John Deere 430 Utility with Loader Restoration and First Drive


Over the winter I picked up a 1960 John Deere 430 with an attached loader (with bucket), box scraper, and tire chains. However, the exhaust manifold had a crack in it, and as such water was able to get into it and rand down the cylinders into the block. The cylinders were seized, and the oil pan was full of ice.

Getting the tractor out and home was also quite the ordeal. The transmission was full of water and was locked up. We had to melt that out to get the axles to turn. The tires were also frozen down to the ground, as was the heater. The bucket was frozen with the tip into the ground, which had sunken in about three inches and was quite frozen. To get it out we had to put the space heater onto it for a few hours, which allowed it to heat up enough to melt out the ice. Overall, it’s been a fun little project & I can’t wait to use it some this summer!


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