The Fordson Tractor Pages Forum

I'm working on the above tractor which has a cracked manifold in several places. I have three options, 1 get a new (2nd hand) manifold, 2 adapt a diesel exhaust manifold in line bolt holes, and lastly weld up the old one. Of cause the preferences are in the same order as options. So has any one had the same experience? Any information would be appreciated.
Tim.

Hi Tim,

Welcome to the board.

You have a "Major" problem, been there, done that and bought the manifold. I was lucky back in the 1980's I found someone who had a new manifold still wrapped in the greased paper.

Manifolds on these tractors are the weak point, they break and crack both externally and internally and, of course, no one makes them any more. They are out there but can be very expensive, one person I know got one for £250.00 but a local man I met at the Blue Force Tractor Weekend at Newark paid £1000.00 for his. I am afraid that another manifold may be the only way to go.

They are impossible to weld successfully, I tried with cast rods I got from a welding specialist who said they would weld anything. He was wrong! The metal seems to crystallise with the constant heat and a hole burns through as soon as you try to weld it. You may have some luck with gas welding and brazing it but that is the only hope I can give you.

When in work the manifold glows red all the time and really gets hot. The exhaust pipes last about a year if you are lucky as that also glows red with about 4" of blue flame coming out of the top! All this is normal.

I cannot see how you could modify a diesel manifold, they are a totally different beast with different porting, you may be able to get a petrol one as they come up occasionally and were the same on petrol Thames Traders. This would mean running her on petrol all the time as there is no vaporising area in them. The TVO engine has bigger pistons and sleeves to the straight petrol. I run mine on straight petrol if I am not working hard just doing light work but she will get through a lot in a short while.

Just noticed you are in Australia, you may have more luck there as there were more petrol/keros there than here in England. I will ask the Fordson Tractor Club if they know of anyone with one. I do know of tractors in a scrap yard just outside of Mildura.

Hi Tim,

I'm affraind Brian is right. Finding a needle in a haystack is far easier then finding a usable manifold.

Nowadays companys are specialized on repairing delicate castings by welding. This means heating up to a certain temp, weld with special electrodes, and a cool down proces for a some 24 to 72 hours, depending on design and wheight of the casting. You can try your luck there.

Seeing market prices for good Petrol/TVO tractors it might be worth an investment. These companies can advice you on the chances of succes in advance.

Maybe one of us on the board should learn 3D drawing in SolidWorks. We could have a manifold printed on a 3D printer maybe.

Rgds

Emiel

Could Belzona be a solution?
http://belzona.nl/en/

I've seen several repaired effectively using flux cored Sifbronze brazing rod and lots of Sifbronze or Borax flux around joint line, preheat manifold with BIG propane torch then stitch joint with oxy propane (or acetylene if you have it) heap warm ashes or dry sawdust over job to cool slowly.

The downside is the bronze is very visible as and when paint burns through but ZEEbright or similar graphite based stove polish / paint seems to hold up.

Depends on where the surgery is needed and if you can hold the bits in place...........

I have a 30 gal barrel of oil dry in my shop on wheels, ( not sure if that's what it is called elsewhere) When I'm welding cast that I want to cool slowly I bury it in this barrel of oil dry, works slicker than snot.

Pat

Is that one of the granular types like Kitty litter or seed compost Pat ?

The cooling in woodash or sawdust was a tip given to me by a chap called Walter Page, (possibly the areas most accomplished cast iron welder of the post WW2 era) and was to scavenge oxygen from the cooling casting as much as to slow the cooling.

Yes Rick, it is basically the granular kitty litter, I believe its made from clay.

Pat

Bentonite clay - home casters mix it with fine sand, dampen it and use it as greensand for moulding - ooops that wold be molding

Thanks guys for your help and suggestions. I maybe lucky as I have found one in Tassie for $300 but again hard to tell condition from photos. Seller says it's ok????? Heard that before. I'll keep hunting. Thanks again gents.

Good to know you may have one, I have spoken to BarryM of the Fordson Club of Australia and his comment was "Rocking horse poo I can deliver immediately, E1ADKN manifolds take a bit longer". I also contacted my friends in Robinvale where I have seen tractors in scrap yards and they are going to check around for me.

I do have a contact in Tassie who may be prepared to check that manifold out for you if it is within his area. He has just taken an E1ADKN back there from Mildura.

You can e-mail me at bhe at btconnect.com

Thanks Brian I will email you soon.

Hi All,

Just an update on inlet/exhaust manifold.

I got one from a guy in Tassie, not bad condition. Had to drill out a broken stud and it does have a very fine hair line crack but should be good for 50 years. Fitted it up and used an exhaust elbow from the diesel model. Had to make an adaptor plate as the angle of the outlet from the petrol manifold and diesel are slightly different. Turns out to be 5 degrees, no drama for a fitter/machinist like me. Anyway it's running well and so much quieter and safer, no raw flames coming out. Used a BareCo spark arrester standard type to suit motors up to 65HP.

Thanks to all for your advice and suggestions.

Tim.