Refurbishing ring gear teeth

This is afterall the third thread in the past two weeks on this matter of ring gears. Very few people have even suggested turning them. The one's that did have been completely ignored. I did not intend to get involved in this discussion at all. I do read a lot more on here than I take part in. It was and still is my opinion that GP's idea should be heard, and if that requires shouting, so be it.

I mean no disrespect, but I have to side with Mr. Wlller. I have torn apart literally hundreds of tractors(we deal exclusively with I.H./Farmalls) and I cannot recall seeing the double sided ring of which you are describing. Every ring gear that I can think of has one side beveled to match the starter bendix, while the other side is not. The only turning we do or reccomend is the turn the ring gear 180 degrees as the clock turns, not turned to the other side. I write this, not to be contrary, but to try to clarify what my mind is telling me at the moment. It is something I will be looking into.

Thanks for your input. I'm sure Hugh knew better but just forgot. I don't, however, understand the shouting. I would suggest, on a four cylinder engine, to move the ring gear 90 degrees. If you study carefully, you'll find the 2 worn spots are 180 degrees apart. You really want to move unworn teeth to those spots. That should make it good for another 50 years or so.

Removing the ring gear and re-installing it is easier than most people imagine.

George Willer

My 300 would have been the first one I had done. It was rebuilt by the IH dealers service shop. When out lining to dealer items I wanted fixed ring gear was one item on list. He did not turn it 90 degrees, he turned it over.

George Willer

I've got a Super H that jams the starter every so often. A new bendix on the starter helped but did not eliminate the jamming. Problem is the ring gear teeth in the two positions where the flywheel usually stops are boogered up pretty good. Instead of a nice sharp bevel on the ends of the teeth facing the starter, the ends are mushroomed and rounded over. I figure if I can get thru the starter opening with a die grinder and shape a new bevel on the ends of the teeth I may be able to avoid the agony of splitting the tractor.

I figure it's at least worth a try anyway. And if it doesn't work I'll then just go ahead and split the tractor and install a new ring gear.

Here is a pic of the ring gear on the W9 I got last fall, through the starter hole. Had sat for 20 years, mice built a nest in the bottom of the clutch housing and the teeth were rusted off. I don't think you could fix this with a dremel!

Personally, I would split the tractor and put a new ring gear on. No sense in going through all the work to flip the ring gear around or just turn it to a different spot...