Ford 540 vs 445... Now 545 D

[newoodguy78]

Andries the hanger bearing was something I thought of . Mine spins free as can be.

[GRANITEstateMP]

with the front shaft out driving it around, you said it still felt a bit off? All toward the front, could you feel it through the steering wheel? Any odd feeling in the trans or toward the rear?  When it did it the first time, which wheels left skid marks?  Sorry to bombard you with so many questions all at once!

[newoodguy78]

With the driveshaft out it there’s no issue or signs of problems at all. When it locked up on the road the front wheels skidded. You could feel the problem through the whole machine and was hard to pinpoint where the problem was coming from exactly.
Good questions,hopefully this helps someone in the future.

All that said I’m pretty sure it’s been figured out. Yesterday I got messing with things and looking them over. Went to spin the input shaft on the offset gearbox between the driveshaft and axle that is the pivot point. I’d spun that thing over by hand multiple times and sensed no issues so just started looking elsewhere. This time the shaft wiggled the slightest bit, spun it and didn’t feel right then it went smooth with no wiggle. Alright you sucker I thought and grabbed a hammer as I spun it started hitting the side of the gearbox,bam it bound up. Opened it up and the bearing was bad. Now it has me wondering if the replacement has the same issue and it just never showed it’s face before.

I’m shocked no gears were broken with as fierce as the initial lockup was. I suspect the driveshaft torqued the shaft just enough to cause binding. A little bummed I took everything apart that I did but at least I know stuff is good and everything will get new seals when it goes back together.

That was early yesterday morning before I headed to the field good start to the day. Went to the field ran all day on another tractor with no issues or so I thought. Parked when I got done went to do something else, came back by the tractor and saw this. Always something….

 
You know what they say “if you aren’t fixin you aren’t farmin”

[thecfarm]

Both!!!!        
I guess the back tire ran over it too. 

[GRANITEstateMP]

newoodguy78, I've done plenty of circle track racing, vut that is a bit much in the front and rear stagger department!

[newoodguy78]

Oh I could spin some left hand circles no problem with that setup 

[Andries]

@newoodguy78 if I’ve got that right,  you figured it was a gearbox output shaft bearing that had crapped out? and perhaps a twisted drive shaft because of those lock ups? 
Good troubleshooting! Have you had a chance to fix it up and get it back into operation? 

[DennisK]

Better retrace you path, Deer sheds do tractor tires no favors.

[newoodguy78]

Andries I’ll get some pictures later but ultimately yes. The bearing on input shaft of the gearbox that drives the front axle is what laid the last egg. I believe the driveshaft was adding enough torque to bind the bearing. That gearbox also acts as the rear pivot point for the front axle. There is a seal between the two a point to watch for leaks.

I haven’t had a chance to get it back together. Still have the spare axle under it to be able to use.Took me three days to get through to to parts counter and when I did it was sticker shock. $1200 for the two bearings,seals and shims to put it back together. All of which wouldn’t halt fill a small coffee can. I’ve found some aftermarket sources just haven’t had the time to get things ordered. 
Had five guys start yesterday so hopefully that frees up time to fix some things. It’s been an uphill fight trying to get anything done this spring with any luck I’m nearing the end of this streak.

[Andries]

Newoodguy; thanks for the tip re: bearing and seal.
Good luck with the new hires, and in sourcing the shims, seals and bearing. So good that you had a spare axle kicking' around! 

[trimguy]

Wow, 5 new guys, I can’t even get them to apply down here.

[ljohnsaw]

Ok, back to my 545D.

I was having issues with my new battery not charging. I topped it off with solar. The old 4 wire alternator was putting out 11.44v. I pulled it and decided to replace it since the bearings were noisy.

I got a one-wire and installed that.  With the tractor off, voltage at the alternator and the battery is 12.4 v.

Fire it up, battery drops to 12.2v and at the alternator is 11.6. Run the rpm way up and I see 11.9. The battery stays around 12.2.

There is a high wattage 1k ohm resistor on a plug near the fuse box. I removed that thinking it was for the old voltage regulator but made no change. All the fuses are good and none are missing.

What am I missing? What else should I check? Do I have a bad brand new alternator? I have the full set of manuals to look at the wiring, but they are at home.

Minor update:
I traced the wire from the alternator to the starter selinoid. Several lugs terminate there. I cleaned this two years ago when I got the tractor. The nut and washer were rusty. I pulled everything off, shined it up with Emery paper, coated with dielectric grease to try and combat the corrosion and put a new zinc chromate washer and nut. Snugged it all up and now there is no voltage drop between the alternator and battery. I also ran a temporary jumper from the alternator ground directly to the battery and had no affect on the charging voltage. It sits at 12.44 no matter the engine rpm.

Is it that the alternator thinks the battery is fully charged and doesn't push something like 13.5 to 14.3?

[rusticretreater]

A four wire alternator to a 1 wire?

Need some more information here.  You mention the "old voltage regulator".  I would expect that with four wires your old alternator had an external voltage regulator.

How did you get to one wire?  What did you do with the other wires(3)?  These wires all have a function.  It sounds like the alternator regulator circuit is not energized.

The four wires are Field, Ground, Regulator, and Output. The Output connects to the same starter terminal as the Battery Positive cable

You really need to have the stock style alternator or a significant rewiring of the tractor.

[ljohnsaw]

The old alternator had 4 wires on it as the voltage regulator was part of the alternator. One heavy wire from the old alternator is what was transferred to the "one wire GM style alternator". The case is ground and I did try jumping it directly to the battery just in case it wasn't making good contact. There is one rather thin wire that was the old ground that I didn't hook up. But that is not required for these alternators.

Did the same thing with my old Davis Little Monster backhoe when the generator was seized up. The only drawback with these one-wire is you have to rev the engine for them to start charging and then you can drop the rpms down.

The other 3 wires I isolated and wrapped in electrical tape. The battery charging meter was not working so I don't miss it with this configuration.

[newoodguy78]

Do you know what rpm the alternator you installed excites at? Being a diesel engine it may not be reaching the necessary rpm. 
I got a real education a couple years ago on this. I’m a big fan of one wire alternator conversions but all one wire alternators are not the same. 

[ljohnsaw]

Not sure. But I did get an alternator with a bit smaller pulley than the previous one. I'll have to measure the pulley and the crank pulley so I know the ratio. I'm thinking it's between 4:1 and 5:1.

Working on my SkyTrak today there are lots of "spare" Wires hanging about. It has a one wire as well. I found the positive wire on the alternator only had about 3 strands of copper remaining and that was probably the root of my battery charging issues. Will see when I get it back together.

[Magicman]

Happy Birthday John. 

[ljohnsaw]

Thanks, MM.

Measured the pulleys. Alt is 2¾. The crank is hard to get as there is a U joint on the front for the hydraulic pump. Right around 9½. So about 3.45:1. I've got the test printout for the alternator at home so I'll see if it shows the starting rpm.

Forgot to mention, even though the Interstate batteries are over 10 years old on the SkyTrak, the sitting voltage is at 12.4v so I think they are ok!?!

[Magicman]

Fully charged they should be 12.7 so you are probably OK.  My sawmill idles @1500 rpm so that the alternator is always pumping out 14+.

[rusticretreater]

Resting voltage is ok at 12.4v.  Its the ability to deliver that voltage at amperage that is the gauge of a battery's health. Only a load test can determine that.