The Fordson Tractor Pages Forum

Hello to all. It has been so hot here I have not worked on much outside. I have the two lift arms from the Major and they are rusted from sitting therefore wll not slide up and down. The leveling box is good, the threads on it are not rusted, I have unscrewed it with no problem. I seem to have read about putting them into a fire to help free them up but could not find the post. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated. Also have this block
Is there anything on it that you would think is salvagable and could the block be reused after some cleanup? Thanks to everyone and good luck on your projects.

Hi When I unseize the linkages I get I use an oxy acetelene tourch with a rose bud or large heating tip on. I then heat the part cherry red and then put it under the cold water tap or drop it in the water barrel to cool it off quickly.they should then move with a few hits with a large hammer and some times i have put them in a vice and twisted them. if they are real stuck you may need to do this more than once to loosen the rust. I have never failed doing this. the only thing to remember is that the parts should be completly cold before moving them as it is possible to heat seize the components together if not cold.
This little trick was shown to me by an old welsh Blacksmith I worked for part time when I was 14 (22 years ago). We used to use the forge. I dont have one and A fire is not always convienent. I think from when he exlpained it to me the cold water is an important part.The heat from the fire and it just cooling on its own does not work so good .
Regards Robert

Thanks Super6, I'll remember to cool them before trying to get them apart. Thanks again.

I would be saving that live drive clutch thats on that engine. Needs to be put into dry storage.

Steve

Steven B wrote:I would be saving that live drive clutch thats on that engine. Needs to be put into dry storage.

Steve

Thanks Steve, I'll have to get the manual out to see how to remove clutch, if not too difficult I'll try to remove and store or sale. I want to save anything that may be any good, thought I may carry block to salvage, they pay by the weight for scrape. Again thanks for your advice.

Hey Gman, anything "Major" wrong with the block? I've a "Super" and it never hurts to have parts in reserve. I'm in NC and IF we cross paths I'd buy the block for dry storage if it is a good one. Do you have the rest of the engine? What town are you near? Best Regards;
Brownsmule just outside of Race City USA (Mooresville) NC

brownsmule wrote:Hey Gman, anything "Major" wrong with the block? I've a "Super" and it never hurts to have parts in reserve. I'm in NC and IF we cross paths I'd buy the block for dry storage if it is a good one. Do you have the rest of the engine? What town are you near? Best Regards;
Brownsmule just outside of Race City USA (Mooresville) NC

Hi Brownsmule, I live in upstate SC. I got this block when I bought a Major for parts. I was told the engine seized due to no oil from a leak. I'm still looking at what parts I want to keep although I do not think I will ever do anything with the block along with a lot of the other parts. I have a whole back end also except I took hydraulic pump out and exchanged a raised pto for a standard pto. There are more pictures under my post "please look and advice".
I will keep you in mind about the parts. Thanks.

Well today I tried the heat and cold water trick on 2 well siezed top links which have not moved for 15 years that i know of and in each case it worked perfectly without the dirt left on the threads that normally happens when freeing things with just heat.
Thanks for the tip

Hi Gavin im glad you tried that and it worked for you as it should first go . I mensiond it to a guy on another blue forum and he is a non believer i think He has never replyed that he tried it. well I guess you are convinced now and I hope one day you will pass it on to somebody else as I did to you.
Regards Robert

I will definately pass it on and have got another top link to test it out on when I get a spare minute. One thing I really like about this method is it eliminates the risk of working with a hot lump of metal which always want to jump out of the vice when you least expect it.

Gavin wrote:Well today I tried the heat and cold water trick on 2 well siezed top links which have not moved for 15 years that i know of and in each case it worked perfectly without the dirt left on the threads that normally happens when freeing things with just heat.
Thanks for the tip

Hi Gavin: Did you do this with a fire or torch? I have fires outside often and if I can just place them in the fire for the heat step I will give it a try. Also did you heat the entire lift arms including the treaded parts and leveling box? Thanks for all the advice.

I used oxy acetylene but it was some top links not lift arms I was working on and I just heated the outer (centre) section.

Gavin wrote:I used oxy acetylene but it was some top links not lift arms I was working on and I just heated the outer (centre) section.

Thanks Gavin; I believe what I'm calling lift arms are actually top links, see pictures above. Somewhere on here someone tells of doing this with a fire but have not found it in my searchs. Thanks for the help.

Hello Gman! I have had two instances where the threaded rod portion of the lift rods were frozen and used a hot fire in a wood stove to heat the unit to a nice red color and then let it cool on the floor over night. In both cases with the use of a good penetrating oil, they freed up fine. I never tried the rapid quench mentioned above but it seems to me that it could harden the steel and make it brittle whereas the slow cooling acts as an anneal to stress relieve it. If the rapid quench works for you, so much the better. Good luck!

Kim wrote:Hello Gman! I have had two instances where the threaded rod portion of the lift rods were frozen and used a hot fire in a wood stove to heat the unit to a nice red color and then let it cool on the floor over night. In both cases with the use of a good penetrating oil, they freed up fine. I never tried the rapid quench mentioned above but it seems to me that it could harden the steel and make it brittle whereas the slow cooling acts as an anneal to stress relieve it. If the rapid quench works for you, so much the better. Good luck!

Hi Kim
I guess the art of doing this is to get the part no hotter than a dullish cherry red. I have done this on loads of major hitches and other things and never had a problem. the current major i use had it done 8 years ago when i got it.
The mower I use on it is huge and the strain on the linkage with leaverage is massive its probably 8ft+ to the back .The hitch was all messed up on the screw thread and welded when i got it and I havent even broke the repair somebody else did.
I guess the guy that showed me was a 70 year old blacksmith and he had forgotten more about metal than most will ever know, so if it was a huge issue he would not be doing it for customers. Im not saying it could not happen but my experience has always been good.
Regards Robert

Thanks guys. The threaded portion is ok. I guess I should remove them before any heat. It is to be hot again here this weekend but next weekend grandson should be at my house and he loves to have a fire so will give it a try and will see what happens. Thanks again.