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Post by RaisedByWolves on Apr 27, 2011 19:33:58 GMT -5
OK, I have practically rebuilt this entire tractor and the last thing I need to do is upgrade the rear with a Posi unit. I have wanted a tractor with a posi for a long time now as I do a lot of snow blowing in rough terrain and would sometimes get hung up even with my 260 lbs and about an additional 350lbs of weight on the rear tires with chains . I got a 420/430 rear off Ebay and also a control rod kit, and Im excited so lets do this! This write up can be used as a guide for removing the 318 rear and will also cover the 400 2 speed and the 425 posi only rear conversion. Just omit the steps regarding the Hi/Low rods/fender hole etc.First off I started by removing the Fender, fuel tank and rear pto. Make sure you mark one of the fuel lines and tank fittings so you dont mix them up. I drained the Hy-Guard into a clean new tin pan as Ill be reusing this. I then jacked the rear of the tractor up and put it on jack stands. You will want to set it on the stands so that the rear tires are just barely off the ground. You can use plywood to shim the front tires up if need be to achieve this or you could also let air out of the front tires depending on the height of your stands/tires etc. Next I removed the fill tube from its fitting (1), the brake rod nuts and springs from the rods (2) and bent down the retaining tabs that lock the axle/frame bolts (3), then removed the bolts. Next up you have a decision to make. You can either leave the cross member that holds the pump to the frame on the frame and unbolt the pump from it via the bolts shown as #1 in this pic. Alternatly (the route I chose) you can remove the trans and rear with the cross member attached via the bolts shown as #2. You will also need to remove the hydro linkage #3. I chose to remove the Cross member while it was still attached as it all needs to be cleaned up anyway, plus you can leave the suction tube on and then your free to work on everything up on the bench where it is more comfortable. ;D Next (and I forgot it get a pic) you will need to slide a floor jack under the trans/rear from the back and locate the jack so it can support the Trans when you remove the cross member bolts. Once all the bolts are out you can pull on the jack the the whole works will come out as one unit ready to go up on the bench. Once on the bench, you will want to clean all the crap off of the trans, axles, and assorted parts. Even though you may not be using some of these parts again, you don't want to risk contaminating your new rear or fluid needlessly. Conveniently, the rear PTO bolt bosses make a nice lil tripod to balance the whole works on to clean and remove the axles. In this pic the axle bolts have been removed and their nearly ready to come out. I left one bolt in on top to take the weight of the axles but this is not necessary as there are spacers and bearings holding things in place. Then the axles just slip right out. In this pic you can see one of the spacers used to align the axle housings stuck in the old case. These must go in the new assembly or bad bad things will happen. Take them out and slip them back on the axle shafts in the same manner as they came out of the case.
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Post by RaisedByWolves on Apr 28, 2011 9:38:55 GMT -5
Next up for me was replacing the axle seals. This step could skipped, but seals are cheap and considering some of these parts are pushing 35yrs old its cheap insurance against having to tear the tractor down in the near future. They have a sealing compound that glues them into their bores so they can be difficult to remove if you go at it the wrong way. I used an offset type double ended box wrench to get behind the seal for removal. Go in from one side, tap the wrench with a hammer, then go at it from 180* and just repeat this to wiggle it out.
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ddogg
New Member
Posts: 2
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Post by ddogg on Apr 30, 2011 21:27:21 GMT -5
Great tutorial!
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Post by RaisedByWolves on May 1, 2011 7:58:00 GMT -5
Thanks DDog and good to have you aboard!
As you can tell this was written for the 318 owner who may be on the fence about doing this conversion. Nothing is really hard when you have a manual to reference, but there is no manual (That I know of) for this type of thing.
Im also planning on making templates for the frame and fender, and also offering frame braces to re enforce around the cut in the frame for the Hi/Low lever.
Right now Im stuck waiting for parts from the Mother ship and my New(ish) pump and I can continue.
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Post by RaisedByWolves on May 4, 2011 13:33:26 GMT -5
Got my parts in!!! Ok, now we need to install the new axle seals. I looked around to see if I could find seals cheaper as Ma Deere wants $20 each for these and I thought that a bit excessive. I did find seals similar to the OEM ones, but none exact so I just threw money at the problem. The seals I found were only $5 each but lacked the sealing compound that is needed to properly mate them to the porous aluminum casting of the differential housing. I also ordered the Large O-ring for the trans/rear seal and both the smaller O-ring and the charge pump input shaft seal as these are all things that cant be easily changed out once the assembly is back in the tractor. In this pic you can see a burr that was left over from the factory's machining process that got knocked loose when I took the seals out. Something like this is easily overlooked and may never cause an issue if left alone, but better safe than sorry. I loosened it and took it out with needle nose pliers, then checked for any more on both sides. With that done I got ready to install the new axle seals. Putting these in is no big deal when thought out properly. I simply placed the seal in/on the housing and tapped it flush with a piece of plate and a hammer. Go easy with this so you dont cock the seal and ruin it. I didnt take pics of this as its fairly simple and would just look like a hammer sitting on a piece of 1/4" plate. Another reason to use the correct seal VS something cheaper can bee seen in this pic. If you look closely you can see a void in the casting. This is no big deal with the JD seal as it has a rubberized sealant on its outside surface that protects against leaks in situations like this, where as with an off the shelf seal you would need to use a sealant compound that could find its way into your Hy-Guard and muck it up. Here is the new seal installed in the case. notice the little blobs of grease that come in between the two seal lips. This provides lubrication for the seal and does not come on the off the shelf seals. The orange stuff is the sealant that comes on the seal from Ma Deere. Then, once it is flush with the case it needs to be sent home to where it belongs, recessed about 1/8" or so. I could have made a driver to seat this, but I chose to simply let the Axle housing spacer/aligner/washer thingy do the work for me. You can see the washer between the axle housing and the case in this pic pushing the seal home. I just inserted the axle along with the washer and evenly tightened three evenly spaced axle bolts 1/8th turn at a time to drive the seal home. Although this is technique is dead simple, you do need to make sure the washer is centered on the seal as their is some wiggle to the axle even when the drive splines and bearing make full contact. Letting the axle/washer go too far off to one side could mar or chip the hole in the case. We don't want that. I used one of the long bolts and two of the short ones to pull the axle case in. It takes a bit of time to install the seal this way, but it is worth it as you are assured that the depth is correct and that the seal goes in nice and even. Done! After doing both sides and adding the last six axle bolts you can replace the Trans and the suction tube/spring. I would recommend replacing the old suction tube at this point with a new piece, also. I used a piece of 3/4" hose from Napa and new hose clamps. Now you can reassemble the rest of the components to the rear, Ie the hitch plate and 3pt arm mounts if you have these. OK, Re install your rims/tires and now your ready to install the drive train into the tractor's frame. ;D You can use this guide in reverse to help you follow the sequence if you get stumped. Next up, placing and cutting the holes in the frame for the control rods. .
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Post by jmt1271 on May 22, 2011 14:34:42 GMT -5
Cant wait for the finished product.
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Post by RaisedByWolves on May 28, 2011 9:51:27 GMT -5
Hang in there JMT.
Im down to the most difficult part now as I have nothing to go by except a few pictures and my own guesstimates of where the holes need to be. But I promise you once I get them in they will be in a proper location and I will be able to make templates and also reinforcement plates for the guys who want them.
Stay tuned!
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Post by RaisedByWolves on Jun 3, 2011 9:13:02 GMT -5
Ok, I made some progress yesterday, so time for an update. To start in installing the levers I began with nothing more that a blurry pic of an install of this sort done on a 332. I kind of had to measure, bullshoot, measure some more and then take a WAG as what should be my starting point. This accounts for the 1/2" hole you can see in this first pic. Turns out I wasnt too far off. So going by my findings I laid out the hole pattern to be drilled, then drilled 1/4" pilot holes with a center drill. The center drill is not necessary, but it does make the job a lil easier and also keeps the drill from wandering when you first start to drill. Here we are all laid out, and our pilot holes drilled. The top pilot hole is 2.85", directly above the center of the 1/2" hole in the frame rail. The lowest hole is 2.400" above the front edge of the trans cross member. Each pilot hole is 3/4" apart. <<<<Need to fit everything and take accurate measurements when I know everything fits and works properly.Now for a bit of product placement. I picked up a Milwaukee hole saw at a box store and also some Tap Magic to make the job go smoother. The hole saw performed better than I expected with a lil help form the drill juice. I was able to cut out 7 holes with this one hole saw by using a low speed (100rpm or less) and a liberal application of Tap Magic. The Tap Magic not only cools the saw to give it a longer life, it also aids in the cutting action to make the job easier, and helps with chip removal and containment. Here you can see the method I used to drill out the holes with the hole saw. Applying some of the tap fluid I went from hole to hole taking only about 1/10th of the total depth at one time on each hole. This stops the saw from chattering and or hooking which can easily lead to a broken wrist or a strain. Power tools can hurt you. I simply put a few drops of the juice in each spot before the next pass and had them all drilled out in about 5 min. One nasty looking hole! Next I cleaned up the ragged hole with a grinder and checked that the rod would fit in place with the hole I created. Success!
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Post by RaisedByWolves on Jun 3, 2011 10:50:34 GMT -5
After fitting the posi rod I then took this all out in order to fit the high/low shifter in place. I went this route as you can mount and install the Posi rod brackets with the Hi/Low rod in place, but not vice/versa. Here is the beginnings of the Hi/Low shifter hole. Its centered in the frame rail (mine is off a bit, but center yours) and is centered 1.5" from the center of the hole in the frame near the dash panel. Now things get interesting. Looking at how others went about installing this rod, I decided to cut out 3/4" of its length and weld it back together. Im assuming that the 430 frame is a tad longer than the 318 and rather than bending the rod ears and losing the detent for Hi/N/Low, I felt this was my best option. Either way your Hole locations should be the same or similar to where I have placed mine. Here is the upper bracket mounted looking from the outside. The first hole is drilled 4.5" Above the center of the 1/2" hole (Red Arrow) that exists in the frame and .500 to the left of the center of this same 1/2" hole. The second hole for this bracket is .450 Above and .650 to the left. I used a countersink and 1/4-20 flat head cap screws for this bracket so there is ample clearance for the deck bracket to pivot over them. Next up is the holes for the lower bracket. The lower of the two holes is drilled 2.700" to the right of the axle mounting flange shown here and 1.150 from the bottom of the lower frame rail. The upper hole for this bracket is drilled 3.650" to the right of the axle mounting flange and 1.600" from the bottom of the lower frame rail. Here you can see the shift rod in its final location. Please disregard the rather inelegantly shaped hole. Im the one doing the dirty work here so Im allowed to make mistakes. This hole will be covered with a re enforcing plate, so no matter how rough your hole turns out, it wont show in the final product. Here Im checking clearance of the shift rod in Low range. And again in Hi Range. So far, so good. The action of the shift is solid and crisp and works well. You may have to tweak your rod to line up in the middle of the hole, but this is normal as any small deviations in hole spacing or rod length will throw things off a bit. I used 1/4-20 bolts with wing nuts for the mockup as I knew I would have to take the rod out and replace it several times to get it right. [/img] [/img]
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Post by RaisedByWolves on Sept 7, 2011 20:02:22 GMT -5
Man, its been a while since I had time for this project. First I found out I was missing some crucial brackets and put out a search for them. Then I got lucky with DDOG coming up with a set I could copy, and I get slammed with OT at work. But now that I have the required brackets for the posi rod I can continue. Next up I placed the fender back on the frame so I could mark the hole for the Hi/Lo shifter. I thought The stub of the shifter would stick up enough so that if I worked it back and forth it would scribe a line in the bottom of the fender I could use as a guide to cut the hole. No such luck. I basically had to center the fender and crawl under the tractor and draw some scratch marks in relation to the shifter rod location. This required a full length pencil, a bunch of crap in my eyes and some swear words but I guess it turned out OK. Note, the hole needs to be cleaned up in this pic. I just wanted to see if it was spot on or if I had to grind in any certain direction. I did good! OK, now its time to locate the hole in the fender for the posi rod. There is a well thought out factory location for this rod that I suggest you maintain. Its near enough to your natural foot position as to be convenient, but tucked up in a corner far enough as to be out of the way when getting on/off the machine. This hole is in the upper left of the right side foot grip tape when looking at the right side of the tractor. I found it by inserting an exact o knife under the grip tape in the approximate location and working the tape toward where the edge should be. Started out like this. And ended up looking like this. Now I know where to make this hole. Once I shot the hole with the hole saw I had it cleaned up and ready in a couple of minutes using some air tools. You could also use a Dremel Tool with a drum sanding arbor to clean it up. OK, now I have the Posi rod sticking up through the hole. Notice how off center it is? Yeah, Im going to cut and weld this one also. It also seems a bit high, but I wont make a determination about this yet till I cut it and find the orange boot that goes on it for reference. Now, some people will chide me for cutting and welding both rods as my measurements are no longer for a straight bolt on operation like they were thinking this would be. Dont fear. The simple way to get around the cut/weld issues is to bend the actuating ears on the end of your rods to let everything line up. To me this is a mechanically OK way to go about things and it certainly will not show when your tractor is done, but I have a band saw and welder handy so I had to do it. Here are the dimensions to locate and drill the holes for the posi rods brackets. All bolt holes are 4.5" from the top of the frame rail, and dimensions given are from the rear edge of the frameRear Bracket bolt holes are located 8.625 (8 5/8"), and 9.625 Front bracket bolt holes are located 19.625, and 20.625 respectively. I listed these bolt locations back to front as its easier to measure this way.
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Post by RaisedByWolves on Sept 24, 2011 11:30:03 GMT -5
Turns out installing the posi rod is not as hard as I expected it to be. Once you have the pivot brackets installed you can easily bend the posi rod into its final location with a long wrench or a pipe wrench. Heres a shot to give you an idea of how to place the wrench for the final fitting. The closer you are to the bracket the better. Here is what I came up with after cutting 3/4" out of the length of the rod and re-welding and a lil tweaking with the wrench. And here is both rods peeking out of their respective holes with the fender in place. And heres the final installation after everything is in. Man is it tight in there!
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Post by RaisedByWolves on Sept 29, 2011 17:43:28 GMT -5
My last chore in this project was centered around the Hi/Low detent plate. I could not get this plate to line up to make it functional so I added a small section of spring to get it work. I think the detents that are internal to the transmission are enough for most uses, but this is simple enough to do if you choose. And with that, Im done! PIC After my initial test drive all I have to say is..........This thing is a hoot! I dont have my desired size tire on here yet, but even with the 23" ones shes wearing now its better than I could have hoped. Low speed is great with stump pulling power on tap, and if you need to get "over there", you just shift her into Hi and away you go. I haven't needed to use the posi yet, but from what I have tested it out on it works very well. I was surprised to find out that the posi stays locked until the power is let off of it or until your out of trouble.......Das is Goot! Looking back over this project there are some things I would do differently if I had it to do over again. The main one would be to change out the two seals for the shift rods in the side of the case. The one for the posi rod does not leak because it sits higher than the one for the high/low rod which leaks like a sieve! I was initially concerned about this, but it finally stopped purging fluid right at the low level point in the sight glass. Even though I think I can change this seal out with the rear in the frame Im going to hold off for now and see how it goes. While this was a long and kind of expensive project ($600 total) I think what it adds to the tractor is well beyond what it cost. Compare my costs to upgrading to a 4XX series tractor to get these features.
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Post by jtriechman on Nov 17, 2011 18:34:32 GMT -5
Nice work. I also did this to my 318. Wow! what a differance power then speed and all the traction those 26s will bite. I see you also used the 430 split coupler on the drive shaft. That is a must.
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Post by RaisedByWolves on Nov 21, 2011 6:44:15 GMT -5
Yeah, I had replaced the drive shaft earlier as the original was all wallered out.
Just goes to show where buying more tractor actually gets you more quality.
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Post by driver on Nov 22, 2011 20:58:25 GMT -5
Thanks for the great post. I just received my ebay 420 rear and control rods and will dig in this winter. I am also beginning to construct a front end loader and backhoe for the 318 along with refresh/paint.
Cheers walter, Montreal, Canada
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Post by GMZ on Feb 15, 2012 15:49:52 GMT -5
Wow,That was really helpful. I did petty much everything you did and it really went off without a hitch. Just a couple add ons.... If you can get that rearend with the axles, DO IT! Mine had everything so I just added my Pump. The 420 Axles are a little longer so you can put bigger tires on. I found some on ebay from a 430 a guy was parting out. They are alot bigger but worked very well. Bolted right on with no problem. Again, thanks for the pics, they were awesome!!!! ;D
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Post by RaisedByWolves on Feb 21, 2012 16:22:42 GMT -5
Thanks for the feedback GMZ!
I tried to make it as simple as possible as Im sure there will be people with widely varying degrees of skill trying to follow this. This is part of why it took me 5 months to complete mine.
Now that I have done one and have this guide I could do this in a couple weeks no problem.
Even when you know you have everything measured out correctly, its hard to go cutting up good equipment based on faith and good luck.
This is why the feedback means so much, it validates the process for others.
I also thought about the 420/430 axles but was really trying to keep the costs down.
I have a set of 26x12x12 that should fit fine even with chains on.
Again, thanks for the feedback!
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Post by brubakes on Aug 24, 2012 20:46:52 GMT -5
I signed up for this forum because of this thread. I'll be using it as a guide for swapping in a 420's trans into my 318.
What size was the hole saw you used?
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Post by stevel on Mar 3, 2016 21:54:00 GMT -5
Hi I am new to this site and doing this conversion to my JD318. I have a have a transmission from a 420 with two speed and diff lock. I have been reading this post of you conversion but I am unable to upload photo's. can you please emsil these to me at 8486steve@gmail.com Regards Steve
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Post by modeere318 on Mar 12, 2016 23:15:00 GMT -5
Hi, I am also new to this site and am also doing this conversion. And like stevel I also am unable to load photos. Can you also send them to me at dougjdfan@kc.rr.com
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Post by davidt on Apr 27, 2016 7:38:23 GMT -5
Did anybody get these pics? I would find them extremely useful. This is a very nice write-up and would really benefit from having the pics. If anybody has them to send that would be great: dpt222@hotmail.com
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Post by Darreck on May 14, 2016 16:34:03 GMT -5
For some odd reason the photos are not loading...... is there a way to get a email of them as I just grabbed up a jd 318 today and the rear is leaking somewhere so I want to replace all seals when I remove the rear. Thanks man
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Post by Darreck on May 14, 2016 16:35:16 GMT -5
For some odd reason the photos are not loading...... is there a way to get a email of them as I just grabbed up a jd 318 today and the rear is leaking somewhere so I want to replace all seals when I remove the rear. dlslgs@yahoo.com Thanks man
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Post by moored220 on Jun 13, 2016 11:54:01 GMT -5
Very good post. Excellent detail and description. I would like to upgrade my 318, as well. I could not get the photos to load. Can you please email to me at moored220@comcast.net. Thank you.
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alpo
New Member
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Post by alpo on Jan 27, 2017 16:10:23 GMT -5
I'm in the same boat---would like to have pics. Just need the ones for installing the control rods, please! Please send to al.porter4@gmail.com
Thanks
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