The Fordson Tractor Pages Forum

Part 1 A brief introduction: I live in central sweden, which is quite a bit north of most of you. We have about five hectares which is mostly very wet clay and has been quite badly neglected for a few years. Our first tractor is a 16hp Kubota which is excellent but for battering large lumps of tussock grass into submission it is a bit small - not so much in terms of power as stability, and it takes a long time to chop the bits that can be driven over when using a 1-metre topper or bush hog or whatever it is called. So, needed something a bit larger, affordable, but not so heavy as to sink into the fields (which are old lake bottom. Beside a lake. Downhill of a swamp). And hopefully with reasonably available spare parts and some advice available on the internet. I think I can work most of this out by trial and error but I thought I would ask the experts in the hope of avoiding a few errors and expenses (and accidents).

Apologies in advance for spamming the forum and the size of the pictures, I can shrink them if it helps. I thought if I documented everything thoroughly it might also help other new owners who are suffering from the 'Photobucket plague' of missing pictures.

Soooo, the smurf.

09C902916 according to the registration documents. Registered for work 1st Jan 1961. 11 hopefully careful owners.

What I believe is an Ålö Type 1 loader, the classic old-school manual 'pipe loader' here in Sweden. Working 3-point lift, PTO, headlights, position lights, roof work lights, indicators, horn, windscreen wiper and maybe working cab heater (!!). Not sure about brake lights and rear work lamp, need to experiment a bit. Allegedly working hose motorheater. Definitely not working - handbrake. Starts after a few seconds of cranking without touching the glow plug button or anything else. Came with chains, home made rear weight and ex-army 3.5 ton trailer.

She arrived on a breakdown recovery lorry, and made quite a mess with oil drips so my first concern before driving her any further is to check that lubrication, brakes etc are all adequate. My 1983 kubota has not really prepared me all that well for this, so hopefully I can find some advice. Most of the oil left on the lorry seemed to be under the back end. However my high technology witness boards left overnight gathered very little new oil under the back end, mostly diesel roughly under the engine on left side.Not sure if she had dripped dry during transport or if that leak was due to being winched up at an angle. Is there an "easy" way to check the oil level in the back end? Or is it recommended to drain the whole thing and refill?

Part 2: Beginning under the motor cover
Clean diesel is leaking from what I have believe is the fuel filter, specifically from the slightly worn looking bolt circled in yellow:

Is this the 'diesel inlet screw'? Is it safe to just put a socket on there and wind it down or should I buy a seal or gasket of some kind before fiddling with it? I will obtain a new fuel filter but it would be good to stop diesel dripping everywhere now.
Also, the motor is in practically showroom condition.

Is this normal or should I be worried? What method would you use to clear the muck off so I can see and also avoid getting gunk inside pipes etc? I have read of people using pressure washers but that seems like it would cause problems. I have sprayed some rust cleaner here and there and it appears to work, will this damage anything?

Can anyone tell me what the thing circled in red is? Is this the temperature gauge or something to do with controlling the motor? The spring-wrapped cord thing goes all round the motor room and is wrapped around the hoses for the motor and cabin heaters and generally makes everything extremely inaccessible. It would be good to disconnect this, tidy up, and put it back - but not if it will get complicated.

Last motor question. I had a look into the radiator filler and it was snuff-dry. Should it be full to the point you can see liquid when opening the cap? What coolant do you use? Just ordinary -40c rated premix? Green or red?

Looking a little underneath the motor (and part of the hut fabric), I think this is the clutch linkage? Is it for an independent PTO clutch and set correctly for normal usage, the clutch pedal seems about seventeen metres in the air and requires monty python leg movements.

Part 3 - The office


Germano-swedish luxury upgrade, I believe. Somewhat unexpected.


Further into the cabin, on left side:

Can more experienced tractor owners give marks out of ten for this hydraulic loader connection? To me it seems a little clumsy but then I haven't tried to do anything myself yet. Also it looks like I could pull the quick-disconnect and connect a trailer here, or a hydraulic top rod? Would that work or do I need something more sophisticated?
Also, there is a (very inconvenient) random electrical cable here with what looks like a battery terminal on the end, leading to this space under the handbrake:

Did a battery originally live here? Or some other electrical thing? If there is some reason to keep this configuration it would be good to know, otherwise it is tempting to just tear out the wire and the tray.

The handbrake is missing the little tongue that engages with the ratchet, so it is only useful for handbrake turns and emergency stops, not parking.

On the right side of the cabin, there is this nice view of what I think is the differential locking pedal and two empty holes I have marked in yellow. I believe here can be a manual brake lock. Is it perhaps easier to fit this than to repair the handbrake? How are spares for either solution? What would you recommend?

Part 4 - The back end

In green, at the top - what is this component? Is it something to do with the 3-point or the seat? Is it damaged or does it normally look a bit half-finished?
Yellow - is this where the oil fill plug for the rear end sits? If so then presumably this hydraulic connector is a 'free return to tank' or whatever the english wording is? And who paints a quick disconnect?
In red - this component is jammed solid and looks unhealthy. Is there a suggested way of freeing these up, or is it easier to seek a replacement part?
In lilac or whatever that color is - should something be bolted here or is it OK for this to be empty?
In white - I think I need a PTO shield here but I am not sure if anything else is missing, the chains also look bad. How much of this needs to be replaced?


Left and right brakes (I guess). Do these look useable but ugly, or life-threateningly dangerous? Is the left one leaking or is that normal?

Part 5 - Tires
So this tractor has an interesting mix of tires.
Front right: New looking 6.00-12 6 Ply Nankang ribbed tire, from Taiwan or China
Front Left: Elderly 6.00-12 Firestone with ribs and lugs. unknown country. dry splits and cracks but good pattern.
Rear right: Ancient 14.9-28 Goodyear Made in Sweden. . Maybe even original from 56 years ago, pretty sure no one has made tires in sweden for a while... Plenty of dry splits, hardly any lug left
Rear left: New looking 14.9-28 Danubiana. This is I think from Romania

So - what would be a sensible approach to take here? Leave the old tires until they disintegrate? Get new ones? The rear tires in particular are expensive but I can also imagine that they are difficult to change, especially if you have had a puncture in the middle of a wet field or a snowy road.

I have also wondered about putting duals on the rear some of the really wet bits of land so not to tear it up. Then I could put two good tires on the inside with two worn on the outside at lower pressure so they only touch if the tractor sinks a couple of cm. But does that risk straining the axle? Also, what wheel and bolt pattern would that need? Dextas are not very common in sweden, would Major or FE35 wheels fit?

I have seen piggy-back 'dual wheel adapter' bolts like this sold for Major/Dexta but surely there is needed spacer rings and so on? Most tractors I have seen here with duals have rings between the wheels and large clamps from rim to rim.

Wow...

I'm not a Dexta guy, so I shouldn't even be reading this page.. but I'll make a few observations if I may?

I'm sorry if I'm stating the obvious.. but that is a huge scoop on your loader, presumably for clearing snow, and it will make your steering heavy; and it will make the tractor easy to get seriously stuck if you drive about in wet fields, even with the chains on the back wheels. I hope you have a parking-stand to remove the loader from the tractor when you don't need it? The hydraulic coupling on top of the gearbox is to let you remove the loader, with most older loaders the rams stay on the tractor when the loader is removed; but the Alo (what we call a Quicke) there's only a small frame permanently fixed to the tractor, everything else comes off in one assembly. You will be able to plug a trailer-tipping pipe in there, when the loader is off the tractor; but unless there is some shut-off tap or diverter somewhere which we can't see, you won't be able to just swap between the two, trailer and loader.

Yes I guess your tractor must have had an extra battery for low-temperature starting, I had never seen that before. You'll find out in a few months' time if you need it?

Yes that is your temperature sensor, probably non-original if it looks too long, it's a thin pipe so don't damage it (if it's working!)

The handbrake lever shouldn't be hard to fix or replace, I don't think Dextas had a pedal lock like the Major. And yes that is the differential-lock pedal behind the brake pedals.

Yes that is where you fill transmission oil, where the coupler is. You can't really tell anything about the brakes' condition from the outside, you'll have to take off the wheel and brake-drum, exactly like a [older] car.

I wouldn't worry too much about the oily engine - it will help prevent rust Those hydraulic couplings for the loader look a bit oily - are they the source of your leaks? Fixing the fuel leak would be my top priority - the screw you have circled looks to me like a bleed screw, so should have a copper or aluminium washer (or maybe a rubber o-ring, sorry I don't know) under its head.



Overall it looks a super tractor, and your photos are great too!

blackbob wrote: I'm sorry if I'm stating the obvious.. but that is a huge scoop on your loader, presumably for clearing snow, and it will make your steering heavy; and it will make the tractor easy to get seriously stuck if you drive about in wet fields, even with the chains on the back wheels. I hope you have a parking-stand to remove the loader from the tractor when you don't need it?

Here this is called a 'lightweight scoop", partly because they are somewhat light flimsy built, partly because if you fill them with anything other than light bulky things such sawdust, fluffy new snow, etc., you are likely to experience one or more of: broken loader, broken front axle, broken tractor frame, burst hydraulics, back wheels waving in the air. For dense material there are more sensible small 'gravel' scoops, dung forks etc that fit between the front two forks which I will try to find, or maybe a fully hydraulic loader. But yes, was intending to work out some way of parking this when driving in the fields since it must double the front axle weight.
For other use there is a ~120kg concrete barrel to help with the steering, and the primitive loader is still hopefully less work than a shovel and barrow and it was basically free . When driving it in I was surprised by the very heavy steering until I realised the barrel was in the scoop, not on the back...

blackbob wrote: the Alo (what we call a Quicke) there's only a small frame permanently fixed to the tractor, everything else comes off in one assembly.

That I did not know, have seen many of these on hobby tractors but never in serious use. I was wondering how to take the lift arms off the side frame but probably all the red parts come off forwards at once. Thank you very much!

The other information is appreciated too. A second battery I had never thought of, I thought it had been there instead of at the front. But before the motor heater was added that might have been useful.

So now I need to source a handbrake repair kit, some washers for the fuel pump (and probably elsewhere), a replacement handle for the motor cover, a properly closing lid for the exhaust, maybe some radiator flush, and presumably a mixed set of inch nuts and bolts. Probably some inch tools would be useful as well, I have all metric.

I can't remember ever seeing a Quicke loader with arms like that, but this is how the later ones look:


Only the frame made of round tube, stays on the tractor: and only one pin each side (it has a 'handle' on it, and is kept in place with a loop like a link from a chain) holds the main assembly on, along with a hook at the front each side.
All you need to do to remove the loader is support the frame (with stands, or by suspending it from above, eg under a tree or a strong doorway or roof), then disconnect your hydraulic pipe and pull out the single big pin at each side. And then gently reverse your tractor out.

I think the "pipe" loaders were the first hydraulic ones Ålö made in the late fifties, then came the square ones as stronger hydraulics/tractors made the self weight less important. But the pin/handle/loop is exactly the same on mine, although the left "handle" is now a welded on long bolt

Today it stopped raining briefly so I attacked the bleed screw. It had a disintegrated plastic washer stuck to the screw and housing, so I scraped that off. This almost eliminated the leak, so I did some shameful hash-mec with electrical tape and now it is dry. Really need some washers.
At the same time investigated the other end of the old cable and found it cut off near the fuel pump, so I removed the whole thing. Terrible picture but cable was as thick as my smallest finger, impressive and better than the actual battery cables


Tidier, can now form a relationship with the PTO lever. Also the quick disconnect had not been used for a long long time, gave it a wipe. Bolt holding the bracket was I think a "somewhere between 17 & 18 mm", maybe 11/16?. I have some good adjustable spanners but prefer to avoid using them, really need a basic set of inch sockets and spanners.


And I finally found a drain plug, think it was for the gearbox, and took a sample. Smells strange and is thick, but cannot see water, lumps, shavings etc so should be OK until I can get a set of new filters. If back axle is the same will top both up and try driving a little at the weekend. Dipstick looks OK for motor.
Also found a little weep hole with a pin in by the drain plug,some oil may have been tipped out of this while trucking. Also lots of oil down the left side of the body by the PTO lever etc. Thinking back, during unloading (and presumably loading) the loader was right up in the air with that heavy barrel in the scoop, while the tractor was winched up and down, truck bed was tipped and levelled etc. I wonder if the jerking "over pressured" the joints in the hydraulic hose by the aux port? She was dripping quite a bit at the time. Hope it is that and not the axle leaking.

I'll guess that either the coupling itself was leaking (there's an o-ring inside the female end which could be damaged), or some of the joints, perhaps not tight? There should probably be a sealing washer behind the male and female ends, for example http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Dowty-Washers ... ZYR04Xz7JA

You won't need one of these washers where the fittings have tapered seats eg http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Hydraulic-Ada ... RanFKJSm4g (I'm just picking the first listings off ebay, no endorsements!)
All of these joints need to be as tight as you can get them. But they should not leak, however much you overload or abuse the tractor - a hose would burst first..

Your rear wheels have the classic worn seals signs (leaks around the hub/brakes) - not a hard job to replace with the right tools! I am sure this has been covered off before in this forum or the old one - did my standard Dexta 10 years ago and they are still leak free so worth doing. Seals are a stock part.

Hmmm. Will have to keep an eye on the various hoses and fittings to see what develops.

kiwiland dexta wrote:Your rear wheels have the classic worn seals signs (leaks around the hub/brakes) - not a hard job to replace with the right tools! I am sure this has been covered off before in this forum or the old one - did my standard Dexta 10 years ago and they are still leak free so worth doing. Seals are a stock part.

Was somewhat afraid of that, believe normally hubs and brakes should have nothing except a bit of grease showing. What are the right tools, and what sizes of inch tools am I likely to need on this tractor?

Other developments: I found the back axle drain plug, for other new beginners it is lurking directly above the tow hitch between the fastening for a big bracket and some sort of cross-shaft. It was first buried under dirt and also pretending to be just another oil caked bolt. With a good socket extension it can be accessed just by swinging the hitch to one side.
On emptying the tray of old gearbox oil in bright sunshine I did find some flakes of metal, I think this is from a bronze bearing somewhere? Oil from the back axle was identical to gearbox, same metal specs. Not sure how serious this amount is, from about a half litre of oil. I refilled gearbox and axle with 10w-30 I had available. Is too thin but better than nothing. Back axle took ~5L to get up to level, gearbox took ~10 so I think was almost dry.


Next challenge - tachometer is not functioning. Not sure if instrument is broken or something has become detached. Where does this normally fasten to the engine? Is in swedish so I think is original part rather than cheap chinese replacement. I have read that they can be reconditioned but only for Smiths manufacture? I need this working to use the PTO.:


When starting the tractor I thought I would try the cold start device. Pushing the button caused it to spit a spoonful of diesel into my hand so that needs repair eventually. Heater seems to be working(!!) but on the other hand means there is nowhere to rest your left foot. Battery is weak, and is also not secured only cables and terminal clamps are holding it in place.

The hand throttle seems to lift up out of the panel if you press on the underside - this seems wrong?

Changing gears according to the scheme someone has written in pencil on the rear of the tank is difficult, need proper labels for this, the PTO/3-point levers etc. Clutch lever has an extremely high travel and only activates clutch in the last CM or so - is this normal or does it need adjusting?

Now my immediate fix list is up to:

• New filters for Fuel, Engine Oil and Hydraulic/Axle oil
• New gaskets/seals for filters?
• Correct oil, should be 20w30 or maybe something a little thicker?
• Repair Tachometer
• Handbrake
• New right handle for bonnet
• Labels
• New bars and stabilizers for 3-point

at some point soon fix:

• Brakes
• Axle seals
• Tidier exhaust pipe/flapper

Any other recommendations?

Here in Sweden the usual places for veteran tractor parts are:
http://www.traktordelar.net/
http://www.oie.se/ (Olssons i Ellös)
http://www.victoryfield.se/

But where are good places to buy from in England?
In the past I have bought hydraulic fittings for the kubota from https://www.flowfitonline.com/, they were very good. I have come across Agriline and they seem cheap but read mixed reviews of their quality. Are they actually OK, and who else has a good selection at reasonable prices?

Next challenge - tachometer is not functioning. Not sure if instrument is broken or something has become detached. Where does this normally fasten to the engine?

The drive cable for the tachometer is driven by the fuel pump. There is a threaded fitting on the rear ( facing the driver)of the fuel pump that it slides into. The drive cable has a rather small square end that slides into a receptacle inside the pump. It is possible to assemble the fitting but not have the cable in the receptacle. I've done it
Bill

Welcome aboard DextaSuper.

So many questions still unanswered...
In Part 4 the lilac thing is just back pivot point of diff lock.
In Part 3 - don't worry about filling the yellow circled holes. Yes, original toggle brake lever mounts here, but you should easily be able get replacement handbrake bits.
If you have the rims in appropriate offset position you should be able to piggy back the centres. Wheels are the same as Fergies, (David Brown 770?), International B series.

One thing you should definitely do is find a copy of the workshop manual (Stefan's) online. You should be able to find it for free - don't pay for one!
Original parts book (with great exploded views) is worth buying.

All the original nuts/bolts will be UNC or UNF. From memory the spanners I have used regularly (lately) are 1/2, 9/16, 5/8 & 11/16". Dark outside now, so will check tomorrow.

PghBill wrote: The drive cable for the tachometer is driven by the fuel pump. There is a threaded fitting on the rear ( facing the driver)of the fuel pump that it slides into. The drive cable has a rather small square end that slides into a receptacle inside the pump. It is possible to assemble the fitting but not have the cable in the receptacle. I've done it
Bill

Thank you, most helpful. I had a fiddle with this. End of the drive cable looked a little gnawed, is this usual? I tried to tidy it up with a file, and returned it into its socket, but still no function. Probably should test the cable and then the tacho itself - can I just drive it with a battery drill? Also experimenting with thumbnail images:

kiwimc wrote: In Part 4 the lilac thing is just back pivot point of diff lock.
In Part 3 - don't worry about filling the yellow circled holes. Yes, original toggle brake lever mounts here, but you should easily be able get replacement handbrake bits.

Ah, so something is mounted inside not missing from the outside. Good. Presumably these are the right handbrake parts? https://www.agrilineproducts.com/parts/ ... r-kit.html

kiwimc wrote:If you have the rims in appropriate offset position you should be able to piggy back the centres. Wheels are the same as Fergies, (David Brown 770?), International B series.
...
All the original nuts/bolts will be UNC or UNF. From memory the spanners I have used regularly (lately) are 1/2, 9/16, 5/8 & 11/16". Dark outside now, so will check tomorrow.

So flip the wheel disks and tire rims into the correct arrangement for inner, fasten them on with the special adapter nuts, configure outer wheel disk/rim appropriately, fasten them onto adapters with normal nuts? No spacer rings or clamps needed? That sounds promising.
Although with 14.9 tires on what I think are 13" rims I am maybe a little outside the normal parameters. May not even need doubles, will see.
What are commonly used tires on Super Dexta? So far I have the manual from http://www.fordson-dexta.de (which has gone?) and the swedish user book for Fordson Dexta (not super dexta) which both show 10x28 or 11x28 as the only options.

Good to know about the tools, will see what wrenches/sockets I can find in those sizes. Also some polygrip pliers seem like a good investment.

My latest efforts - removed hose heater and found:

• Hose leading to it was completely full of rust flakes - inlet to heater is only 16mm so constriction caught a lot
• Heater itself was half full of rust
• Lack of water had caused overheating and burning loose of one contact on element
• "Overheat fuse" on DEFA type 701 appears worthless since it had not tripped
• Heater was repairable with idiot-level soldering, at least temporarily
• There exist hose clamps which have not a hexagon screw with slot but only a round screw with slot so a socket or spanner cannot be used. Who is responsible and how may they be punished? I hate slot screwdrivers enormously.
• Some sort of plumbing fixture had been fitted to allow restriction of flow to cabin heater. This was full of rusty 'mud'
• Cabin heater when blown through was also full of rust and mess

So I am not sure any water was circulating at all (!!) as hose from bottom of radiator was forked through hose heater (blocked solid) and cabin heater (blocked solid) before outlets of both fork together and go to pump at top front of motor. Surely there should be one 'main' hose running unobstructed from radiator to pump with heater hoses branching off this and returning, to guarantee sufficient coolant flow?

Note the burnt cable with burnt terminal waving in the air above burnt stump of heater element
Note the burnt cable with burnt terminal waving in the air above burnt stump of heater element


Now all back together temporarily with potentially working hose heater, non-working airlocked cabin heater, cooling system topped up with rainwater and vinegar to clear some more muck out before a full coolant change. Does anyone have experience of Rislone 10 Minute Flush, Holts Speedflush or Bar's Nural? They are the easiest cleaners for me to get hold of. Alternatively I have seen dishwasher soap recommended, or I can try the no-brand automotive radiator cleaner from Biltema. Full set of coolant hoses and a giant pack of hose clamps are now on my buying list.

Other than that: tractor starts instantly when hot, grinds away for slowly ages when cold. Will try with a different battery, suspect this one is not good. When driving in dusk with position lights on (!) the tachometer lights up (!!) but still does not work. I would like to run a flail mower or bush hog with this tractor but not sure if that is practical until the tacho is fixed.

Hi DextaSuper, Just turning the tacho cable by thumb and finger should move the needle. I would not use an electric drill you will damage the tacho unless you have a variable speed control on your drill set to very slow. You can trim that frayed end off providing the cable is long enough and reshape the end(SQUARE) or apply some solder on the end and reshape it.

I wouldn't think your mower needs to be run at exactly 540 pto rpm - just keep to, maybe, three-quarters of full throttle? you'll probably find it will cut at much less speed than that, but you won't have much power in reserve when you charge into some clumps of rushes or nettles, or whatever weeds you have chosen to grow

Early Majors, Fergusons etc didn't have a tachometer at all!

Oh and I think these would help you to fit dual wheels: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/14-original-m ... SwEzxYbqsO

Looking through some Dexta info today I happened across something that suggests the Dexta, at least those produced for sale in the UK, were a positve ground system and used two 6V batteries. The second battery was located back in the location of your mystery cable. Someone who knows the original tractor might be able to confirm or deny this story
-Bernie

bhayden wrote:Looking through some Dexta info today I happened across something that suggests the Dexta, at least those produced for sale in the UK, were a positve ground system and used two 6V batteries. The second battery was located back in the location of your mystery cable. Someone who knows the original tractor might be able to confirm or deny this story
-Bernie

Hmm. That would make sense in that the cable leading back there was a monster and had that 'copper at 1960 factory price' feel about it, not cheap aftermarket stuff. However I don't remember seeing any pictured with such a setup. Perhaps something only relevant for a few model years?

In case anyone is wondering - I have found at least one small hydraulic oil leak, it seeps from the back of the 'Auxiliary Service Control' housing when using the loader. Either from the joint under it or possibly from one of the bolts. Have invested GBP 3.00 + tax in a external services gasket so will try to replace this and see if this makes a difference. Also a new gaiter, some water hoses, etc. So with my new inch spanners I will attempt this, a full filter and oil change, radiator flush and coolant change, and whatever else looks like a good idea.