Pushing dirt with the 420

[ggfossen]

I finally made it to the point of actually working the little 420.

FYI, I replaced the original hydro valve with a Cross. I believe it's the BA series, and about 165 bucks. It's a single spool with float, and seems to work very well. It has an adjustable pressure relief. Although it comes with a lever, I chose to use the original JD lever, and built a single linkage rod. I did that because the hoses were not going to reach if I placed the new valve where the old lever was. I also add a cheapo filter, and mounted it above the tank/valve on the canopy leg. It seems to work well. I rebuilt the blade cylinders by honing them with a engine cylinder hose, cleaned the rods with emery, and replaced all the packings. I don't remember the cost, but about $20 each for parts. They are working well. I have a lot of minor leaks in the fittings, but that may be because I used what I had...gasket cement, and not thread sealant. Probably dumb, in the long run, and probably not the last dumb thing I will do.

I do have some slippage in the steering clutches, when under load, but I will see what happens if I adjust them again. They may have compressed, or worn in, or something like that, if I'm lucky.

And I think the water pump is going south. I will probably have to replace that. At least, I hope it's the water pump, and not the hydro pump.

All in all, the little engine has an amazing amount of torque, and will definitely do what I need done, if I can get the little things fixed.

Gary

[ggfossen]

A short PS:

The water pump was on it's last leg...really wobbly. When I pulled the pulley, the bearings and seals fell out in little pieces. When I assembled the engine, the pump was a bit stiff to turn, but that was all. Apparently, there were no bearings at all, and only gunk holding it in place. Bad call on my part. Maybe another one of those dumb things?

Gary