The Fordson Tractor Pages Forum

In searching for various parts I keep seeing listings referring to an “exhauster” as a key point in choosing the correct part. Does anyone have a picture of what this is? Maybe we call it something else in the USA.

Rob

Hi Rob, would an exhauster be the same as a breather?
John

The exhauster is efectively the vacuum pump in the vacuum brakes (an extra for operating heavy trailers with industrial Major's). Here's the vacuum brake manual so you can see how it works.
http://www.fordson.se/8_9_Broms_sl%E4p_ ... 01-010.pdf
Because the exhauster is driven by a modified injector pump it changes what tachometer you need with a minimec, as there's no longer the correct connection for it on the pump. Notice here on Billy the extended shaft, countersunk screws and lift pump on the injector pump (the pipes are home made as Billy has never had this extra).

Sandy

Is the exhauster oil lubed? The 2 screws on the curved casting at the back end of the pump are oilways from the camshaft, which has an oil drilling on that journal to allow oil to be pumped through the holes if needed
John

The exhauster gets oil from camshaft bearing no. 4 through the screw visible in the pic.
Sandy

Ah yes, its the mk3 engine that has 2 screws, i think they added an oil return drilling on those blocks?

The return is through the normal lift pump mounting point. The changes to accomodate the minimec also affected that area, adding two holes above and below the exhauster feed and blanking out the ones further forward for the previous type pump rear mounting.
Sandy

That’s an interesting bit. I suppose this wouldn’t affect the tachometer type on most earlier tractors, as many are driven from a small right-angle drive on the front of the engine. For example mine has a drive on the front marked AC. Being out of the way from the exhauster kit there is plenty of room to put it on if necessary.

That's indeed the case, it's only from the introduction of the minimec that having an exhauster type pump changed the kind of tachometer used, with the angle drive type for exhauster type pumps, and the pump type for the other minimec's like on Dexta's. Earlier Major's all used the angle drive tachometer, after it's introduction in 1954, although many Major's from 1953 to 1958 had a simple hour counter instead or nothing (previous tractors had a large plug, so no hour counter fitted, although some had a different one mounted in the hole where the distributor is on a spark ignition engine and driven by the top of the oil pump gear). Tachometers were made by Smiths and AC, while hour counters were made by Smiths and ENM (as Billy's one is).
Sandy

Learn something new every day! For my next trick, I’ll open a discussion on Tachometers. I know, there are many!