Wingnut
09-29-2005, 10:10 AM
It had been 12 years since I have rebuilt or even overhaul an engine and a lot of things have changed over the years the following paragraphs are lesson learned.
Documenting Process:
I was inspired by Bear’s Z–engine rebuild and how he documented it, but I wanted more photos. So when I decided to rebuild the TO-30 engine I was going to photo document as much as possible. I found out I still wasn’t doing enough photographing and documenting the process as I wanted and planned too.
When you teardown and rebuilding an engine you set yourself goal on how much work you plan to complete that day. Then you start developing a rhythm when completing each step or task. Instead of building momentum starting the next step or task; you STOP pose the engine for the camera, wash your hands (grease and cameras don’t mix), and then take pictures. By adding this step to process everything is slowed down for the engine rebuilding process by 25% easily and I learned why Bear didn’t take as many pictures as I did; it is very time consuming and hard work! It is very rewarding to get feedback from other forum members on the work of documenting and photographing of these the type of task. So appreciated the efforts of Bear, Ingersoll44 (Paul), and future members who choose to take the extra time in sharing there experiences of Tractor Rebuilding.
Hand Cleaners and Blue Gloves:
Hand cleaners are not as strong as they were in the 1980s and early. Many a night I was using 10s of gallons of water and a small fortune on different hand cleaners and spending my free time scrubbing my hands raw trying to get them clean with very little success. Ingersoll44 (Paul) told me to try Nitrile Disposable (Blue) Gloves and Wow what a difference! I was skeptical at first I never used gloves before, but I was surprise how natural they felt and within 15 minutes I was sold on them. You don’t realize how fatigue and tired you hands get from oils, grease, solvents, crud, and trying to clean them afterwards. A 100 count box can easily be enough get through an engine rebuild.
Rusted Bolts Everywhere:
Rusted frozen Nuts and bolts there are several ways to remove them. First you try muscle like my grandfather said “You got to get rough with it!” Then you try WD-40 that usually gets it, but if that fails use the impact wrench on it. If nuts and bolts are so stubborn that none of the method describe above have worked, then its time to get out the cutting touch (propane doesn’t do it) oxygen-acetylene! Heat the nut until its red and then try the impact wrench on it, if that does work cut the nuts off!
I would soak the rusted nuts and bolts in Naval Jelly overnight and clean them off with WD-40. A good Tap and Die set are great tools cleaning and restoring threads after the soaking and cleaning. The nuts and bolts that required to be heated to remove them have lost their tinsel strength and need to be replaced! The degreaser concentrate that is for High pressure washer is great of tub soaking parts in.
Out in the Field:
I have been putting off building a workshop/barn/storage shed for a year now. So I have been building out in the field. Weather dictates if you’re going to work or not. Texas summer are dry and hot, but most of the time to hot! I had to work in the morning or evening (mosquito feeding time). Do work outside if you don’t have too. If you do work outside use a white canvas drop cloth. It keep the dirt away and if you drop something it doesn’t blend it with the ground.
Documenting Process:
I was inspired by Bear’s Z–engine rebuild and how he documented it, but I wanted more photos. So when I decided to rebuild the TO-30 engine I was going to photo document as much as possible. I found out I still wasn’t doing enough photographing and documenting the process as I wanted and planned too.
When you teardown and rebuilding an engine you set yourself goal on how much work you plan to complete that day. Then you start developing a rhythm when completing each step or task. Instead of building momentum starting the next step or task; you STOP pose the engine for the camera, wash your hands (grease and cameras don’t mix), and then take pictures. By adding this step to process everything is slowed down for the engine rebuilding process by 25% easily and I learned why Bear didn’t take as many pictures as I did; it is very time consuming and hard work! It is very rewarding to get feedback from other forum members on the work of documenting and photographing of these the type of task. So appreciated the efforts of Bear, Ingersoll44 (Paul), and future members who choose to take the extra time in sharing there experiences of Tractor Rebuilding.
Hand Cleaners and Blue Gloves:
Hand cleaners are not as strong as they were in the 1980s and early. Many a night I was using 10s of gallons of water and a small fortune on different hand cleaners and spending my free time scrubbing my hands raw trying to get them clean with very little success. Ingersoll44 (Paul) told me to try Nitrile Disposable (Blue) Gloves and Wow what a difference! I was skeptical at first I never used gloves before, but I was surprise how natural they felt and within 15 minutes I was sold on them. You don’t realize how fatigue and tired you hands get from oils, grease, solvents, crud, and trying to clean them afterwards. A 100 count box can easily be enough get through an engine rebuild.
Rusted Bolts Everywhere:
Rusted frozen Nuts and bolts there are several ways to remove them. First you try muscle like my grandfather said “You got to get rough with it!” Then you try WD-40 that usually gets it, but if that fails use the impact wrench on it. If nuts and bolts are so stubborn that none of the method describe above have worked, then its time to get out the cutting touch (propane doesn’t do it) oxygen-acetylene! Heat the nut until its red and then try the impact wrench on it, if that does work cut the nuts off!
I would soak the rusted nuts and bolts in Naval Jelly overnight and clean them off with WD-40. A good Tap and Die set are great tools cleaning and restoring threads after the soaking and cleaning. The nuts and bolts that required to be heated to remove them have lost their tinsel strength and need to be replaced! The degreaser concentrate that is for High pressure washer is great of tub soaking parts in.
Out in the Field:
I have been putting off building a workshop/barn/storage shed for a year now. So I have been building out in the field. Weather dictates if you’re going to work or not. Texas summer are dry and hot, but most of the time to hot! I had to work in the morning or evening (mosquito feeding time). Do work outside if you don’t have too. If you do work outside use a white canvas drop cloth. It keep the dirt away and if you drop something it doesn’t blend it with the ground.