The Fordson Tractor Pages Forum

Hello everyone,

So this weekend I got into my 53 FMD to see if I could get it turned over with my new starter.

The motor was not stuck but it did stop at one point in the rotation from both directions. Long story short, I pulled the head to find out what the cylinders looked like and as I suspected, while the tractor was sitting in the rain, some moisture got into one cylinder and there is a small amount of rust on the top inch or so of one cylinder.

I am tempted to hone it clean and get it running but the head went to the machine shop today as the rusted cylinder valve is not closing all the way. I have attempted to download the manual this morning but the links are not working. I do have an old I&T Service Manual but it is limited on machine specs.

Can anyone post all the specs the machine shop will need for the head rebuild, or point me in the direction to find it?

Thanks,
Jeffrey

Hi there, which information are you looking for? Ive just installed new valves in one of my majors heads, and going by the manual, (i+t), which seems a bit vague, the valves should stick out of the head no more than 0.034", however i thought that to be a bit much so i got them down to 0.015", and the engine runs fine.
The only other measurement i followed was when setting the valve clearances, which also was 0.015". I think there are other measurements to follow like the rocker gear and valve guides etc, but i found this to be nice and tight on my head. This however is only the way i did it, and i suspect its probably wrong, but it seems to work ok

Hi Jeffery, all the specs needed are in the IT manual, page 16 & 17. They have the seat width listed as 3/64” to 1/16”, I crossed that out and changed it to 3/32” to 1/16”, I don’t completely trust this manual and 3/64 seems way to narrow for an exhaust valve to me.
Looking through my Ford shop manual I can’t find a spec anywhere for the seat width.

Pat

Hi Jeffery. You may already know this but the best manuals are right here on this site. Home page toward bottom.