That rear PTO was in rough shape. It's great that you saved all of those plastic caps. Sure did come in handy, didn't they. It's good to be a pack rat, sometimes. Hint for rust removal, 1:1 solution of vinegar and water. You are supposed to soak the rusty item in the solution, like when you remove rust from cast iron pans. That is what this solution works best on, however, spraying the solution on with an ordinary spray bottle and hitting it with a wire brush at the same time would do the trick. I know that this tid bit of advice comes a wee bit late to the party, but now you know how to clean rust off of cast iron pans and skillets. 👍👍 The rear axel looks like brand new almost. Great job! It's a shame you lost the anti rotation pin and the bolt. I'll bet they're somewhere in your collection, you just over looked them in your search. So close with the size of that valve. Good job filing it down to size to fit. If it leaks, you could just add another gasket, maybe. I hope it didn't leak, though. Thank you for another great video on you journey to completing your dream tractor. Can't wait to see the finished product and watch you in action with it. I hope to see you in the next one, Neil. This has been a great series! I wonder what the next project will be? Take care, Neil. 👍👍🥰🥰🤗🤗😘😘
Thanks as always Susan! I'll remember that vinegar and water trick. That will come in handy for sure. And here's an insider bit: The valve appears to be holding just fine without a drop of oil leaking!!! I really appreciate your great comments. Thanks for coming back every week.
Neil, that’s the way it works in the elephant eating business. You have to slog your way through slaughter, evisceration, skinning, and butchering before you can start eating it one bite at a time. But, once you get over the hump and begin to take those sweet succulent bites, it makes the slog worth every minute. And, in your case the weather is getting better for working outside. With daylight savings time’s arrival, you may also have a bit more time available each evening… except those where you have already stretched them into the wee hours of the morning. I’m glad that you got the oil drain to fit. Your time spent may never be recouped with time saved during future oil changes. But, the self satisfaction of figuring it out and ease of draining the crankcase will pay you back forever. I am excited to see you cresting the hill and glad that you are there!
You are so right Dave. Setting the engine back in really felt like things were rolling pretty steadily in the right direction. Now. If I wanted to throw it back together to make it run I could. That darn painting though is a big bite of this elephant. If I can get that accomplished then it's all dessert from there on! I'm hoping to have this odd looking yellow. John Deere at the Harlan Park pretty soon to grade ball diamonds so it's going to happen one way or another!
I can almost guarantee, any lost parts or fasteners that are intended to be used will reappear after you buy a replacement and finish reassembly! It happens to me all the time
I have a bunch of Kubota ‘spares’ gathered over the past 20 years that have shown up after repairs. In my case it includes lost and found as well as ‘extras’ left over that weren’t needed! Too bad they are orange or, I’d ship them to Neil!
A little hint for you on an exposed inner race removal, heat a spot up on the inner race across the width of the race to red hot, then take a ball peen hammer and peen the hot area, it will stretch the metal out and relieve the press on pressure and in my experience, the race will come right off. Of course you can always cut the outer race and ball retainer off if you want to use this method. Thanks for the update sir, nice series.
That too takes me back. There was a day I could torch a bearing race of a shaft and not touch the shaft itself. But, the method you mentioned always came first. Some of those shafts were five inches in diameter with the bearing race shrunk on. Seldom was a puller needed.
💥Of course you even have a John Deere pressure washer. I'm really enjoying this project. I'm excited you're going with a different color scheme. *Keep on tractoring!*
Your daily commitment to this project is inspiring. Wish I could commit to doing something like you do. I am old and tired now and just can't get the motivation to engage even when I want to. Some days are just gonna have to be 'rest days'. Ha! Who am I kidding...MOST of my days now are 'rest days'. Keep up the good work on the tractor and maybe one of these days I might get motivated to send you some more little doodads. I too keep all those little things for 'just in case'.
Why for one? I'm very appreciative of you being willing to check in on me at least once a week! I know what you mean. There are plenty of days where I don't feel like doing too much. This is really helped me to stay engaged at least. Thanks again for watching and commenting!
That my friend is the road to the graveyard. Find something to do that interests you and keep at it. Being old is unavoidable. Being tired is a great place to be after you have accomplished something. My worst days for sure are those when I do nothing.
Neil, I am a Case Ingersoll fan more than a John Deere fan, although I have had my fair share of John Deere garden tractors. It’s amazing how much time one can spend working on garden tractors! Keep it up, really Like your tractor videos!!
Can’t wait to see the next installment. I did a similar build with a mini bike probably 20 years ago, wish I would have taken more pictures or video of the tear down/build back up process. Keep up the great work Neil! Enjoy your day Around the Yard!!
Slipping into "we" is a normal thing. Darren (Mustie1) leans into it on his channel, acting like the viewers are there in his shop and asking the camera why we didn't tell him a power steering hose was leaking or whatever. It's really fun. Can't wait to see more 318 progress. This is one of my favorite YT builds since Matt's wrecker is more or less finished.
Great machine. One of the sturdiest for sure. Just don't get carried away as I did. I decided to fix all of the known shortcomings of a 317. Repowered with a Kohler CH20 getting rid of the questionable series one, 3 spool hydraulics with separate controls for the rear lift using 400 parts, power steering using mostly 425 parts, updated PTO clutches, and a completely new wire harness I fabricated myself to fit all of the wiring changes. It has around 400 hours since and runs like a champ. I use it for all the hard work around the house. Pulling stumps, tilling, heavy mowing, and such. The things I wouldn't think of using the 425 for. That's limited to cutting grass and hauling mulch with the front blade shovel. In my opinion, the 317 is the best bargain out there for the buck.
Keep up the great work Neil! Your touch-it-everyday process is working and giving me and my wife the incentive to do the same. She is painted the family room and I'm renovating the downstairs bathroom... one day at a time.
This series is giving me an appreciation for the old John Deeres. I've wanted something small with a rear PTO and 3 point hitch for a while. Thank you for sharing this process.
This will definitely give you a great appreciation for your well oiled machine. I just bought my first a couple months ago. Now I have 2 in the garage I’ve been working on constantly 😂
Such a great series Neil! You're definitely on your way out of that proverbial tunnel. I'm most looking forward to seeing the smile on your face when you drive it out of the shop for the first time!!! 😁👍
I never thought a lot about these older John Deere lawn tractors til I started watching ur channel. I guess mostly because they are not 4x4. Now I’m wanting one….
Great videos. It feels like we are there right with you wanting you to get over that hump. I hope that you will be glad when you do get it done and scratch it off your list of things to do. We will never be done with things to do or projects, but you will have 1 less. Keep up the great work and we will see you in the next one. Peace
I can see it’s dragging on you, but you are in the home stretch and so much closer than you were 3 months ago. Very motivating to see you keeping at it.
Yeah thanks Jeremy. I'm super excited to get it done and now the weather is just holding me up. Ready for spring to arrive and enjoy the tractor rather than work on it!
Ive been slowly watching all your videos over the last 2 months. You gave me an itch to buy a 318 and last week i found one with a snowblower and 3 point for the right price. I'm already deep into maintenance and fixing small items. I'm working on buying some new tires for it and getting it ready for work this spring. Keep up the cool videos. Can't wait to see yours when it's done.
Hey Neil, I love your passion for building your dream 318. I am a 318 fan myself. I restored one I got from my grandfather 15 years ago. I added the rear hydros to it like the factory would have. I lucked out and found a 44 loader for mine about 10 years ago. I wish I could get my hands on a rear pto. I have customized "my little tractor that can" to fill the slot of a bigger tractor. Keep up the good work.
Very nice! I had a loader on a 318 for a long time and it is amazing what you can get done with one. Glad that you were able to restore your Grandfather's tractor. Thanks for watching and commenting!
Niel Your making progress!!! Keep it up 👍🏻 I know how much it pains you that you can’t locate the anti rotation part! As soon as you get a replacement you’ll find it, at least that’s how it works around here. Make sure you include that in your video 😁. Take care my friend
Ha! If I find it, you know it will be in a video. I already ordered the new part so I know as soon as I take possession of it I'll just stumble across the old one! Thanks as always, Mike!
I haven't checked with him yet. I should have. Believe it or not I stopped at John Deere in Woodburn and they could order that part. It's expensive but I got lazy and just went for the convenience factor and ordered it new.
I feel your pain. Something so simple can really kill productivity. It’s looking great. Can’t wait for the next update. If your down here in the comments please like and subscribe.
Thanks Marcus! It was hard to see in the video but I used those loctite hand towels and they did a great job cleaning the oil off the bottom of the engine!
This is very inspiration Neil! How exciting to to see how far you have come! I love following along. I am learning as well. The drive to work on this around your work and family and keep things going is heartwarming because I know (and you show) how supportive your family is towards these projects and trust goes both ways that projects like these tie into supporting your family and maintaining your property,. Thanks Neil!
Thanks so much Stephen. That's very true. Yesterday my wife and I removed all the furniture and the old carpet in our bedroom in anticipation of new paint and flooring. Then the wife came out and helped me clean the barn and sand the body panels on this 318.
The way your so enthusiastic and in love with this machine is contagious and I love it. I'm not the biggest Deere fan but you've got me wanting a 318 in the future!
A line from one of my favorite movies says, "Endeavor to persevere". I think that applies here. I know that any time I have a project like this, it's easy to get distracted or even lose interest, but you will feel a huge sense of accomplishment and pride when she's done. Keep up the good work my friend.
You can cross reference the clutch field magnet to a Warner Electric Brake and Clutch part number. I used to work there in the 90's. Or, you simply could clean the epoxy face and poor some more liquid epoxy over the windings of the coil to cover them up.
@@digdrivediy The Warner Electric company I worked at used simple 2 part epoxy that was cured with heat. I would recommend mixing up some 2 part copper epoxy and cover the exposed coil areas. The copper in the epoxy will also aid in conducting the current of the coil. Easy to find in stores and online.
Great to see the progress! After spending a substantial amount of fab time on my articulated allis garden tractor build since I last commented, I'm lazily enjoying your video with coffee this morning for a change of pace... Although I really like the Allis/Simplicity design, this video leaves no doubt that the John Deere platform is a superior frame! I know folks like to complain about paying extra for green "paint," but the engineering and big tractor inclusions are worth it. Don't tell the SimpleTractor folks, but I may be a convert! I haven't figured out my rear pto design yet, but since my Sundstrand U sits perpendicular to yours, I'm waffling between a belt drive like the original and a hydraulic drive with a cooler... Thank you for this series; it's always great to have proof that other people value older machines, hard work hobbies, and shops full of "someday" parts!
Thanks so much. John Deere does have their positives and negatives, but for the most part these older tractors are really of solid design. The orange articulated project sure sounds cool though! I appreciate your comment and thanks again for watching!
Awsome very well put together videos Neil you have a very good way of holding attention i would love to find a 318 some day I have a model B styed and a deere 310 SG and a hole bunch of cat D2s and parts Love your projects and i can hardly wait for the next one. Larry
Wow Neil, it does seem like you are getting close. I do like that color on the frame, it's certainly growing on me for sure. These things definitely have a tendency to get drawn out. Just when you think you can assemble something, there's one little part that's missing and needs to be ordered. It looks like it will be a super capable machine when all done. Can't wait until the last or last couple videos... I say that, but here I am watching this one 12 days late🤦♂. Hopefully we'll get another one this Sunday.
@@digdrivediy HAHA, sounds good to me. I've been so busy lately, I've barely had a chance to get anything out in the last month. I can really respect your committment to you topics.
Never throw bits away cos dam sure ur going to need those bits later on and u need a lathe the turning down of that tap would be so much easier and fun on a lathe 👍( I have one and never regretted buying it) so many small things u can make with it but ur machine is looking good can't wait to see it moove 👌😂
Your way more organized than me, I have a couple hundred projects going currently, and the random fasteners are strewned across my workshop, including a 300 series 2000 rpm rear pto, which just sits in the bottom of one of my tool boxes.
Like your Videos, I'm on a John Deere 332 now, John Deere used to make a fiberglass patch, pre packaged fiberglass and epoxy a 2" x 2" ,, just peal the wrapper and stick it on,, very convenient, I use anti-seize moly or copper lube on all my bolts,, great for steel bolts into aluminium or cast iron housings, even better for exhaust systems,, don"t forget the lug bolt ,,, lightly don"t want to mess up the paint job
I Love this video series! you are inspiring me to do something similar to my JD 332 to restore it! always love tuning in to watch how this goes! hope it turns out really well!
Neil, great stuff as usual. I could feel your emotional momentum at the end of day 88. I appreciate everything about this project and the goal to touch a part of it every day! Keep on grinding my friend.
Wow, it seems like John Deere parts are right on par with Harley Davidson in price , geeze, looks great I wondered why you used a rattle can as well, when you have a compresser, easy touch up makes sense, you could get a brush and spray a little paint in the cap for the can, and brush those bolt heads. I sure am glad you are gonna use a sprayer on the large panels, powder coat would be the way to go, but it would cost a fortune, love this build, and thanks for taking us along for the ride, can`t wait to see paint and final assembly.
I like the looks of bare bolts the best. Just as the machine was originally built. In the grand scheme of things, new bolts are cheap. Except from Deere. As for powder coating? I have to disagree. Deere couldn't make it stick under ideal conditions with the most expensive equipment available, so what's the chance of it sticking a second time. The only downside of rattle cans is the inability to add any hardeners or fisheye additives.
I have one of those rear PTO anti rotation brackets here. I can't send it to you because it belongs to a friend (I have the whole PTO) but I can measure it or probably duplicate it for you if needed. It would be pretty simple to make. Let me know if I can help.
I really appreciate that Luke. To my surprise it was still available from deer so I just went ahead and ordered it. Little more expensive than what I wanted to spend but I went for the convenience.
I always remove the tip from the pressure washer and run some water through it before installing the tip. Tiny specs of rust come from the hose or supply that clog the tip. Many many years of commercial pressure washing brick that’s what we always did.
I won't laugh at your red neck fix for the oil valve. I will only laugh that it took you so long to make it fit yourself! Regarding the "lost" parts. My wife knows all too well how often parts the I have "lost" show up as soon as I have received the new parts. Keep chugging. This is just a GREAT series on the 318.
