1927 John Deere D

Hello all and welcome back! In this segment, we begin to tear down the two differentials for the 1927 John Deere (one came from the 1928 parts tractor).. Once again, we find more worn/broken parts! Stay tuned to find out what we are looking at... The saga continues!

[@brokenwrench1]

on the 27 look at that center shaft if it is removable i think you can take the pins out of the spider gears and remove the gears after removing that shaft

[@davidhamm5626]

That is what I am thinking too !

[@KennyKizzleRustyNutzRanch]

That would be great, HOWEVER. I can see significant wear on the pins so they will need replacement too. The center shaft is removable, but the pins will not slide out through the center hole. You have to remove the gears to slide the pins out of the top of the hub.

[@davidhamm5626]

@@KennyKizzleRustyNutzRanch I just made the comment based on was I saw on the camera, I have actually never seen an assembly like that before. I am going to stay tuned, and see how you tackle it.

[@mattthescrapwhisperer]

Well, you can always use that cracked hub as a wall hanger!

[@KennyKizzleRustyNutzRanch]

That's very true! I have quite a few wall-hangers sitting around here!

[@beginlivinglikeaboss]

Very interesting. Large over built diff for a tractor of that HP My thinking is the hub got broken by the steel wheels transferring a shock load caused by wheel slippage. Just a thought. Must have been a big trouble area since they made it serviceable later.

[@KennyKizzleRustyNutzRanch]

I would say that is a plausible possibility. Maybe the differential hub broke because of steel wheel while attempting to un-stick the engine by pulling it with another tractor. That shock when letting the clutch out surely can't be good.

[@___PK__]

If you apply those big shims to the riveted one, can you take the play out of the 27's spider gears?

[@KennyKizzleRustyNutzRanch]

I cannot. The pins and gears are worn quite badly. I have already located a set of NOS spider gears. Now I just have to get this assembly apart to replace them.

[@nigelgwillim644]

done some work ah

[@KennyKizzleRustyNutzRanch]

Getting things done!

[@bryanh1944FBH]

Well, I suppose there is no sense in grinding off those rivets unless you have better parts available. However, if better parts were available, I would not hesitate in grinding away the rivets and reassembling with grade 8 hardware. But, are those spider gears really all that bad if no other parts can be had? Or, new parts are worth their weight in gold. Will going any further be worth the effort?

[@KennyKizzleRustyNutzRanch]

I was able to locate a set of NOS spider gears... But now we have to figure out the best plan of action on removing the rivets. According to the parts book, the hardware that was in the differential assembly from the '28 is all that is listed.. So the updated version of the differential must have used bolts for serviceability... So that is what I will be doing - using GR8 hardware on reassembly.

[@bryanh1944FBH]

@@KennyKizzleRustyNutzRanch Hi Kenny. Incredible that you were able to find parts! It is also possible that you will have to use shoulder bolts for an exact fit and alignment. Which translates to you may have to drill out the holes to a shoulder bolt size. You know, maybe before grinding away the rivets and destroying the alignment, drill two precise holes somewhere and install precision ground alignment pins. The pins will not be permanent. But, they will allow you to return to the exact same alignment that you currently have.