Allis B-1driveshaft, how does it fit?

[Morris 0]

Sorry so long since I last posted...'06 was a bit of a rough year, but things are looking up. On to the question... Can someone explain how the driveshaft connects in the Allis B-1 (or Simplicity 700 or 725) At first glance it appears to be a "floating" driveshaft held in place by the tension of compressing the rubber gaskets on the ends once the engine is bolted in, but I need to be sure on this. If so, then the height of the engine has to be precise, so what size washers do I need under the engine to get it to the right height? I've currently got the tractor on blocks and it's being stripped and cleaned in preparation for painting.

[wilm169 1]

Welcome back wendell: The shafts are free floating and only mount with the rubber disk and or fiberglass ones, with the rubber ones the heigth can be off more than the others, if you can get some thing straight in to aline the front to the back you should be able to see the height the engine needs to be and measure from that. I have read some people run them up to 3/4" off, maybe more.

[RayS 80]

[HubbardRA 19]

Morris, I would replace the old style units with the newer fiberglass disks. I have run both on my 61 Wards and like the fiberglass disks much better. The original disks work best if the engine shaft center is straight in line with the transmission center. On the fiberglass disks, I have run them as much as 1 inch out of line with no problem, as long as the transmission shaft and engine shaft are parallel. You should not tilt the engine to point the engine shaft toward the transmission shaft. This will cause a bad vibration.

[Morris 0]

Thanks guys, guess I had it pretty well figured out. Funny thing about this is one of the disks were the fiberglass ones, looks like someone swapped it at one point. Still, I'll have to play with different washers under the engine at the mount points to get the height as even as I can. I tried to post some pics but ran into problems again with the "red-x." Thanks again...

[HubbardRA 19]

Morris, I have shimmed every driveshaft that I have worked on. Be sure to loosen the set screws in the yoke on the BGB and let that float on the shaft as you hook the driveshaft up. The one thing that you don't want is a tension or compression on those disks. That will definitely make them fail prematurely.

[stevenj 4]

One other point to make with the fiberglass discs. The washers that are on either side of the disc have a rounded edge and a sharp corner edge. Make sure that the rounded edge is touching the fiberglass disc.

[Morris 0]

Good points, there. The tension seems about right, but the height of the engine is just oh-so-slightly off, like it needs to be raised about a millimeter. So, I'll have to shim the washers under the motor to get it just right. As of now, the rubber gasket near the BGB shows a very slight gap in the top and is compressed in a bit on the bottom, so once the engine is situated right it should line up nicely. And yes, I already spotted that issue with the washer, made sure the rounded edges are against the fiberglass disk.

[HubbardRA 19]

Do you have the two pieces of flatbar under the engine? They are number 20 in the parts breakdown above.

[Morris 0]

(SMACK)--that is the sound of my palm striking my forehead. Nope, those parts weren't included and I didn't look closely at the diagram. As mentioned elsewhere, this tractor was just a parts tractor that I decided not to strip but instead restore, but there was already a lot gone. So, I need to locate some stuff, obviously. Elon sold me some parts last year and I put them up and only last week got around to working with (rear hitch group was the biggest thing missing) but he also tossed in a few extra pieces, including two straight bars. Will check them out later this evening and see if they are the ones that go there... Thanks Rod!

[HubbardRA 19]

Morris, Those two spacer bars are only required with the original engine. If a 10, 12, or 16 Hp B/S engine is used, then the spacer bars cannot be used. The crankshaft is higher in those engines. I got to thinking when you said the engine was sitting low. All of the ones I have worked with sat high. Then I remembered the bars that I couldn't put back under the engine of my 61 Wards when I put the first 10 Hp engine in it.

[Morris 0]

Rod, I'm not sure if the engine is original or not...it was painted at the same time as the other parts (John Deere Greene)XX( but I beleive it is the same model. I had a Simp 700 that was all original, and it had the same engine, so I believe I'll need the bars. I have a Briggs 23-D I'm working on and it's smaller than that. Oh, incidentally, I found the original bars, in small box of loose parts that came with the tractor, I'd forgotten all about it. Also two additional ones, if anyone needs any...