[Ididntdoit99]

Hi all! Just found this forum today and looked like a good place to find some info.

I just brought home a FREE John Deere 56 the other day. I havent really looked at it at all. Hopefully will get to take a better look this weekend.

all I know about it is that the guy said it ran 2 years ago, and that he handed me a bucket full of parts with it, so its going to take me a while to figure out what every nut and bolt it, and whether it'll run when I do get it back together.

I figure theres always option #2 of dropping in a different engine. Seen some japanese 5.5 hp motor on harbor freight for only $130 but il avoid that if possible.

anyways, ive found a service manual online for this tractor, but not much else. So if anybody can point me in the direction of any other useful info that would be great.

 

[stanb112]

Hi Adam, welcome to the WFM forums. The 56 is a simple, easy to work on tractor, but it has a few tricky things that can be frustrating. If the engine is all together I suggest you remove the air cleaner housing and sketch or photograph the linkages going to the carburetor. And if you remove the control plate on top of the carburetor not how the pivoting arms under the plate are oriented. If you don't do this you'll have a real hard time putting it back together properly.

I also suggest you go to JDParts.com and register (it's free) and become familiar with the parts catalogs. All the 56 parts are shown in diagrams which help in determining where things go, and you can also find what parts are still available from Deere. Finally, if you have the Deere Service Manual it has everything you need to diagnose, adjust, or repair your tractor.

Have fun with your 56 and feel free to ask questions here. Stan

 

[woodpecker41]

Adam the HF 5.5 HP also will not work as it has a light flywheel and will run only with a blade on it. If you try to start it without the blade and it will rip the recoil out of you hands. If you don't believe it try starting a push mower without the blade on it sometime. The only exception to this is the models with BBCs on them. Blade Brake Clutch model engines have heavy flywheels and are different than most vertical shaft mower engines. Roger

 

[david_louw]

Adam, welcome to the RER section of the WFM forum! Of the 11,000 tractors registered fewer than 100 are in the 55/56/57 category.

I bought my 56 new in 1972 and its still in use every Saturday in summer. Over here in Johannesburg, South Africa its from about mid-September to about mid-May. I used to mow about quarter acre now slightly less since extending the house, adding a few out-buildings and more paving over the years. I still use a catcher bag, with unfortunately is NLA I had the original 6 horse Tecumseh upgraded to a 7hp many years ago. I have recently looked at some of the replacement engines people installed but the issue is normally around the shaft of the newer engines being thinner than the original. Parts for the V60 and the V70 Tecumseh engines are still available and I have just rebuilt both my engines, including re-sleeving the 7 hp. Most wear parts are still available from John Deere albeit some being rather expensive. It depends on what you want to do and how much you want to spend. I have found this size mower and the gear drive ideal for my needs. The 140 and 317 which I have re-built being too big for my property.

Please feel free to ask questions as I have found people here very knowledgeable and helpful. I can also send you a 2.5Mb Tecumseh handbook if you are interested.

 

[112buddha]

adam,i live in oelwein and i have several of these in various states of togetherness.if you want to stop in sometime let me know.

 

[112buddha]

adam,i parted out a 56 last week,and it had an 8 horse briggs on it.it might need rebuilt,but its all there,let me know if you are interested,might work a trade.

 

[Ididntdoit99]

Steve, I might have to get a hold of you sometime. I work in Independence. I started tearing the tractor down today. But it'll probably be a winter project I wont mess with for a while.

Unfortunately, the previous owner thought that the problem was something in the carburetor and took it apart, possibly lost some parts. Anyway, I pulled the deck, the rear and the engine out of her today. Probably wont get back to it for a while. I haven't even looked through the bucket of parts to see what is in there.

 

[Ididntdoit99]

Roger, wouldn't a regular mower engine, (like the one I was talking about from harbor freight) start up just fine once you attached the, uh, what was it called output sheave? Wouldn't that be enough weight?

I have the engine off of the mower now, and I pulled the bolt out of the middle of that sheave, but for the life of me I can't get the sheave disconnected from the engine. I yanked and pulled, and heated and banged but it sure don't want to come off.

 

[woodpecker41]

It is not enough weight because of the small diameter not because of the actual weight. Purely a matter of physics. You can spend the money but I don't think you will be happy with what you end up with. The HF engine by itself is a good engine. You should also know it is a constant speed with no throttle adjustment and has a flywheel brake stop system built into it. You can download the owners manual for it if you want more information about the engine. Roger

 

[112buddha]

adam,look for a set screw near the block.i think thats where its at....

 

[Ididntdoit99]

hmm. I'll have to take a closer look, the service manual didn't say anything about a set screw. So of course I immediately starting banging on the thing trying to get it off instead of looking for something else holding it on.

Thanks Roger, I hadn't really looked into it, because I was hoping I would be able to get this engine running anyway.

Still not sure if I will be able to or not, I'm pretty sure I'm missing some parts in the carb.

signed up for jdparts.com and found out i cant just order a new carb, so Steve's 8 horse briggs is starting to sound more tempting.

 

[jlewisa]

You should be able to get a new carb if you want to spend the $$ from smallenginesuppliers.com or even Briggs & Stratton. You can keep an eye out for your carb on E bay also (used). Or you can post a want ad in WFM Classifieds. Good luck. I'm messing with a Briggs carb myself right now for a 100.
They can be frustrating.

 

[woodpecker41]

John it is a Tecumseh engine. Roger

 

[112buddha]

watch for throttle and choke shaft wear on the used carbs,ive got two that wobble about 1/8 inch,and the tractor wont even run with them.

 

[112buddha]

hey adam,hows the 56 coming?