The Fordson Tractor Pages Forum

Hi people first id like to introduce myself. My name is Paul and im from West Wales, I am classic car enthusiast and have restored several so know my way around an engine and gearbox but this will be my first ever tractor. I have driven a tractor twice before but it was a right old crock, a zetor with no brakes, no exhaust and hydraulics that you had to hold the lever to stop the rear arms going down, so I im not sure how a tractor in decent condition should drive.

Anyway on to the tractor in question.

Its a standard dexta 3 cylinder diesel and from the face of it looks in good order. It starts very well from cold with no easy start and very little cranking, no excessive smoke or crankcase pressure. There is however a slight oil leak around the rear of the engine, I don't think its engine oil though as its clean and yellow not black like id expect from used engine oil.
The bodywork seems good and I can't find any rust anywhere.

Now onto the bad bits that I have found.

1. Steering is a joke! there is about 45 degrees free play at the steering wheel and a fair amount of end float at the steering wheel. The kingpins and steering arm ball joints don't seem to have any undue play so I suspect the problem is the box itself. Are they rebuildable or will I have to get another, what sort of price am I looking to pay to put this right, parts cost only as I am a mechanic by trade so should be able to fix it myself.

2. Generator is not charging the battery but I think ive already spotted the reason for that if you will just put the ring terminals on to it without doing up the clamp nut its not going to work properly

3. Tyres although tread wise they look brand new I wouldn't dare run them as they have severe cracking in the sidewalls.

4. Gearbox. Now I believe this is a fairly common problem it gets stuck in gear and the only way to get it out is to remove the plate around the bottom of the selector levers. Now the seller says this is due to worn selector rods and could be fixed by packing them out with weld and filing smooth, I am dubious as I would expect the selectors to be hardened and as such I can't see such a fix working for very long. So are there parts available to put this right and are they going to break the bank?

Is there anything else I particularly need to look out for? The price asked is £1250 which to me seems reasonable but the gearbox, tyres and steering box problems are concerning me and at this moment are holding me back from making an offer.

gear problem is easy sorted, you weld onto bottom of lever then file down. I had pal to sort mine, someone will come on and tell you exactly what to do

Searching on this forum will produce a wealth of information on steering, gearbox and any other problems. After all this is what this forum is all about people sharing their knowledge, skills and experience with each other.
For what you describe the price is very cheap, go get it and you'll find the problems you've listed are quite easy to fix and all spares are available, just google "Fordson Dexta spares" for a big list of suppliers. Also buy a copy of "tractor and Machinery" magazine for more ads and info etc.
You may find someone close to you also is on this forum and could help.
As you are a classic car enthusiast then the only real difference is heavier metal and hydraulics with regard to working on them.
Cheers
Jerry

Well I hope ive done the right thing but I now own this dexta.

Photos on Friday when I pick her up.

Sounds like you have a bargain.

Steering box rebuild is not a huge problem - hopefully the bottom of your box won't be too badly worn and just need reshimming:
Upper bearing repair kits are readily available although quality can be variable. See:
http://www.fordsontractorpages.nl/phpbb ... f=3&t=3388

Well D Day has arrived and she is home not an uneventfull trip as the disco decided it was to be a 3 cyl as well thankfully that was simply a rocker adjuster locknut coming undone allowing it to give itself a 1 inch valve clearance. But anyway she is home and the Landy is still in one piece

Photos









That is the only bit of bodywork that is required





Issues to fix one ball missing from one lower linkage arm
Generator no chargy
Clutch biting point is a tad low
Gear selectors are worn so its possible to get her stuck in reverse
Clean up the blue paint and repaint the orange as its not the right shade.

Oh and I suspect this should be sorted as well.



All of that play is in the box not the linkage and some is due to the steering wheel being slightly loose.

Looking at that video it looks like all the play in the steering is caused by the bearing just below the steering wheel. When they get shot they allow the shaft to wind in and out of the steering box, rather than turning parts inside. You can see the steering wheel moving up and down in the video. Cheap to buy and easy to replace.

Assuming no frost damage and original casting codes, looks like you got a bargain.

Is that a minmec (mechanically governed) fuel pump? If so guess she's a 1962 - numbers & cast codes will reveal.

Congrats on your purchase.

Ive had a chance to have a little look around this now to see what needs doing.

First discovered where the leak is. It was diesel dribbling from the pipe that goes to the inlet manifold. So ive turned the tap (not the main fuel tap the little one on the inlet manifold) to off seeing as she doesn't have a working manifold heater anyway.

Then decided to look at why she is not charging so have followed the wiring, lots of loose connectors a lot of random added wiring. Having looked at it I think the best solution is to rip the whole lot out and rewire. Could I please ask someone to take some photos of the various bits of wiring on their dexta, how the dynamo and regulator should be wired in particular. I also seem to have a random extra starter solonoid wired in as well looks a bit like a 60s triumph unit with a rubber button to operate the starter from under the bonnet, im not sure whether it should be there or not at the moment.

Paul,
Look here for wiring diagram
http://www.fordsontractorpages.nl/manua ... tm#_wiring diagram
Extra solenoid with push button is not standard. Must have been a quick fix

Replaced the bearing under the steering wheel as well as the fixed nut thingy, don't you just love the technical term

The play is greatly reduced but the steering is now stupidly heavy and I mean really stupidly heavy. Unless the tractor is rolling I cannot turn the steering at all! I suspect I know the reason for this the box when I took the column off appeared to be full of heavy grease and water. The seal just below the steering wheel being totally shot as well must be how the water got in there. So now im stealing myself to pull whole box off and rebuild it what should be in the steering box as I can't believe it should be filled with grease.

Was it stiff before you took it apart? Are you sure the stiffness is in the box?

Does the new nut run smoothly on the shaft? Some of the repro steering nuts are are poorly made.

Some people put grease in the box to avoid oil leaking out through the lower seals.

Try jacking up the front end to take weight off the front axle and then check for stiffness, to narrow down where the stiffness is coming from.

Help wanted on info for wiring assembly, think I have found the one I need but there is bait that confuses me, after the wiring assembly there is either W/lighting or L/lighting does anyone know what these stand for please as really don't want to order the wrong thing any help greatfully received

Devonman wrote:Help wanted on info for wiring assembly, think I have found the one I need but there is bait that confuses me, after the wiring assembly there is either W/lighting or L/lighting does anyone know what these stand for please as really don't want to order the wrong thing any help greatfully received

Which wiring assembly are you referring to - have you a link?

go to the start of the dexta section in the fordson pages and click on stefans workshop manual link section 9 electrical. in that you,ll find the wiring diagram
and even a child can follow it, it,s so easy