being used before I brought them home.

Ayuh! That's twice the meeses have come up. Opening up the handhole under the torque tube and the half moon at the lower front couldn't hurt. This is the SMALL nest that was in my BN.

Thanks for all the information, everyone! I'm quite excited. I posted a question on the trailering forum once when I though I would get it, but let me ask you guys. How do I chain this thing down, especially on the front end? I don't want it moving, but I also don't want to put undue stress. What do you think?