Coil Spring Compressor Doubles As A Sleeve Puller

Coil Spring Compressor Doubles As A Sleeve Puller ENGINES Nathan Fleischer needed a piston sleeve puller for the 1941 Allis Chalmers C he was restoring in his Berkeley Calif backyard The sleeves were a mess He had torn the block apart but he knew he couldn’t just beat them out with a hammer “I only needed to pull them high enough above the block to knock them loose ” says Fleischer “I decided to make a sleeve puller using the threaded bolt and jaw from a coil spring compressor ” Fleischer needed a top bridge that would span the cylinder with enough space above the block to pull the sleeve into view He also needed a push block that fit the bore of the cylinder “I could have used some steel tubing but all I had was some 2-in channel iron with 3/8-in sides ” says Fleischer “It wasn’t strong enough by itself so I welded two 5-in pieces together for the top bridge and two 3 3/8-in pieces to match the bore ” Fleischer welded 2 short pieces of the channel iron at either end of the top bridge to act as spacers to either side of the cylinder They would let the sleeves raise just enough to be knocked loose After drilling holes in the bridge and the push block he slipped the bolt through the bridge and the cylinder He slipped on the push block After reversing the compressor jaws he threaded them on as a lock nut With a few turns of the bolt head the sleeve came into view “The reversed jaws hit the engine block after 3/4 in of travel ” admits Fleischer “As it was that was just far enough The great thing is that the bolt and jaws can still be used if I need a coil spring compressor ” Fleischer is continuing to work on the model C He admits there aren’t too many tractors in his urban California neighborhood He isn’t sure what he will do with it when it’s finished This past Halloween he pushed it into the front yard and set a hay bale by it “The trick-or-treaters thought it was neat ” he says “I expect most of them had never seen a real tractor before ” Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Nathan Fleischer 2506 California St Berkeley Calif 94703 ndfleischer@gmail com

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