Renault tractor

Bustamif said:
As expected, the compression test revealed some low numbers, much lower than I usually see. Number 1 is 72 psi, two is 58, three is 43 and four came in at 58 psi.

It will be interesting to check the numbers after changing the oil to Penrite 30W 70 which claims to reduce blow by. I really doubt it will improve much but worth a try
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Do you know the compression ratio of the engine? A Ford Model T guy would be wondering why cylinder number 1's reading is so high.😉
I'd be thinking your specified CR will be somewhere in the 4 to 1 to 5 to 1 range. If so, somewhere around 60 cranking psi is to be expected.🤷‍♂️
 
Bustamif said:
Found some time to remove the fuel tank fuel lines and carby. It took 3 days of cleaning, flushing, air tools, pressure cleaner, chemicals and elbow grease to remove over 70 years of sludge, gum, rust, scale and dirt from the fuel system. No wonder the thing would stop after a minute or two of engine running.

I will give it an oil change, try some 30W 70 Penrite to see if it reduces the blow by, then maybe some Rislone ring seal. I really doubt it will do what it says on the can but what the heck, worth a try to delay the inevitable proper engine rebuild.

Apart from the ignition switch, plug leads to the magneto and starter, none of the wiring is connected, not even the generator? Something going on there, all the wiring is in place, gauges and buttons, just very hard, brittle and crunchy wiring. Unfortunately, the local auto electrician who used to do “house calls” to sort any electrical issues on various road cars, race cars, restoration projects from early 1940’s up to current EFI has decided to shut up shop and get a real job! He has done all my wiring and problem solving on various personal and customer projects for over 30 years, usually finished in a day, very reasonable price. When I asked a few retail spare parts outlets if there was anyone else who could do that type of work the only answer was “We’re all stuffed!”

Current plan is to get my old 1951 R3042 Renault tractor running for more than 2 minutes and see how much blow by there is. I need to use it for some clean-up work in the lower paddock after all the recent floods here in the Hawkesbury.
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I grabbed some huge sharp wood screws/bolts ... and chucked a dozen of them into the tractors fuel tank here ...... then strapped it to the cement mixer barrel for a couple of hours. There was a tar like coating that eventually broke off the bottom of mine (its diesel).

Id just throw a single wire alternator from one of your parts cars onto it (I'm lazy). Why don't you get the fuel system fix and make it work with something like a slasher behind it in long grass for a couple of hours. I bet the rings comes around and seat properly :) You don't need a sparky for a tractor, its just basic circuits. most of it will be the generator/regulator that can be replaced with a simple internally rectified and regulated alternator

I've never got to play with a big magneto ... that would be a fascinating thing to play with. I bet it gives you a rippa electric shock if your not careful with it :ROFLMAO:
 
Yes double chevron, the magneto throws a nice fat spark. I have not been zapped on this one, I am very careful with ignitions with big spark outputs.

I am thinking of a simple one wire alternator and putting the generator aside for originality.

Things are complicated a little by the Positive earth and 6 volt system. I don't want to kill the started but is seems to be coping OK, the smoke hasn't leaked out of the starter yet.
 
Just spin the battery around.... Nothing really cares. I'd put a 12 volt negative earthed battery in it. It probably has no gauges, so you will only need to change the generator to 12volts .... and change any light globes it may have.
 
It had a 12 V battery which I replaced with a new Optima, (they last a long time and don't spill acid everywhere) I kept the positive earth configuration. I did not want to change polarity on the starter, a false concern ? Had previous owner changed terminals and installed the original battery in wrong way round?.

My approach was that it was starting and running (until the fuel blocked again) so don't mess with it too much.
 
Bustamif said:
It had a 12 V battery which I replaced with a new Optima, (they last a long time and don't spill acid everywhere) I kept the positive earth configuration. I did not want to change polarity on the starter, a false concern ? Had previous owner changed terminals and installed the original battery in wrong way round?.

My approach was that it was starting and running (until the fuel blocked again) so don't mess with it too much.
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The starter will turn the same way regardless of the battery palarity. You need to rewire them internally to change there direction!
 
Thanks Doublechevron, there is an amp and temp gauge. I'll swap the battery leads around, put the generator aside and fit an alternator.
 
Who is grabbing this one? a running driving tractor with implements for $1200 bucks ..... the implements would be worth that

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DoubleChevron said:
Who is grabbing this one? a running driving tractor with implements for $1200 bucks ..... the implements would be worth that

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Russell might do a road trip.😉
 
Spotted this on FB. Looks beautiful!
Screenshot_20220807-183406_Facebook.jpg
 
After more work on the fuel system, replacing various old washers to seal internal and external carby leak, I finally had it started again only to find a sudden oil leak. Eventually traced it to a crack in the cast ally filter cartridge housing.

It did last 70 years of hot/cold cycling and pressure fluctuations which is pretty good.

Anyone know where I can find a replacement ? I could fabricate a replacement in alloy or steel or try weld repair which would be unlikely to last. It would be nice to find a replacement to keep it original.

TRIAFFE.jpg


TRIB33F.jpg
 
Bustamif said:
After more work on the fuel system, replacing various old washers to seal internal and external carby leak, I finally had it started again only to find a sudden oil leak. Eventually traced it to a crack in the cast ally filter cartridge housing.

It did last 70 years of hot/cold cycling and pressure fluctuations which is pretty good.

Anyone know where I can find a replacement ? I could fabricate a replacement in alloy or steel or try weld repair which would be unlikely to last. It would be nice to find a replacement to keep it original.

View attachment 210865

View attachment 210864
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see if you can grind it out an fill it with that 2 part radiator repair ribbon. I bet it holds up!
 
I'm looking at using the stuff that I have found successful in keeping water (at pressure) inside corroded alloy blocks. There seems to be enough clearance inside the oil filter cartridge housing to apply a layer of Belzona 1111.

Its fairly thin wall and probably has more hairline cracks than the one that has presented itself.

It would be easy to make an alloy one but I don't want to make it appear too hot rod. I have enough other stuff like that.
 
I was wondering if you could Loctite in a really thinwall metal sleeve inside it? You'd have a little bit of the crack at the bottom where it starts to curve in still exposed to tend to, but the majority would be covered.🤷‍♂️
 
Bustamif said:
I'm looking at using the stuff that I have found successful in keeping water (at pressure) inside corroded alloy blocks. There seems to be enough clearance inside the oil filter cartridge housing to apply a layer of Belzona 1111.

Its fairly thin wall and probably has more hairline cracks than the one that has presented itself.

It would be easy to make an alloy one but I don't want to make it appear too hot rod. I have enough other stuff like that.
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Belzona! That rang a bell with me as something I used in my car repair workshop 40 years ago, I knew it as Supermetal, and just checked it is the same product, but I don't remember the 1111 number. Black gold! I forget how I got onto it, but remember buying it from a mining/industrial supplies place. When everyone else was using Devcon, I had this Supermetal, which I believe was supposed to be superior to Devcon.
And it worked too. One job I remember was my sister & BIL's Datsun 180B with a leaking head gasket and found pretty bad corrosion in the alloy head. Being family, I could experiment a bit, saving cost of new head. The corrosion actually reached from external edge of head to just touching the compression seal area of the head gasket. Ground out the corrosion with a die grinder, filled with Supermetal, had head surface remachined and refitted. I marked the external small visible area of Supermetal with a texta, and told them just to have a look there regularly. Shortly afterwards they did the West-East-West trip across the Nullarbor with no dramas, it lasted for the life of the car, good stuff that Supermetal.
I also used it to seal a leak in a low pressure hydraulic reservoir in the cast iron base of my barber's barber chair - haha - one of my more unusual jobs - he was rapt, any repairs normally had to be sent over East and those chairs weighed a ton (well, they are heavy).

If that oil filter housing was mine, and I had to repair it, I would look at making a thin metal strip clamp maybe 50mm wide, clamped with a couple of small bolts, to contain the expansion pressure, and grind and seal the crack with Belzona as mentioned. If aesthetics wasn't a problem, those truck exhaust clamps with a tangential screw, like an oversized hose clamp, would be a cheap safety measure, maybe a couple of them.

Good luck.

Belzona FTW!
 
Another option would be to attempt to match the filter or housing or both with one from another make of tractor. If the filter and housing are a bit longer or shorter you might decide it does not matter as long as you can get a good seal.

For example, it looks a lot like one from my IH 444 or a MF35.

Roger
 
Roger Wilkinson said:
Another option would be to attempt to match the filter or housing or both with one from another make of tractor. If the filter and housing are a bit longer or shorter you might decide it does not matter as long as you can get a good seal.

For example, it looks a lot like one from my IH 444 or a MF35.

Roger
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That's probably the easiest option. That way you will get a metal housing (rather than alumimium).

He would probably need to swap the entire housing. The Renault is going to be metric in all its dimensions no doubt :). It should be simple enough to retro-fit any older tractors external filter housing ?
 
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