In Need of New Wheels
Our tractor is in need of a steering wheel and both a rear and a front wheel. The rear wheel casting (on the other side) has a large crack extending from the hub outward. Wheel failure appears to have been a common problem of the day. Brother John, under Grandpa's supervision, drilled a hole at each end of the crack several decades ago which appears to have stopped its progression. However, we thought it a good idea to replace the wheel since we were in progress of restoring the tractor and we didn't know what to expect if the wheel failed completely. At first, Elizabeth had heartburn about replacing the wheel as it is one of the few ways of positively identifying the tractor as a family member. However, after thinking of the safety aspect, she relented and decided to have the wheel replaced. (The old wheel will be coming home along with the tractor and will be used for some purpose in the garden--yard art.)
There are several casting numbers for wheels so we made a special trip over to Carmichael's to ensure we were getting the right part. From the picture above it can be sen that the old John Deere was in the final stages of reassembly. It had spent the winter since mid-November 2006 safely tucked in the workshop.
Carmichael's (who is doing the heavy lifting) recommended Dengler Tractor in Middletown, Ohio as a possible source for a used wheel. After several phone calls we verified they had a wheel as well as other parts we could use so we decided to pay them a visit. Denglers is over 200 miles away but we made the trip on 14 March 2007. Freight cost for shipping the wheel would probably be more than the tank of gas the big truck used. Also, we wanted to inspect the wheel before we bought it.
When we arrived at Denglers, the wheel was on a fork lift waiting to be loaded into our truck.
Denglers, who deals primarily with John Deere parts, claims to have the "Nation's Most Complete Inventory." After visiting their 27,000 sq. ft. of indoor storage and acres and acres of parts, we would agree! They have a web presence at: http://www.denglertractor.com/
