This past Tuesday, I went to the bearings store to see if they had the bronze bushings and new oil seals. They DID! Everything in stock!
Tonight, I attempted to install them.
Now here comes the trouble. Installing the outer bronze bushings from the OUTSIDE of the transmission case. Also, they need to be "countersunk", as they go in DEEPER than the oil seals.
For the first bushing, I was able to simply slide the tire up and down the driveshaft to use it as a slide hammer to tap in the bushing. However, that only got me as deep as the transmission case. Hmmm. How to push it the rest of the way? The driveshaft is about 6 inches long, too long for a 1" deep socket. I needed something just larger than the driveshaft, yet thin enough to go between the shaft and the transmission case.
It finally occured to me that the old bronze bushing was exactly that. I slid the old one right over the top, slid the wheel on, and tapped a few times. PERFECT!
I did the same thing on the other side driveshaft. It just took a little more work because that side is longer, and the exposed part of the shaft has corroded a bit over the last 30 years. Even cleaning up the shaft with sand paper and emery cloth, the rim still liked to get stuck, instead of nicely sliding.
The oil seal on the input shaft is a 3/4", and not very long, so I could tap that one in with a 3/4" socket and rubber mallet.
The brake shaft could have been a problem. It's the same 1" as the drive shafts, but very short, and right next to one of the drive-shafts. I wouldn't be able to drive that in with the wheel.
"If only there was some way to make a 1" ID tube out of a soft, easy to work with material..." I thought to myself, while staring at my 1" spade blade and a block of wood.
Duh!
I drilled a one-inch hole through the wood. Slid the wood over the shaft, smacked it with the mallet a couple times. Pow! Oil seal installed!
It was getting dark, and I don't have any gear lube, so time to call it a night.
Still, I am very exited that I got the bushings AND all four seals installed! (All by myself!) And without having to take the tranny apart again!
I am sure that there are some guys on this forum who know how to do all this kind of work, have done it hundreds of times, and even have the "proper tools". But for me, it's pretty exciting figuring out how things work, and fixing them.
This tractor could be rotting away in somebody's barn still. Instead, I am learning new skills, slowing working on my "No more gasoline" goal, and keeping out of trouble.
