Tractor heritage, news and features

All hands to the pump

I went on holiday believing that when I returned it would be a simple matter of spraying the International B275; however, events that followed my week relaxing were to throw that right out of the window.

The day after I came back, I started the tractor and was dismayed to find that it ran terrible again; lots of smoke churned out of the exhaust and the engine was spluttering on three cylinders.

I decided very quickly that I had to get into the engine and investigate the pistons and what the rings were like, to at least cure the smoke. I spoke to Gethin in Wales and he agreed; he also said it had been well over five years since it was last run so it was plausible that the rings could be stuck.

Poor condition

I set to work immediately and was soon in the workings of this BD 144 engine and in no time at all the first piston was extracted. The rings were in poor condition, also the bearings were down to the copper; the crank wasn't bad, and upon a further conversation with Gethin, we decided we would leave it, as this tractor will do little or any work.

New Sparex rings and bearings were ordered and I set about cleaning everything up until the parts arrived; it didn't take long however and I was soon opening the plastic wallets that contained five rings. The conrod was gripped in the vice and the rings were slid on starting on the bottom groove just above the gudgeon pin – the very bottom ring below the pin will be fitted after and will be slid on from the big end upwards. Take care when fitting rings – they are quite fragile if bent the wrong way and can shatter very easily; also pay close attention to any writing on the rings, as some have the word 'top' printed on one side and this means that ring has to be fitted facing the top.

The bores were OK but if this tractor had been doing any serious work, new liners would have had to be fitted. I did run a well-lubricated flap wheel running slow on a variable speed electric drill to give it a quick clean – being careful not to bear so hard that any metal is removed.

To slide the pistons into the bores, you need a piston ring compressor, which is a band of springy metal that tightens around the piston and compresses the rings in so they can be tapped down into the bore.

First the whole lot, including the piston and liners, have to be well oiled with new engine oil; then with a wooden staff of a hammer, it is tapped down, making sure the big end goes in gently and doesn't jam in the bore. Also turn the engine until the crank on the bore you’re doing is at the bottom of the engine, as this makes it easier to put the end caps on from underneath. Just hand-tighten the bolts in the caps for now until the other three pistons are in – but don't forget to go back and torque them up to the correct settings. It’s also worth noting that on this model and so many others the bolts or nuts may need wire through them to prevent them undoing.

Now it was a simple exercise: first the sump was cleaned out so it was free of any old thick globs of oil, and refitted with a new cork gasket; then the cylinder head was returned as described a few issues ago. I was then ready to try the engine; the news was better but it still wasn't running 100 per cent. Yes I had cured the smoke and the poor starting – but the misfire was evident for all to hear.

Checked out

I jumped on and drove it round to my neighbour Ken; he had a listen and we discussed what had been done – which by now was quite a bit. We were just chatting about things when Ken's friend Joe Harris turned up and came to the same conclusion as us, that the CAV rotary pump should be checked out by Dieselec services, a firm that had been established for decades and trusted by many in this area.

This meant the pump being removed – it is most important that this process is undertaken with care so that the engine timing isn't upset.

I was soon on the 20-mile journey to Dieselec's workshop at Dillon Priors in Shropshire. A few days later they rang to tell me the job was done; they added that they had removed large amounts of rubbish from within the pump and had also fitted new nozzles on the injectors.

I eagerly fetched it back and fitted it to the tractor, set the timing once again and pressed the starter – it fired immediately and ran perfect for all of 40 seconds, then reverted back to missing and sounding as bad as ever. I stood there and scratched my head; there wasn't a lot more it could be now.

Later that evening, I had a word on the internet with Brian Dye from www.fordsontractorpages.nl and he mentioned the fuel lift pump. I took this off and opened it up; all seemed OK – there was a little rubbish in there but nothing to stop fuel flowing through. It was refitted and tried again – the results were the same.
A few days later my dad was talking with a friend about the problems I was experiencing with this troublesome tractor; not long after, their son Phil, who is a self-employed mechanic, turned up to offer some assistance.

I ran the tractor and relayed what I had done; with a lot of experiments for a few hours, we finally pinned the problem to number three injector. Philip took it back to his workshop and took it apart; he was back within an hour, he had found a flake of paint inside! Once this was found and removed, it ran almost perfectly and with some careful tweaking to the pump timing, it was soon spot on and to Phil's liking. I have never been so grateful to hear a tractor run as it should.

Respray

The easy job of respraying this tractor was all that was left now. I still use Vapormatic paints, as they are high gloss, easy to use and, more importantly, less harmful to the environment. I think also you get used to different paints and how they perform. I managed to get lucky with the weather and do it in a very hot spell, so I could keep spraying the coats on in the hot sun safe in the knowledge that there wouldn't be any runs to contend with.

Gethin had bought some new tyres for the front and some second-hand, virtually unused, for the rears; they were all matching Goodyears so they were lovely tyres. I learned how to fit tyres from my neighbour Ken; over the years I have helped him with a few different tractors and the lessons learned came in very handy indeed. This job is a good workout and you only need a good lever and a big hammer and the rest is down to brute force.

The wheels on the B275 are normally silver and red; however, Gethin remembers as a kid seeing this tractor with cream wheels. They were also cream when it arrived here; right or wrong, they still look excellent and a lovely colour combination.

Gethin said he wanted new wheel nuts throughout, so some zinc-coated Sparex ones were obtained; this really finishes the job off neatly and saves me going round with a tiny paint brush touching them in.

Now there were four wheels on the wagon, the final few jobs remained. Firstly the wiring – with no looms ready made up available to buy, it fell to me to make my own. It's a job that takes patience to get it looking neat and tidy, especially when a full lighting kit is fitted and wires have to run the full length of the tractor – a fair few metres of wiring is also used in the process.

The dash is a simple affair, telling the driver the basics; an ammeter and an oil pressure gauge on each side – these were bought off the internet and exact replicas of the original types, even down to the IH badge printed on the oil gauge.

The main tractor meter was OK and just needed a new cable. A new 'pepper pot' pre-heat resistor was bought from Bertie Dunlop, along with new B275 decals. The four chrome badges were obtained from Repair and Maintenance (01384 350136) at Dudley in the West Midlands – this one-man outfit supplies nearly everything for International and Farmall tractors – UK, German and USA-built machines. He is a very helpful and friendly guy; if you’re planning a visit to buy spares, give him a ring first to make sure he is there.

The last job was to fit the new seat cushions; I did this job last due to the white on them – they wouldn't stand a chance at being kept clean in my workshop. It had been a long journey to get here but it had been well worth the bother.

It's a lucky tractor in a way, as its last job on the farm was yard scrapping – very few tractors make it beyond this horrible chore as they simply rot away with the acid found in cow manure. One thing that's certain though – it won’t ever do anything like that again.