New 1962 Dexta Purchase

[MyDexta]

I never heard of a Dexta til I saw this one. Always raised on 8n or 9n or the thousand series...

I saww this one start up and bush hog a little and it was great... Some tell-tale signs of some oil leaking.. oil stains on the engine... It was cool (40'sF) that day and there was alot of smoke. Took the owners word that the smoke cleared up after it ran awhile.

Bought it, with b-hog and a boxblade for under $2400.

Brought it home, checked fluids (they were well within safe margin) and put it to work bush hogging small overgrown tree areas.... Tha girl is a tank. She had smoked a little starting up but the owner was right, the smoke went away with work.

But as I was doing this I noticed oil pouring out of a downward facing tube, much like an old cars vent tube...

The oil level had fallen to barely on the oil dipstick....

So my question is, what could be wrong?
I'm thinking broken rings?
I'll post pictures of my new girl sometime soon....

I shoulda listened to my inner red flag when the owner said, not once... not twice... but a few more times..

"If it turns out that its not the right tractor for you, you'll have no trouble selling it..."

[blue32]

Hi "My Dexta" - as all others old dexta,s is this known for most of them, in Norway I think one Dexta like your,s probably would cost abit less I think, but as I have seen in english marked or so, I think the price was fair, and as I think in N.l. even moore? It also depend of how many houres and how good it has been taken care of in his lifetime, how it look,s everywhere around too. But this tell me that it could mybee be best to open up your Dextac for overhaul,n
- Yes send some pictures. Good luck with your,s blue

mikkel

[Brian]

One of the problems with Dextas is the engine, it needs a good flame in the inlet manifold to get the engine to fire up when cold. This flame is produced by holding the heater button for 40 secs then pushing the primer button a couple of times. The primer is on the fuel tap. Then they will fire up with no problem at all. If either the manifold heater or the primer system is missing or faulty then they are hard to start.

When the cold starting aids do not work, owners resort to using ether in the manifold to get them to fire. ETHER KILLS DEXTA ENGINES! It causes rings to break, pistons to split and connecting rods to bend.

I would suspect this is what you have. With any luck it could be just rings but expect more. Your price paid was not too far out for what you bought but you are going to have to spend some to get her right. They are a fantastic little beast though.

[MyDexta]

Thanks to you Brian and Mikkel for your responses. I'm pleased with the price. She's almost 50 years old... she's going to be worn out a little (I'm 47 and could use some greasing and an overhaul).

Yeah, he (the previous owner) warned me about ether. There is no clanking or pinging like one would expect from a rod or valves letting go...no piston slap sound.. perhaps because its covered up by the sound of the diesel?

We just used the glowplug to start her. i probably wouldn't be out using her in anything too much colder than 35degF... the ground wouldn't be fit for ground breaking tasks. I would use it for driveway maintence and mowing, perhaps towing logs and such.

He mainly told me about the starter lever gear not meshing with the flywheel. He made up a cable that would spin the starter and get it better aligned with the flywheel.

Also, the brakes do not stop her. They do grab, but I have to use the clutch more than I would like to help brake the tractor.

I'll post pictures tonight maybe. Too many Christmas errands to get time to baby her.

[MyDexta]

Here's some pics of my blue toy, as promised.... working blue toy... a toy that is for work.... yeah...THAT'S the ticket.

front left

front right

where the oil pours out

engine compartment

rear left

This was after 2 hours of bushhogging so muddy tires is to be expected!

The girl has some great sheet metal. Left fender and area need strengthening.
Some of her electronics have been redone recently.

The console/switch area is a deeper shade of blue and the sheet metal screws are brand new...

It would be a tall task to make things back into original after 50 yrs of modifications and alterations...
Anyway, thanks for looking.. .I plan on getting a rebuild estimate... then my son and I will strip the sheet metal and give her a decent repainting...

One question though... isee alot of Dexta's with everything blue... I kinda of like a splash of contrast, like original color fuel lines and highlighted SIMMS cover and other special enhancements. Nothing too over the top like flames, but some contrast. What are the opinions from purists about this?

[Brian]

That is a lovely little tractor!

If it were mine she would get an engine job because she is worth it!
I would get rid of all the odd bits that have been added! I have never seen an addition like that to the starter, she has a pre-engaged starter by operating the lever as all Fordsons did. Very occasionly the teeth on the ring gear did not line up but by operating the lever a couple of times they engage normally.

I would paint her as original, everything blue except the wheel which should bright orange and the grills silver. They look stunning like that. They are the colours for 1962.

All this is my opinion and she is your tractor!