Blank canvas for starting the eTractor build

 

 Time to get rid of that fossil fuel burner...

 To remove the engine first the tractor needs to be split at the clutch.

You can see the clutch pressure plate within the flywheel housing in the above photo.

Removed the clutch and flywheel (damn, those were heavy - glad I decided on Plan B). Then removing quite a few bolts (and one that took me ages to find 😀) and the oil pump the engine could be hoisted out.

Clean up time and there we have our "blank canvas" - all the remaining bits of the tractor I will add the electrical bits to.

 

So, those shafts sticking out of the transmission are where I need to attach the reduction timing belt pulleys that will be belt driven by the electric motors. 

 

But, they'll need a bit of support.

 

The reduction timing belt pulleys will be splined and matched to the shafts like the old clutch plates shown below..

Only remaining issue I can see is that the flywheel housing won't allow me enough room to fit the motors, pulleys and belts inside it (as those shaft splines sit pretty much mid-way within the flywheel housing). So, I've now cut out the top of the flywheel housing.

 

This will allow the two electric motors to be mounted just above the flywheel housing (one probably facing backwards and one forward) with their belts running down through this cut-out to the pulleys on the transmission and PTO shafts..

Bolted the front and rear back together (flywheel housing bolted back to the clutch housing). Might need to add some structural bracing to the cut flywheel housing and sump frame, but I think my 'blank canvas' is ready to go.

 

       

Bunch of parts on order - pillow block bearings, timing pulleys and belts, motors and controllers, batteries (cheap deep cycle lead acid ones for testing), etc. So, no action for a little while, but plenty of tidying up work to do in the meantime... see you next post.