John Deere R Starting Procedure

[@JC-gw3yo]

I was a kid like those little ones you hear in the background, when my Dad had a John Deere just like this. It was the pride of the farm

[@jonelsonster]

👍🏼 great memories, I'm sure

[@Regina_Landry]

The John Deere R was the first tractor that I ever operated. Thank you for the video.

[@jonelsonster]

You bet! I'm glad you liked it.

[@davidrobertson376]

My Dad used to work on a farm where they replaced a crossover Case with a new model R here in South Australia. He raved about that tractor all his life, I think it must have made a big impression on him. He went on to own a Nuffield 1060, Fordson Super major, International 624. and older Fordsons through the 1970s when he bought his own farm, bur the Model R was always seemed to be the benchmark. They seem to me well built, simple and reliable

[@jonelsonster]

That's a cool story!

[@davidrobertson376]

@@jonelsonster I once went with Dad to a South Australian mid North farm in the 1980s where they were running a tandem set of Model Rs for cultivating and seeding and another single. It was an impressive set up. They were uncommon here. We had plenty of English tractors here and our own Chamberlain. Which was bought out by JD and disappeared from the market in the 1980s by then JD was well established here

[@keepcalmandfarmon5401]

That is quite a starting procedure! Too complicated in today’s world but I’m sure the R in its day was looked upon with awe! Thanks for the video…

[@jonelsonster]

Honestly, if I could go back in time to the 50s and 60s, if want to spend some quality time running one of these big old tractors like the R.

[@christopherkinney7357]

My Dad had a R when I was growing up. I was in High School and my friends thought I was crazy when I told them how to start it!! After showing them how to start it, they all thought it was pretty cool.

[@jonelsonster]

No joke. Knobs to turn and levers to push and pull and in a sequence all to get the beast to come to life... It's awesome.

[@christopherkinney7357]

@@jonelsonster YES IT IS!!!!

[@allenroberts2232]

Ohhhhhhh my thanks for sharing your video on how your R John Deere pony motor starts the big engine. My grandparents had an 820 years ago on their farm. That was their work horse of a tractor. I loved how that Lil pony motor would fire up the bigger engine. The memories I've got from going out to my grandparents old farm to help them will never leave myself. Thanks again for a beautiful memory.

[@jonelsonster]

Thanks for sharing!

[@johndeereboy1945]

As someone who wants to have a couple R’s (eventually), this will be an awesome video to look back on. Keep up the awesome work!

[@jonelsonster]

I try to post useful stuff, so I'm glad people find my videos informative.

[@kennethdean2417]

I just cannot get enough of the sounds of tractors like these, they are what made American Farmers to plow their fields and cut their hay

[@jonelsonster]

Iconic 2 cylinder sound.

[@garrettvillwok3693]

Well done and very informative. Most starting procedure videos on these tractors are very quick and to the point. I am glad you took the time and explained things the way you did. As the subscriber that asked for this video, I appreciate it.

[@jonelsonster]

Yes, it seems like a lot of guys appreciate the video. After I posted this I watched a few other videos people have posted on line and several people do it completely differently when it comes to when to apply the throttle and when to release the decompression lever. Not that they're wrong, it's just different.

[@larrydavidson3402]

Love the Old John Deere's and the way they are started.

[@jonelsonster]

As complicated as a point start Diesel is, it's nothing compared to a Farmall MD. Those tractors are really cool, but man they're complex.

[@scottnunya1]

Excellent and thorough explanation!

[@jonelsonster]

Glad you found it informative.

[@Gilikemail]

If tractors were this complicated to start today ... I probably wouldn't own one. But I sure love seeing people keeping these dinosaurs going.

[@jonelsonster]

They definitely have character.

[@michaelboise4173]

You did a great job on your video. I enjoyed watching it. Thank you sir.

[@jonelsonster]

I appreciate that!

[@JimRoth-i3s]

I used to have a JD R serial number 1063. It had a rope start in the spare hole and adjustable throttle on the pony where the gas shutoff is. It usually started on the first pull or so on the rope with a little choke ran nice and smooth until it warmed up and was ready to start the diesel

[@jonelsonster]

Very cool. I've heard people talk about rope pull start on the R, but never seen it in person. Both of ours are 1951 model year with electric start. Serial numbers: 8067 and 8259

[@jimmesc]

One thing to add about cranking the engine to warm it up. The starting motor uses the same antifreeze as the big motor so that also warms it up, especially in cold weather.

[@jonelsonster]

Yup!

[@michaelstjohn2617]

Do u have any videos of PTO repair or clutch pack replacement of the PTO, enjoy ur videos!

[@jonelsonster]

No, I don't. Several years ago we replaced several of the clutch disks in the PTO of our 70... But didn't make a video of it. And right now all of our PTOs are in good working order, so I probably won't tear one apart until it needs it. But if/when I do, you know I'll make a video of it. 😎

[@GermanCortese-lo5wr]

Excelente video sobre como dar arranque al " r"! Aqui en Argentina hubo pocos,eran potentes cuando llegaron en 1954 lastima no llegaron el 80,820 y830.

[@jonelsonster]

I heard there were some textures back in the day that were shipped to South America. I never knew they didn't export the 80, 820, or 830.

[@keltonwright7]

I wish the pony motor on my 820 worked that well. Its getting tired and needs carb work, but its not of those things. it smokes a lot and stuggles but it will 95% of the time get the diesel started. Doesn't have near the power that it should, only rolls the diesel over at about 100 rpm and it wont turn the diesel under compression more then 5-6 times and itll stall out. But if i run it decompressed, put fuel to the diesel for 1 revolution and let go of the decompression it'll fire right up. Gonna be a winter project one of these years

[@jonelsonster]

This is our only tractor with a pony motor, so this is my only experience with them. But what you described matches what my dad says he remembers about them. He always says they are the weakest part of the old JD diesels.

[@keltonwright7]

@@jonelsonster from what I hear the opposing 2 cylinder is far superior from the later v4 pony. I think a lot of the bad rap is operator error. Starting the pony and immediately starting the diesel while it's still cold is a major killer. I let my pony run for 5-10 minutes everytime I start it unless it's still warm from running Doesn't matter if it's just sat overnight or sat all winter. No motor like a lot of load when it's stone cold.

[@weirddeere]

@@jonelsonster The pony motors just got abused and abused. If taken care of they work great. The V4s can crank just as well as the R's two. I will admit I don't think they're as durable, but that was the price for more power. A horrible video of mine. kzbin.info/www/bejne/lZDFo3-fn8R5eas

[@chrisnzella]

Love the low idle sound.

[@jonelsonster]

Yes, these big pippin johnnies sound great at low idle. Especially the diesel motors.

[@bradwiebelhaus7065]

Goodjob.

[@jonelsonster]

Thanks!

[@AndrewDarden-g3x]

OK, I heard you mention something about advancing the timing on the magneto. Could you maybe show a video or share a video or give me the link to a video of how to do that or you doing that or anything about that lol

[@jonelsonster]

The magneto on the pony motor of an R uses a 12.5 degree drive lug as opposed to the 25 degree drive lug used by most all other wico x mags Deere used. Other than that drive lug, the mags are the same. So, to change the timing, you just need to change the drive lug.

[@AndrewDarden-g3x]

@@jonelsonster you wouldn’t happen to have a photo or any information on the drive lug of the magneto would you?

[@jonelsonster]

@@AndrewDarden-g3x the drive lug looks exactly like a short lug Wick X magneto, except it has 12 1/2* stamped into the face of it instead of 25*. If you leave your email, I can email a picture that has 25*, but the only ones I have with 12 1/2 on them are on tractors. 😅

[@robertbohlinger3851]

The gd for progress in starting

[@jonelsonster]

👍🏻

[@thomasanderson2870]

Those pony motors have a life of about 200 hours i believe 🤔

[@jonelsonster]

They often have a hard life. They run for only minutes at a time, and go to full load before warming up, oil never gets changed and gets contaminated by raw fuel and blow-by. They just wear out... After about 200 hours 😂. Hopefully I can treat this one nicely... Give it clean gas, let it come to operating temp, frequent oil changes, speak encouraging words to it... it's 75 years old. Let it enjoy it's retirement years! 😂

[@marklafayette6948]

I have a jd 830 direct start 😅👨‍🌾

[@jonelsonster]

After watching these shenanigans are you planning on downloading to the pony start 😂? We have a 70D that was converted to electric start and it's really nice and a lot easier... unless it's cold. That's when the pony motor really shines.