1987 318 restoration ... southwest Wisconsin

I do not know what tractor this time delay module came from but mount is not correct. The mounting plate is supposed to be bent L-shaped near the top of the module and fit over the two bolts shown.

The two holes at the top of this mounting plate are too narrow to fit over the two bolts on the steering valve. I have ordered correct plate from eBay. Expected delivery Jan 5-7. The Electrical fittings are correct. I hope this does not become an issue when I try to start the engine.

I did not get the console cover painted. will get that tomorrow along with removing the driveshaft from the frame and cleaning the grease fittings. Work will then be done for awhile until I have parts. I think I will see if I can get some H3 lines made for other 318 project.

Having problem painting the right side console cover. Paint job is full of fish eyes. Been a long time since I have had that problem. I used steel wool to sand down the surface and then wiped it with paint thinner. Rag did remove some of the applied paint. Then applied two more layers of paint.

Yesterday went to the garage to get some some done. First thing was to check on paint job. Still some fish eyes but not nearly as bad. It is the inside surface that is painted so I think I can live with it. As I was handling the cover it felt cold. Garage is heated with hot water in pex tubing buried in the concrete. I looked at the thermostat and it read 46°F. Normally garage is about 65°. Checked water heater and pilot light was off. We had power shutdown for about 1/2 hour on Christmas day. Pilot would not relight so this morning before taking Laurie to another 3 hr appointment stopped at plumber. When we got home the furnace was running and temp was already up to 60°.

I don't know if temp was cause of paint issue. I plan on painting the rest of the cover tomorrow. Hope all goes well. Pump seal came today so plan on getting that installed tomorrow also.

Thursday I have dentist and Laurie has another doctor appointment. I need to have a filling replaced so drilling, jack hammering, and blasting will probably make me lazy until Friday. I need to get back on this project and get-r-done.

GreenGabby said:

@MiniHomesteader I need to get your tire measuremens yet also. Don't want you to lose faith in me. Think I am going to take a tire outside and roll it thru a muddy area to measure the tread width. Sound reasonable?

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No rush, I’m in no hurry.

If it’s off a tractor, just lay it on its side and lay a yard stick or something across the top, then measure from that to the ground. No reason to dirty up the tire just for a measurement. I’m just curious how they classify their widths.

Furnace (hot water heater) working perfectly. Temp in the garage this morning was 66°F.

I think the temperature had something to do with the paint. Sanded and cleaned outside of cover this morning and sprayed with 2 coats of paint. I only use JD spray paint and have not had this fisheye issue. I painted left side cover from same paint can with no issues. Will get some photos of the cover tomorrow when paint has cured.

This morning I removed the charge pump and cleaned it up with paint thinner on a rag. Installed new seal and reinstalled cover. The cover does not need to be removed if you have a way to remove/install the seal in the cover.

Every time I work on this tractor I find more evidence it has had some serious tear down/repair. This morning I noticed the lock nut on the transmission FNR turnbuckle is backed off about an inch and half from the turnbuckle. Will tighten that before finishing project.

Hope you and Laurie both are doing fine!

And your able to go and due the things that you want!

Im on a News Year Diet and trying to lose some pounds. Each year at my work place there's a pool for the biggest loser that runs for 13 weeks you have weighin on fridays and its by % lost not total pounds and last year I was 4th or 5th and just finished out of the $$$ I did win 1 week for most % lost and got my $20 back it cost's to enter. This year I'm hoping to finish in the $$$ and have that towards my ATV/JD/play money fund. So I wont be going on any Out to eat excursion's while Im in the running for this at work.

Locknut on turnbolt is left hand thread. Tightened finger tight then used wrench to lock the turnbolt in position. For now I have to assume position is correct. Locknut on front was tight, locking the turnbolt in position.

Next step is to remove tubing from control valve that is in the way of installing driveshaft. Camera battery exhausted ... no photo. Don't know if I will be able to work on it tomorrow after dentist appointment.

Good for you Matt. Keep shedding those pounds.

Dentist appointment early this morning. Sleet overnight made porch and driveway slippery. Cleaned it well enough to get Laurie in the car for her doctor appointment. Got home about 11:00. Sunlight and mid 30's temps finished clearing driveway for me. Sleet again tonight is making things slippery again.

Didn't get anything done in garage today other than check on console cover paint job.Should be dry enough to install tomorrow (Friday) if I can get the driveshaft serviced and installed. Time delay module mounting plate came today so I should be able to put everything back together to see if it will start.

Today I worked on putting the console, battery tray, wiring area back together. Right cover is installed but still need to install washer and nut for fuel shutoff, and battery tray bolts. I do need to remove the tray to mount starter relay and other components to inside of right cover. Right cover is loosely mounted. Tomorrow I should be able to finish work in this area except for today's surprise discovery.

Found a short lead coming out of monitor module w/male spade and nothing to connect it to. I know X485 and X720 has similar wire that when ground reports back status of switches on tractor. 318 does not have this feature so I am at a loss. Looking schematic I do not find the lead other than a possible ground for the ignition module. Before I started working in this area the The starter, pto switch. and tail lights all worked as intended. I need to find out what this wire is supposed to attach to. I have two other 318's but both are B43's Don't know if that makes a difference. This is first 318 I have gotten this deep into so still somewhat green around the edges.

Still need to attach driveshaft to transmission and bolt the engine in. Getting anxious to see if it will start.

Sorry, don't know how last update got entered twice. Must still be a little green around the edges using updated forum programming also.

Went back to garage after supper. That unused wire turns out to be a second ground wire from the lower terminal on the non-Deere hour meter. Will only use if I need a ground wire for rear lights or ground for a powered switch. I removed battery tray and bolted in the relay and plugged in the hour meter. Tomorrow morning I plan to bolt in the battery tray and install a battery. Battery will probably need charging so will get that done tomorrow also. This is what it looked like before I shut the lights off for the night..

I did check the project 318 sitting beside this one. It also has an unused ground wire but is coming from the main harness.

GreenGabby said:

Went back to garage after supper. That unused wire turns out to be a second ground wire from the lower terminal on the non-Deere hour meter. Will only use if I need a ground wire for rear lights or ground for a powered switch. I removed battery tray and bolted in the relay and plugged in the hour meter. Tomorrow morning I plan to bolt in the battery tray and install a battery. Battery will probably need charging so will get that done tomorrow also. This is what it looked like before I shut the lights off for the night..
View attachment 2579132 View attachment 2579133 View attachment 2579134

I did check the project 318 sitting beside this one. It also has an unused ground wire but is coming from the main harness.

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I sometimes think there were a few "oops" on the factory floor with the wiring harnesses but they had ready workarounds if they occurred. Makes tracing wire more interesting against the schematic!

Console, battery tray, and wiring harness area is reassembled. I had a WalMart EverStart 26R 540 battery that accepted trickle charge and is holding charge. Battery is installed and cables connected. Installed the front two bolts to hold the engine in place.. Removed the air cleaner. One of the capscrews mounting the coil was missing; replaced capscrew. Still need to connect driveshaft and the choke and throttle cables. Real close to finishing up,

So close that I couldn't resist the urge to shoot some carb cleaner down the carb throat and hit the starter. It starts. Doesn't run but does start. Need to get the fuel pump primed.

Here is status of tractor as of last night.

This morning I pulled the fuel lines off the fuel pump and blew pressure back into tank to make sure both fuels were not blocked. Also valve shut off supply in off position. Valve and lines appear to be ok; just need to add more fuel to tank before attempting to prime pump.

My plan was to completely reassemble the tractor, take it for a drive, then pull the engine to inspect for for leaks as previous owner said it had a massive leak. I was hoping this would also give me opportunity to check for oil consumption/smoke to give me kind of an idea how far I had to tear the engine down for rebuild. Notice I used past tense (was). This is what I found under the engine this morning after running for only a few revolutions last night.

I checked the oil drain valve. It is shutoff and no leakage out the drain hose. Leak appears to be draining thru right rear mounting bolt hole. Leakage is severe enough I think I need to completely pull the engine for some service work.

• Remove engine tins to find where leaks are occurring.
• Clean engine block
• Replace oil pan (has broken mounting tab).
• Replace fill/dipstick tube seal.
• Replace leaking seals
• Pull the heads to de-carbonize pistons/valves
• Install new head gaskets

I was hoping I would have the tractor reassembled so I could pull the 140 I bought last summer into the garage and pull the engine. It needs complete overhaul. Will have same shop rebuild engine that did my 120 engine last winter. He did a wonderful job with that engine. Next winter he may be rebuilding the P218 engine from this 318 if needed.

Back to the garage.

PA318Guy said:

I immediately tell folks to check to see if oil is coming out of the oil filter area, they are notorious for having loose bolts on the oil filter housing.

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I just got home from talking with Jim, the person that rebuilt my K301 engine. He told me the same thing when I told him the leak was at right rear of engine. I did check to see that the oil filter was tight and did not wobble I have had another P218 and a B43 leak in this area so I was already planning to replace these seals/gaskets.

I am hoping filter base gasket is the cause of the leak and not the rear main. Am I correct that replacing rear main is pretty a complete overhaul?

Deere price for Onan parts are pricey. Onan genuine parts are about 1/2 the cost if not bought from Deere.

Where is the best place to order gaskets? I do not want Chinese manufactured gaskets.

GreenGabby said:

I am hoping filter base gasket is the cause of the leak and not the rear main. Am I correct that replacing rear main is pretty a complete overhaul?

Deere price for Onan parts are pricey. Onan genuine parts are about 1/2 the cost if not bought from Deere.

Where is the best place to order gaskets? I do not want Chinese manufactured gaskets.

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I would check with @boomers_influence or Onanparts.com they tend to be much better than JD on Onan pricing.