I mentioned in the previous post that the original back end of the lockdown TEF was knackered – It had been cracked on the casting and judging by the state of the grader blade on the sellers eBay page – I think both had been damaged at the same time by hitting something big – To snap the casting on these back ends takes some doing – and I wanted to change it to ensure it was right – Luckily a good friend of mine had a spare back end for a TEF and I liberated it from his barn!
The new back end took some preparing back at the farm, and luckily my friend Ben was about to help with the gas axe & welder to cut off the mudguard bolts (always a bastard once they seize in) and battery tray studs. It was also a good opportunity to heat up the seized bolts on the back of the original lift cover top – Which again were seized and needed to be taken off for me to do a full rebuild of the piston/cylinder.
Once the replacement back end was back home, it was a case of strapping up the old one onto the hoist and removing the bolts that hold it onto the gearbox housing. Before undoing the last few, we took up the tension onto the hoist and also put a jack under the front of the tractor just behind the bell housing. Before trying to split the back end off, you’ll need to remove the PTO shaft too – Dead easy – Take the four bolts at the back out and pull it all the way out!
Top tip – Don’t put a jack under the engine sump or under the gearbox – Both are aluminium and the jack is likely to split them – Put it just behind the bell housing.
It’s then just a case of undoing the last bolts holding the back end to the gearbox housing and pulling it free – It can take some splitting if it’s been on a while, give it a good knock with a copper hammer and a bit of persuasion.
It was then a case of lining the engine and new back end up – Unfortunately the front axle pivot bush had cracked and the engine was leaning badly to one side – This resulted in a bit of top bush engineering – Tying the steering wheel to the roof of the garage and pulling her straight.
With the engine back straight, it was a case of strapping up the new back end – Tip: Take care to lift it evenly so that it’s also straight and easy to line up.
With the replacement back end bolted on, I let it down on the hoist onto the axle stands – Job done!
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