got a free sled what to do?

[jake wilken]

I got a free sled from someone I work with its a 1975 JD 400. I was just going to use it for parts but now Im curious as to if it will run at all. The pistons seemed to be froze up because I couldnt pull the starter rope at all so I poured some croil into the head and within 15 minutes could pull it. Now the rope wouldnt retract so i pulled that off and soaked it and thats retracting on its own now, I still have it off. Going to get new plugs and fresh gas tommorow and also pull off the carb and clean it and see what happens. Is there anything else I should check first? If I get a spark do I have to bother cleaning the points and pulling the flywheel off like in the post I just read? Because that doesnt look fun, especially when I dont even know what a steering wheel type puller is.... This sled is in pretty rough condition but my buddy from work said he had it running a couple years ago and Im not restoring it just trying to get it to run to kick around the yard


I also know its missing some of the "wheels" from the track, is this going to kill me or can I get by? thanks, Jake

[400brian]

If you have spark at both plugs... Well, then you have spark, at least good for a start try. I wouldn't even try to feed fuel to it from the tank, pull the line off the tank and stick it in a fresh fuel supply ( a snug fit hole in the cap of a gallon jug will work ).
Look at the fuel line, is it pliable and in good enough shape to use? Hopefully it is clear enough that you can see if you are pulling gas up. Otherwise you are throwing your shoulder out for no good reason. If it doesn't pull fuel, your diaphrams are shot in the carb, or the pulse line between the carb and crankcase has a hole in it.
A teaspoon of 2 stroke oil down each plug hole wouldn't hurt anything before you start all this.
The bogie wheels are in the suspension for a reason, one missing might not be that big a deal, several could be. You risk damaging the track. The bearings in these are no doubt not in the best of shape, they are not replacable, you could try to get some lube into them.

good luck

[MN John Deere sledder]

Jake, good luck getting your sled going. But if by chance you decide to use it for parts I am in need of a good used carb. for my 1973 JD 400. Or if you know anyone who has one.

Thanks,

Travis.

[JDFanPa]

Get a few sets of plugs since you had to put oil in the cylinders to free it up this quickly fouls the plugs when started since the oil cant get out of the motor it has to burn out and be spit out the exhaust. Ive done the free up many many times myself another bad thing is if the pistons were stuck in the bores from rust they get crude in the ring grooves so when you pull it over the piston moves over the rusty cylinder suface which in affect is now a smaller bore from the rusty surface this pushes the rings farther into the grooves and alot of times they will become stuck in there which in effect will lead to little or no compresion. So if you have access to a compresion tester I would check it before buying anything plugs,gas etc since the motor may need to come apart.

Whenever I get a new old sled I take a few steps before pulling my shoulder out.

1]check spark good or bad do the next step to save some agrivation
2]check compresion its important to know your working with an engine that should run if you have no spark and you tear right in and start fixing/buying new parts without checking compresion you may very well be wasting time and money on a worn or blown motor
3] once you know you have spark and good comp put a little mixed gas in the plug holes and see if you get fire if you do try squiting some right in the carb to get it to run a little bit you should have the fuel ine off when doing this if the gas smells funky if it will run on the gas sprayed in try hooking up a line in a gas can etc like Brian suggested and see if the carb pulls fuel

Theres some more stuff to do but this is a good start to getting a new old sled going

[sledzeppelin]

The puller I use (harmonic balancer puller) looks kind of like a clover or a hand with spread fingers. You put bolts in three or four of the "leaves" or "fingers" and then a big bolt goes in the middle. You tighten the bolt down on the end of the crank which pushes against the clover which is bolted in to the wheel. If you have spark, don't pull the flywheel. If you don't, you're going to have to.

Make sure the carb is nice and clean too. Take it all apart, use carb cleaner liberally, and blow it out.

And yeah - replace the wheels. But make sure you have an engine worth working with first.

-Ryan