8N almost done, well almost

Today I put the air cleaner on the tractor which was a chore just a bit easier than removing it. By greasing the pipe which goes to the carburetor it went on a tiny bit easier.

After a wonderful Memorial Day meal and a mandatory nap. ( I hope you believe it is mandatory), I decided to change the oil in the 8N. The oil drain plug used to be a one inch square fitting; however, long ago and far away someone did something to it and it was tapered and rounded. In order to get it off I used a big pipe wrench and a piece of two by four below that with a bottle jack holding it all in place so the wrench would not slip off the drain plug. With a lot of effort it began to turn and I was able to remove it. Before it came off I thought I had hit an oil well. This black, thick, evil looking stuff came from around the plug. At one time it was oil, but now looked as though it was ready to be used to oil a road. I replaced the oil drain plug with a new one and put five quarts of oil in the engine. Then… I decided to change the oil filter. The old tractor takes a NAPA 1010 filter canister. The 8N Owner's Manual hardly mentions the oil filter at all. It certainly does not say how to remove it so I experimented and found a socket just larger than ¾ inch would fit the nut. It seems the cap is compressing a spring and it removed itself soon enough. The canister has a ring to lift it out so I did – part way. It would not clear the fuel line. After studying the possibilities, I removed the bolts holding the oil filter housing to the engine and eased the filter out. Of course I had a new one to put in and it went in with only a little twisting, turning, jiggling. Another quart of oil – total of six – and the tractor is almost ready to drive. I am going to grease the fittings and check the coolant level. The battery is on a trickle charger and is ready to go.

This has been a very productive four days!

Tractor Boy