Need Help with Asplundh chipper / Ford industrial starter

Arborist Forum

Help Support Arborist Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

CC982

ArboristSite Lurker
Joined
Nov 16, 2013
Messages
19
Reaction score
9
Location
St.Louis
I recently picked up an older Asplundh chipper that is in need of some repairs. It has had the head bearings rebuilt according to the previous owner, but it has been sitting in a machine shed for some time, and is going to need some additional repairs. One of those issues is the starter. I have located and removed the 3 mounting bolts, but I can't figure out how to remove the metal cup on the clutch end of the power unit. I have it turning in the bellhousing, but I cannot get it to release. I believe this cup has to come off so I can gain access to the roll pin that holds the bendix onto the shaft of the starter. As I said earlier, the mounting bolts are loose, but by design, the starter bendix won't clear the flywheel. I hope someone has run into this before, and has a simple procedure that will allow me to remove this without damaging anything.

Also, this machine is going to need the belts from the clutch to the chipper head, and I wonder if anyone has a good source for the belts, or measurement of the belt size.

The only id that I can find on the machine is the engine tag, and there is a tag on the left rear side of the machine that reads Asplundh Chalfont PA And the serial number. Would like to know the age and model of the machine, and would like to find manuals for it.

This is my first chipper, and any help will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance!20150805_093135.jpg
 
No, sir. It is a Ford 172 ci gas engine.

I was able to get the starter out, but still need help identifying the model number so I can obtain the belts from the engine to the chipper pullies.

Serial number is ex 46xx
 
That's a new one on me. I have never seen that engine in a chipper. That thing must be out of the 60's.
How about some more pictures?
 
Had this one saved on my phone.

I looked up the engine tag on the manifold side of it, and the weird thing is that the tag numbers indicate that it is a diesel....according to some info that I have found online. last couple of diesels that I have seen didn't have carburetors and distributors, lol. Casting number on the block indicated 1960-1964 ford tractor engine. Apparently, (again what I have read online) Ford used that block for both gas and diesel...all new to me, and all info found online.
 

Attachments

  • 20150804_154703-1-1.jpg
    20150804_154703-1-1.jpg
    909 KB · Views: 38
Sounds about right. Why is there a radiator hose next to the starter? Wrong side of the engine.
That is indeed an old one. Its going to be real hard to find engine parts.
More pics are warranted.
 
That is the intake hose from the air filter to the carburetor. More pics soon.
 
This one is not mine, but I found this pic online. Same color, same engine it appears. Sure wish I could find more info on this old jewel. I'm a garden tractor guy...this thing is way out of my wheelhouse!!!
 

Attachments

  • 220px-Whisper_Chipper.jpeg
    220px-Whisper_Chipper.jpeg
    19.4 KB · Views: 23
My father ran a chipper like that for about 30 years.
We changed the starter a few times, I don't remember exactly how it was done but there should not be any reason to disassemble the starter to get it out.

Once you remove the 3 bolts it should slide right out, my guess is that the bendix gear is stuck in the engaged position, what happens when you try to crank the engine over?
The radiator hose CalTree is asking about is the hose that goes from the carb to the air cleaner.

The engine parts are all still available, its the same engine used in a Ford 800 tractor.

It looks like the previous owner never got around to reinstalling the big weight on the drum shaft?
 
I was able to get the cap that I was speaking of off, and it did have to come out to get the starter drive off. It may have been a case of me not holding my tongue right, but it just was not going to come out for me no matter what I did without removing the drive.

My bad starter diagnosis came from installing a new (known to be good rather) battery in and only getting clicks from the solenoid. After cleaning all of the connections, I got it to turn the engine about 3° and it was really grunting to do that. Once I removed the starter, I powered it up, and it barely turns with no load. It is going to the local rebuild shop that I use (and we use them at work) this afternoon for a quick overhaul.

The p.o. got the bearings done and stopped working on it. I did get the flywheel back on it this weekend. You see it Held onto the frame with a come along in the pic that I posted. It never left the deck of the trailer, and I was able to step it up onto the shaft with a landscape block and a 2x4 without actually lifting it. Thank God for that, it must weigh upward of 250 pounds. The shaft turns very smoothly with it in place. I will be working on the drive side of the shaft and finishing up the starter as time permits this week.

Still looking for a model number and belt dimensions...
 
Drum bearings?

I was referring to the bearings that hold the rotating assembly together. My logic was that it would be called a chipper head.

As I said earlier, this is way out of line with what I normally work on, please excuse my ignorance or improper terminology.
 
I'm pretty sure I still have some old belts hanging around from the one my dad had, I will take a look this week when I get a chance and I will measure them for you.
 
This chipper looks alot like the one I have only mine has a small 6 cylinder Ford gas no blower on the chipper head and no big flywheel off the one side needless to say its pretty gutless depending on what you feed it absolutely hates anything with needles plugs the discharge chute constantly about every tree guy in the area has looked at it and can't figure out what it is I find nothing like it on the internet either no markings on the machine

Sent from my XT1030 using Tapatalk
 
Well, It seems that no one knows jack about this machine!

Just for anyone who would need reference to the belt size in the future, I was able to use Gates B112 belts, which are 5/8" x 115".
 
The Ford 800 series tractors would be very close, but I'm going to guess your block casting number is the same as mine: CONN-6015J.... which is the same as a '60-'64 Ford 4000 tractor. The same exact casting number was used for the same exact diesel engine, but the deck of the Diesel is drilled for additional head bolt holes, and the crankshaft main bearing bolts are larger, too. Parts for the engine are getting less available, but are all still pretty much available when you look around. You should REALLY think about pulling the distributor and looking at the oil pump drive shaft - - it's made from a 3.9 inch long piece of 1/4" Allen Key (or you can get one from Melling for $7).... if it fails, you destroy the engine, and that's REALLY bad. It only takes about a half hour to pull the distributor, swap out the shaft, drop the dizzy back in an re-time it again.
 
Back
Top