1958 Dexta cracked block

[welderpaul]

Hello! My first post here, so feeling my way round a bit.

I've just bought a 1958 Dexta (957E 7005) with a Mill loader as my refurb project. Brought it home last night and had a good poke round everything. Everything is in reasonable nick, with lots of corrosion varying from needing a clean up and a coat of paint, to not there any more

Judging by the 'chewing gum' stuck to the block there is a crack under there somewhere. I don't seem to be able to upload a photograph which makes my explanation a bit difficult. I'm not sure if it is the standard place for the blocks to crack, but is to the left hand side of the fuel filter, near to where the stop cable is attached to the engine?

I am restoring the tractor back to its original state, and obviously want to get rid of this mess. Can the blocks be welded or are they better being metal stitched?

I am a welder/fabricator so should be able to manage it Like a kid in a sweetshop - can't wait to get started on it. Keen to avoid just replacing everything with new spares - prefer to repair/refurb wherever possible.

[GERRY]

Hi welderpaul welcome the site , that sounds about the right spot alright
for the blocks to crack. with your know how about welding / fab you
should be able to do good job of it , there are acouple of good posts on the
site about this very item , and also some very good here guys who will probley be abe to
give advice on the best way to go about it, all the best with your new project . Gerry

[welderpaul]

Thanks Gerry, repairing the block is one of a long list of jobs that need doing to it.

I think i've got the wrong end of the stick with the serial number, seems the number i quoted is a casting number not a serial number.
Its caked in so much grease and muck i cant see any other numbers so i'll have a better look once i start taking it apart.
Brilliant forum by the way, there's a wealth of information i'm slowly working my way through.

[russelm]

The serial number is on the block just above the fuel pump (and the location of your crack!), you can see it easily on my block as I didn't paint it (just to annoy those who like to see them 100% blue like the day they left the factory )

[GERRY]

That will be engine number ,tractor serial number will be on edge of clutch housing
below and to right of battery box where clutch hosing and engine adopter plate join
together. Gerry

[welderpaul]

That will be engine number ,tractor serial number will be on edge of clutch housing
below and to right of battery box where clutch hosing and engine adopter plate join
together. Gerry

The number i've found, which looked to be hand-stamped is 957E 67439. Does this sound like the right number to date the tractor

[welderpaul]

Mark; you have achieved a great finish on the block. I do a lot of spraying of enamels and two pack paints at work, so i hope i can achieve as good a finish as you have.
Was your refurb a full strip-down?

[Tubal Cain]

That serial number dates the Tractor as 1960!

Gerald

[russelm]

Mark; you have achieved a great finish on the block. I do a lot of spraying of enamels and two pack paints at work, so i hope i can achieve as good a finish as you have.
Was your refurb a full strip-down?

Yes, it was a full strip down to bare metal

I am currently spraying the tank and various minor parts (need to learn again as its been TO long!).

[commander]

That will be engine number ,tractor serial number will be on edge of clutch housing
below and to right of battery box where clutch hosing and engine adopter plate join
together. Gerry

The number i've found, which looked to be hand-stamped is 957E 67439. Does this sound like the right number to date the tractor

That sounds like a serial number....would make it a 1960 model. I think they were hand stamped.

[welderpaul]

Thanks Jack, Some people seem able to date theirs to a month and even a day. How do they find out this info?

[EddieJ]

The number i've found, which looked to be hand-stamped is 957E 67439. Does this sound like the right number to date the tractor

The 957E numbers are part numbers and will be identical on most dextas. The engine number is stamped on the left side of the engine above the injector pump on a smooth flat part of the block near the head (Ours is 1610947). The serial number is on the same side of the tractor located on the clutch bell housing flange running from top to bottom and may be in a 'swirly' font (Ours is 09B725689). The numbers tend to be a bit hard to pick out as they will be covered in muck, grease and paint so use a scraper to clear this. To help date your tractor you need some casting dates which are in 3 or 4 digit format (e.g M4H or K23H) and tend to look like they are on a screw plate, Letters denote year and month and the number is the casting date.
They can be found on most of the major castings.
Rich

[JC]

957E 67349 is your serial number. It’s a 1960 model, like Jack said. I have a production number list that gives serial numbers by the month, for Majors, but I don’t have one for Dextas. The 09_ serial number format that Rich is talking about didn’t start until Nov. 1961. The casting codes can help date your tractor. The tractors were usually assembled shortly after the parts were cast, but not always. If most of your casting dates are fairly close together, its a pretty safe bet that the tractor was built soon after.

[welderpaul]

I have been having another poke around the tractor before finally taking the plunge and dismantling it...
Looks like there is a starting handle hole at the front of the tractor, with the toothed cog hiding away. I've not seen any reference to this on the literature i have read. Did Dextas always come with this facility?

and..lights in the grill...these were the Super Dexta's right?..... before i go buy the wrong one

[Bensdexta]

and..lights in the grill...these were the Super Dexta's right?..... before i go buy the wrong one

Lights moved to the grill for standard Dexta in 1961 (New Look Dexta). Super D followed when it came out in mid 1962.

[welderpaul]

http://www.flickr.com/photos/66331496@N02/6039219309/

Been a while...work has been keeping me away from home for a while, but in the meantime i have been trying to source original replacement parts i know i will need on the rebuild.
I'm missing a tipper pipe, so grabbed this off ebay. Does it look like the right one? The fitting on the end of the flexi hose doesnt look like others i have seen on the internet and on other Dextas i have seen in the flesh.
Can anyone offer any advise?

Edit - pics not working

[Bensdexta]

Been a while...work has been keeping me away from home for a while, but in the meantime i have been trying to source original replacement parts i know i will need on the rebuild.
I'm missing a tipper pipe, so grabbed this off ebay. Does it look like the right one? The fitting on the end of the flexi hose doesnt look like others i have seen on the internet and on other Dextas i have seen in the flesh.
Can anyone offer any advise?

Something wrong with your pic!
There is a pic of the standard trailer pipe at Agriline http://www.agrilineproducts.com/partsca ... dexta.html
see item 4355. It doesn't have a flexi pipe

[Bensdexta]

Duplicate deleted.

[welderpaul]

Been a while...work has been keeping me away from home for a while, but in the meantime i have been trying to source original replacement parts i know i will need on the rebuild.
I'm missing a tipper pipe, so grabbed this off ebay. Does it look like the right one? The fitting on the end of the flexi hose doesnt look like others i have seen on the internet and on other Dextas i have seen in the flesh.
Can anyone offer any advise?

Something wrong with your pic!
There is a pic of the standard trailer pipe at Agriline http://www.agrilineproducts.com/partsca ... dexta.html
See item 4355. It doesn't have a flexi pipe

There we go. Looks nothing like does it.

[Bensdexta]

http://www.flickr.com/photos/66331496@N02/6039219309/
Been a while...work has been keeping me away from home for a while, but in the meantime i have been trying to source original replacement parts i know i will need on the rebuild.
I'm missing a tipper pipe, so grabbed this off ebay. Does it look like the right one? The fitting on the end of the flexi hose doesnt look like others i have seen on the internet and on other Dextas i have seen in the flesh.
Can anyone offer any advise?

There we go. Looks nothing like does it.

The top pipe looks OEM, ....with a little bending.

[welderpaul]

http://www.flickr.com/photos/66331496@N02/6042465353/

Started stripping it down today, scraped at least a wheelbarrow full pof grease and muck off it, started getting the parts off, cleaned up, marked up and ready for blasting. Lots to do.

[Bensdexta]

http://www.flickr.com/photos/66331496@N02/6042465353/
Started stripping it down today, scraped at least a wheelbarrow full pof grease and muck off it, started getting the parts off, cleaned up, marked up and ready for blasting. Lots to do.

Yes make sure you take lots of pics to record how it came apart, bag and label everything and don't throw anything away even if it looks knackered, may be useful later as a pattern.
Looks good

[welderpaul]

I have just bought some replacement, original, fenders. The ones on mine have holes drilled where the rear lights should be. The replacement ones i have bought have a reflector mounted on a pressing. Mine is 1960 ish, what would it originally have been fitted with? Thanks.

[welderpaul]

Took the air cleaner off today, along with a load of other bits
The base of the air cleaner is full of sludgy oil. How has oil found its way into the air intake?

[Nick]

they call it an 'oil bath', basicly the bottom piece or bowl is filled to a certain level with engine oil so that bits and dust etc fall into it and stay there rather than going into the engine.
My dexta had been sat in a hedge for 15years when i got her, and a mouse had got in there and died which made the sludgy mess in mine awful and i nearly threw up cleaning it out!