The Fordson Tractor Pages Forum

Hi All,
I purchased a Super Dexta in the fall to get me by (moving snow and such) while I restore my Terra-trac crawler (then the Dexta, then the White 2-60 etc..etc..).
I've been reading in the forum and checking videos as much as I can and now have a few questions (to start as surely lots more later).
First of it seems to be running rough, seems so-so at low idle but as I increase RPM it get worse and at about 1/2 throttle or more starts to occasionally shoot sparks out the exhaust. The previous owner said he recently had the engine rebuilt but never did anything with the injectors, timing etc. Being new to diesels I'm hoping this might be it and any tips on setting it up would be great (or were to find info on doing such). AS most stuff i can do on low speed but unfortunately the loader needs work as i have to throttle up a lot to lift even light snow.

Also I was reading about the starting procedure and it seems that there is suppose to be a primer bulb on the fuel cock, I've enclosed pics and believe mine is not original as it has none, please confirm. I did locate a push down lever on the pump and am wondering what/when this is used.
Starting was difficult but I installed an in-line circulating heater in a coolant hose that was added to the tractor and it has made things much easier, even in -30C if i plug in for about 1/2 hour 1st.


Pics:




Lever on Pump..

Serial#is 09B720950 (the 0's look like rounded triangles, hope thats right). Will get more numbers and put them in the other post collecing that info when I get a chance.

Many Thx for any assistance,
Take Care
A.B.Ames

Welcome to the board.

You have a beautiful little tractor there, please don't paint it up.

The fuel tap has been replaced with the bowl. You then do not have the cold start system. There is a heater coil in the inlet manifold, operated by the push switch on the dash panel. Diesel should be sprayed onto the coil by the pump in the fuel tap to get a flame in the inlet manifold. Without this flame she will be hard to start. Check the manifold and see what you have left and you may find she starts better if you connect a diesel supply back to the heater. Some people have had good results using a cheap primer pump from a boat or lawn mower.

The lever on the lift pump is for priming the main fuel system. With a diesel, if you run out of fuel you have to bleed all the air out of the system before it will start. You will find bleed screws on the top of the fuel filter and on the injection pump. Air free fuel must be pumped out of these and this is what the hand primer is for.

Pump and injectors should be OK but could be faulty, if she runs, timing will not be far out. On a diesel timing is far more critical than on a petrol car and really should not be moved away from the marks set by the manufacturer. Check the manuals available from the main page for the settings.

Enjoy her! They are a lovely little tractor.

I forgot to say, she is a 1962 possibly around July/August. Post some casting numbers and we can get a better idea.

nice looking tractor bud just to ad , there should also be a cold start button on the pump on a super dexta aswell as the heater system, if you pull the stopper and look what it moves on the pump there should be a button on it..

Thx Brian & dexta4

Brian,
sadly this girls already been painted at some time for wherever the paint is rubbing off the body i can see a lighter blue paint underneath also yellow pained on the engine (see pump pic) is peeling and shows the blue underneath. Plus isn't the pre mid 63's suppose to have orange and blue not yellow (rims etc.)?

I got the numbers (i hope) today and posted them, didn't do anything else as it's a rough day for me, though i will look at finding a primer bulb next trip town.
Oh I also wanted to mention that she occasionally rev's up on her own and then back down, not sure what the cause is.

dexta4,
thx for the info I found it, could you tell when/how one should use this I can't seem to find info on it. Thought I read something about that before but it didn't explain enough so I though it was the lever on the pump (in the pick I showed).

Thx again,
A.B.Ames

In the piviot of the stop lever on the pump is a little button. Open the throttle about half way and push the button in, it should stay in. Then when the engine starts, it should fly out.

If it does not fly out, the engine will die, as if it is starving of fuel. Either operate the stop and it should fly out or, gently pull it out with a pair of pliers.

It may stick if it has not been used for a time.

Thx again Brian that should be very helpful.
Take Care,
A.B.Ames

Hi Brian,
Just got back from checking it, it doesn't want to stay in so I guess I've got some research to do to fix it.

Thx,
A.B.Ames

Try opening the throttle all the way and pushing it in again.

Nice looking loader on your Super Dexta.But has anyone seen a
Dexta with a larger bucket? I guess its used for shifting snow. Cheers TSG.

Thx again Brian that worked,
I couldn't find info on it in the manuals (unless I missed it) as I did try looking before asking.

Thx Again,
A.B.Ames

The Swanndri Guy wrote:Nice looking loader on your Super Dexta.But has anyone seen a
Dexta with a larger bucket? I guess its used for shifting snow. Cheers TSG.

Hi Swanndri,
Thx and yeah that bucket is big (for the tractor), as you can see from the pic it's just extensions added to the small/reg bucket. The original owner did the mod for snow (which it is great for) and started off nice by bolting it so the sides could be removed. Sadly someone later welded parts on preventing removal so it's now a pain (as it's so big) for anything else, even just driving around. I'm hoping to re-modify it back (grind grind grind) this summer so it can be switched between reg and large easily.

Take Care,
A.B.Ames