I took my D2 over to a friends 10 acre field to pull his 12 foot disk to loosen up the steeering clutches. I put 5 hours on it and not much changed. I believe there is so much crud in there that it won't even washout to be usable without disassembly.
After the July 4th festivities I'll get it backed into the shop. Its up to someone to tell me the easy way to disassemble the tracks and what not is necessary to remove so that I can get access to the steering clutches.
Its a 40 minute drive one way and I tie him up from his work as he helps me by skidding the front end around the corners with his tractor.
There was / has been Diesel and ATF in there soaking the parts. Hopefully it will all come apart easier!
This tractor had 2348 hrs on the hour meter. Since I got it running I am up to 2359 hours which leads me to believe that the hours are correct then the clutches are too new to have clearance enough to wash out the crud and rust.
Drujinin

You didn't try my recommendation to ride the brakes to heat the drums did you? You can't do it with liquid in there. You will have to break the drums to get it apart. I always run the back end up on blocks, jack the engine up level, remove main spring, break tracks, drop the caps that hold the rockshaft to the case, roll the trackframes ahead. Then try to remove finals, not an easy job.

Tom

I am thinking of running it for a while longer on the disk as I wasn't able to get it home last night. I had been riding the individual brakes for 50 foot stretches at a time while on the straights and turns while he is pulling me around. So it is going to sit and soak for at least another week. When I get it home I am thinking that just before it goes into the shop that I want to drain the diesel/atf and flush it with mineral spots to reduce the oily residue. Then would be a good time to ride the brakes again.

I didn't take it home, I thought I would work it some more as it has sat and soaked since the last post before in June. 2 days ago, we spent 2 hours towing it around in circles trying to "over speed" one track clutch against the other. It heated the kero/atf mixture and made it foam up.
We thought it was helping.
We went back last night and hooked it back on the 12 foot disc and after 45 minutes it scuffed a piston! Not knocking but misfiring with chunks of metal coming out the exhaust pipe. If it was a dropped valve they usually making awefull hammering noises as the piston and head destroy it. Engine wasn't steaming and oil pressure wasn't excessively low.
Why?
Don't know as I had it in first gear and half throttle with the IH-M chained on the front helping out occasionally besides helping on the turns.
If anything I would guess?? That there was a breakdown in the oil or having as much rust as this had in it from previous owner running water in it that it could have been a hot spot.
I guess the question is - Part it out and buy something else or being a low hours machine, put it in the shop and overhaul it?
Remember it needs steering clutch work too.
The hour meter does work and shows 2359 hours, the drawbar pin hole isn't elongated and the drawbar frame hasn't been broken or welded. The tracks and grousers are like new also.
I still honestly believe its a low hour machine!
Please advise.
Thanks,
drujinin

Sorry to hear about what happened. I think if it's a low hour machine I'd go ahead and get it in your shop and use it as a winter project. Pull the head and see what happened first and if the fix isn't too expensive, plan on going ahead and breaking the tracks and either fixing the steering clutches or find a pair of good finals and replace 'em.
In my neck of the woods, finals run around $200 - $250 each. .a lot cheaper than getting a whole new machine . .plus just think how much experience you'll get working on the critter. It DOES build character (and vocabulary)

Tend to agree with ol'Grump,
Plus the saying "the devil you got may be no worse than the one your going to get"

I know it builds character and vocabulary too! I am probably going to keep it as I am challenged to fix it! Bad Trait because I tend to fix too much stuff! Anyways a guy here at work says it ran too good and too clean to have been a piston failure. He thinks it ate something that may have been laying in the intake or air cleaner. I say he is a dreamer due to no clunking noise as its digesting a piece of whatever. I'll get it in the shop as soon as practicle and then pull the head.

I don't recall when they changed but what comes to mind is those infamous two piece pistons, cast iron top/aluminum body that may have failed on you.

I,m pretty sure if I remember correctly that the two piece piston carried over into the 4 & 5U D2s with the early D311 engine in it & the same with the D4s with early D315

we spent 2 hours towing it around in circles trying to "over speed" one track clutch against the other

I'll bet you overspeeded the engine and floated the valve train and it ended up dropping a valve.