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1977 Case 446 _ It Came from the Weeds

14K views 44 replies 11 participants last post by  Woodzie 
#1 ·
I decided I wanted a garden tractor to help out in the back yard and possibly blow some snow. We used to have a 446 on our farm so I spent many hours riding around cutting grass. That 446 had thrown a rod and my Dad swapped in a Vanguard which worked great but didn't really fit in that great my Dad said.

So I searched around for a 446 that was a fixer upper when this emerged from its green hiding place.
 

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#3 ·
This is the tear down phase, sand blasting, pressure washing. painting in behind the motor.

Previous owner said the starter was seized and couldn't start. It also had 2 inches of water in one of the cylinders for a very long time and pitted the cylinder. After running it with the snow caster a few times I would get this weird oil burning event and it sounded like it was going to break. So time to tear the engine apart too.

Two different piston rods, it was spinning the front main bearing, lots of rod bearing play, lots of play in the bores. just a tired old engine.
 

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#6 ·
This Is all a recap of the winter work but maybe it will help somebody. It is my favorite thing to take things apart, rebuilt, paint, reassemble. Learning about how they engineered it, how points work, how hydraulics work. And compared to cars its pretty cheap.

I haven't ever rebuilt a motor completely before so I wanted to take a crack at it. Right from the start I went down the wrong path. I measured things with a caliper and it looked pretty good so I ordered some parts from ebay and onanparts.com

The motor had one old rod that was really out of shape and a newer style rod that was useable. I ordered new rings and bought a hone. I honed it until the pits were out of the cylinder walls. when i put the stock pistons with new rings back in they looked so sloppy in the bores I had to check what the piston cylinder clearance should be. I ended up ordering scratch and dent pistons from onan parts with rings that were .010 over and I honed the crap out of it until i got the clearance to spec. Not recommended

I bought a micrometer ( good idea ) and saw that the crank was out of round on the rod journals. I asked a machinist about getting me out of this mess but he didn't want to get involved understandably. So I figured I'll do it myself like they did in the old days. I sanded it with emery cloth and sized the rods by sanding down the cap to get my clearance good with plasigauge. It took a few weeks of saying oh thats good enough and then sanding some more the next day.

The main bearing was also worn on the crank so it probably should have a .010 undersized but thats not what I ordered and it was just over spec. so in it went. The main had spun in the block, the block was a little worn with the new bearing so I roughed up the block with a punch where the bearing presses in to shrink it down. Froze the bearing in dry ice, covered the bearing bore with JB weld and tapped it in.

In hind sight I should have bought a micrometer and checked everything first. sent the crank off for machining and ordered parts after I knew what I had, but I didn't. so as it sits today it runs well. I pulled the heads to check for any sloppiness in the rods and it all seems pretty good. I will run it this summer and see if it needs a proper rebuild in the fall. Nothing more money can't solve.

I'm a big subaru fan so any horizontally opposed engine is a friend of mine.
 

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#7 ·
As I was waiting for parts I stripped and painted the hood. I used rattle can power red and clear coated with a two part clear coat. I have learned that I can't let the rattle can paint dry or it will react with the clear coat and wrinkle it. I like clear coats because I can wet sand and buff all my mistakes. I also find the rattle can paint so fragile

Fenders are PPG single stage Farm fan Orange. $60 for a quart + catalyst + activator but it is crazy tough paint and I've painted the fenders and the deck with 2/3 quart. I sit on the fender when I get off the tractor and it hasn't scratched the f
paint yet.

I installed an oil pressure gauge that taps into the oil plug on the side of the block. There is a big empty space in there where the oil filter will go in the next generation block.
 

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#8 ·
Next step was the loader build. sounded easy enough but what a ton of welding, fabrication and money. I think it cost about 1100 in material maybe more but I took it out for a test run and never looked back.

The idea was to have it removable so I could "easily" detach it and switch to snow blowing or mowing. There are two brackets that bolt on to the side of the frame and then the loader drops onto two pegs on the end of these brackets. the front support hooks into the attachment pins. the oil feed comes off of the rear pto. It is way too fast for my liking. 2 x 1.5" cylinders moves the boom up 4' in about 1 second at fast idle.

If anybody has any Ideas to either slow flow or modify the hydraulic spool to make it a smoother transition so I can feather it a little better. I think it's a crappy Princess auto valve that is half the problem.
 

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#9 ·
The mower was next. It looks like somebody drove full speed into a tree stump so the blade actually cut through the front of the deck.

Strip the paint. Narrowed the deck as much as possible because of my gate to the back yard so I cut the discharge chute off and made a hinge so it can flip up. Cut the wheel assembly mounting points and moved them inward so basically the blades are the widest part and wheels tuck in behind the deck.

New bearings in the spindles, cleaned up the pulleys. I rebuilt one of the pulleys in the mule drive by grinding the rivets off, separating the two halves of the pulley, replacing the bearing and plug welding the pulley back together. I find these replacement pulleys so expensive, seems like a rip off for two stamped steel pieces and a Chinese bearing.

There's a pick of the loader removed. Going to be fun to put it back on but it needs a few mods here and there and then paint.

That's about it right now. There are some headlights in the mail $$$

I've been having good luck spraying rattle can power red, let is get set up and then a good quality rattle can clear coat. Gives it a good shine and more durable finish.

The one thing I have been lucky about was I was given a box of parts and I was only missing 2 heat shields out of all that mess so I thank the previous owner for keeping those in a pile for me.
 

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#10 · (Edited)
Woodzie,

Got some more welding for you
:wink: With a detachable loader you need a loader rack for easy on and off. Scroll down to the bottom of this link for 2 pictures of a storage rack, and one more picture on the next page.
https://www.loaderplans.com/backhoes-loaders-photo-gallery/p/12

I don't know how hard you intend on working the loader, but you may want to consider some spindle and bearing upgrades to better carry the load.
https://www.loaderplans.com/spindle-upgrade

Main page,
https://www.loaderplans.com/

:cheers:
Gordy
 
#13 ·
I'm at it again.

I was up north fishing and wasting time looking at kijiji and I started to look into a generator swap into my tractor as an option to get a really good donor block that will be way cheaper than rebuilding my b43 (again)

I saw the kijiji ad for a generator that will start but not run for $125. looked pretty rough in the photo but at least it was stored inside. I could see by the paper that the controllers were for a 4BGE.

Did my usually amount of research and went for it. For that price even just the block would be cheaper then boring the old one. I assume

Went out to pick it up and the owner has the craziest shop I've ever seen. He had a hand built can-am car with a 13b. he also had an austin mini type car with a 1000cc snowmobile motor in it. A Suzuki RE rotory bike. An AMC pacer with a 13b in it because that was GM's original plan before they chickened out. Just crazy.

He has another Onan genny that is in better shape but he was asking 500 for that one.

The third pic is his garage:thumbup:
 

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#15 ·
Here it is when I got it home.

Motor is a 4BGE-FA/26100 and from what I read it is an Onan Performer P218 I think. It has points ignition so it is pretty much an exact match with my B43.

It will need a crank pulse port for the fuel pump on the b43 carb.

It will need the crank shaft turned so I can fit the lovejoy coupler on or if anybody knows of a tapered option coupler with a woodruff key cut in.

I started it with some carb spray and it sounds very good. doesn't clack or knock as the engine comes to a stop. These generators are nice, Huge oil pan. The whole gen set weighs 216lbs and the block is maybe 50lbs so that generator is a big brute full of copper. I am going to try to document this swap to help anybody in the future because they are such a great source of donor motors for these tractors.
 

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#16 ·
Here's some picks of the BGE internals. I had already cleaned the pistons but you can see the head has a lot of carbon.

bigger combustion chamber on the BGE head. More central spark plug location

There is a pic of the huge oil pan that bolts on and a pic of my flywheel puller. Back the flywheel bolt out a little bit. It puts a bit of a pull of the flywheel. give the end of the puller a smack with a hammer and pop its off.

cylinders look so nice compared to my b43

Need to open the governor gear and remove 5 of the 10 governor balls to increase the max engine speed from 1800rpm to 3600rpm

And a pic of the dreaded tapered output shaft. I'm going to see if I can find a machinist who can turn it down without disassembling the whole short block. might get laughed at.
 

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#17 ·
Pulled the b43 out of the tractor, pulled the flywheel and pulled the coupler. The b43 coupler looks like 1.1 inch.

Went to Princess Auto and purchased a new rubber spider for the lovejoy coupler and both a 7/8" coupler and a 1" coupler just in case I needed the smaller one.

It's looking like the 1" is the one just because the 7/8 would take a little to much metal off if not required.

Cleaned up the 4BGE and gasket surfaces with 120 grit on a sanding block.

took the tiny clip off the cam gear to remove the governor cover plate. removed 5 balls as pictured.

Tomorrow I'll ask around about getting the crank turned down, hopefully with the block attached. I really don't want to tear the factory built motor apart if I can avoid it.
 

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#19 ·
The vibrations from a running engine would cause a problem I think. A guy on the old Yahoo group set the engine up on his lath with the spark plugs removed and replaced with some sort of filters. He had the flywheel end in the chuck, a live center on the other end, and wood shims between the lath ways and oil pan.

:cheers:
Gordy
 
#22 ·
That is what the machinist wants to do. Taper the lovejoy coupler and then a retaining bolt. He said he will think something up that will work. They seemed to be concerned with how hard the crank is to cut and would rather cut the lovejoy. I mentioned putting the whole motor in the lathe and did get laughed at.:sad:

The spider has a 1/4" indent in the middle to accommodate a bolt head. I might need to shave the bolt head down a bit. I'll see what I get back from the machinist.

I have another flywheel on the way so I will be waiting for that to show up hopefully by the end of july.
 

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#24 · (Edited)
Still waiting for my coupling to get tapered, I took the opportunity to take a breath and get the dash area cleaned up.

My new used flywheel showed up and looks great. I never knew if you lube a tapered flywheel it will crack it. Good thing Boomer told me that or I would have probably cracked the new one too.

I didnt really have a good day in the shop trying to get the steering wheel off. the wheel was already broken and held together with JB weld but it is more broken now. I was left looking at the metal hub inside the wheel stuck on to the keyed shaft.

I put the puller on it, no go.

Puller with heat, nope.

Soaked it with atf/acetone overnight, puller, heat, hammer, nope.

Heat and quench then puller, heat and hammer, nope.

So I just cut it with a cut off wheel and it pulled off. I found out that the shock from the hammer hitting the puller broke the needle off of my ammeter gauge:oops: that sucks.

I also found out that this is a tough little area to work on. the control levers don't want to come out. it looks like the handles need to come off and that is not happening. they are super old and would probably fall apart under any kind of twisting. So I figured I'll cut the decal and sneak it around the steering shaft and levers.

Removed the old sticker, de-greased, sanded, painted black, clear coated dash area.

I repaired the ammeter with a bit of plastic (because the needle was in 3 pieces). Jb weld again to hold the new needle in place. Then JB weld the whole thing together. I also left the glass piece on top of a rag with wax and grease remover and the rubber gasket expanded so it wouldn't fit in the gauge anymore. One of those times when everything I touch goes to crap.

Moving forward I put the decal on the dash finally. It went on okay, some bubbles but pretty good and looks so much better. Black paint underneath is a must because it is so hard to line up all those holes and seams in one go. the throttle/choke slots would have looked off if it was not black underneath.

I have a plan for an oil pressure warning lamp on the dash which will run off of a signal inverter so when the low pressure switch goes open the lamp will turn on. I have a hole in the dash so why not.
 

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#26 ·
Found a new steering wheel, it's not perfect but it's good enough for me. It mounts in a different way. I had to cut the threaded section off and drill a 1/4" hole for a roll pin. It also needed a 3/4 - 5/8 reducer bushing.

During disassembly I found I little plastic bushing under the drive lever that was all worn out. I printed out a copy, not sure how it will fit yet but when its done I will post a link to the STL file so people can print it out.
 

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#28 · (Edited)
Found a new steering wheel, it's not perfect but it's good enough for me. It mounts in a different way. I had to cut the threaded section off and drill a 1/4" hole for a roll pin. It also needed a 3/4 - 5/8 reducer bushing.

During disassembly I found I little plastic bushing under the drive lever that was all worn out. I printed out a copy, not sure how it will fit yet but when its done I will post a link to the STL file so people can print it out.
Hmm, did you check the parts manual for what that little piece of plastic is? Located under the drive lever,, it has a bunch of little grooves on it, and it holds your lever in place when you stick it in neutral, or any drive position. If it was me, I'd stop my assembly until getting the correct piece.
It's also part of your electrical start system,, it's called neutral start switch in the parts manual. Without it, unsafe to use tractor.

Page #53 item 16 and 17.

https://manuals.casecoltingersoll.com/PartsManuals/Ingersoll 446 Parts Manual B1298_watermarked.pdf
 
#31 ·
Engine is still at the machine shop... But it slows me down so I can spend time restoring these little areas.

I installed the oil warning light to fill the hole in the dash. It is kind of redundant because the way I set it up the Ignition coil won't get power until the oil pressure is high enough to flip the oil pressure switch. So if the oil pressure goes low the the engine will shut down and turn on the warning lamp. Maybe with a buzzer installed it will stop me from leaving the key on.

Can't test if it works until the engine goes in but hopefully the starter cranking will pump up the oil pressure, then the oil switch closes, fires the relay and turns on the ignition cct./ turn off the low pressure warning lamp.

B43m tear down tomorrow, prepping for the new short block.
 

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#32 ·
Got side tracked today and painted the foot area and the instrument tower. used a rattle can power red then clear coat while it's tacky. ran out of rattle can clear so I mixed up some 2 part clear. It goes on so much better and is super tough but is a pain to clean the gun afterwards.

Wheel Tire Automotive lighting Automotive tire Light


Wood Orange Automotive exterior Tints and shades Carton


I tried to get that access plate off with a slot screwdriver and vise grips, tried hammering the edge with a punch but they are on there. Maybe I'll give it a shot another day, I don't really need to be looking in there ATM.
 
#33 ·
Got side tracked today and painted the foot area and the instrument tower. used a rattle can power red then clear coat while it's tacky. ran out of rattle can clear so I mixed up some 2 part clear. It goes on so much better and is super tough but is a pain to clean the gun afterwards.

View attachment 116287

View attachment 116289

I tried to get that access plate off with a slot screwdriver and vise grips, tried hammering the edge with a punch but they are on there. Maybe I'll give it a shot another day, I don't really need to be looking in there ATM.
What access plate are you talking bout?
 
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