Is there a trick to dropping oil pan on Massey 231 -- do you remove front axle

[Rford]

Got tired of waiting for my manual and started tearing apart my 231 to do an in frame engine rebuild. Went pretty well, found the culprit of blow-by, one piston was flopping around in its sleeve.

I took off all the oil pan bolts and nuts I could see but there are two 24 mm bolts at the front of the pan that go through a bracket and into the pan, or that's how it appears. I didn't have enough clearance to get a socket on them and I didn't have a wrench so I quit for the day. But it seems to me that even with these out the pan won't be able to drop down because the 24mm "studs" that appear to hooked to the pan won't clear without pulling the front end. That seems crazy because everything else has been so easy and logical and there was no reason to design it this way. But without a manual or some guidance, I'm guessing.

Anybody know if those two front nuts actually attach to the pan....I did get the back of the pan to drop a 1/2inch so I know all the smaller nuts and bolts are loose.

 

[shona13]

G,Day rford.
So you have removed the cylinder head and the piston moves around a bit in the cylinder bore?
To remove the sump first remove the front axle assembly to do this easily on your own first get two wooden wedges and tap the in ,one either side between the axle beam and the front axle housing,this will stop the assembly from wobbling around next remove the steering side rods from THE STEERING BOX END, loosen the nuts till about two threads left on the track rod end ,get two hammers hold one on the side nearest the front of the tractor and with the other hammer give the opposite side a sharp tap it may take a few goes but it will loosen eventually, same with the other side.
Then slide a strong jack under the flat part of the clutch housing ,put a piece of say 1/2 " ply between the jack and the tractor this will reduce the chance of the jack slipping,Handbrake hard on jack up till you see a little bit of movement then undo and remove the front axle retaining bolt and nuts radiator hoses and radiator top support bracket jack up and down till you get the height right then using a long bar say 5 feet long push it into the hollow axle centre pin this will give you control of the assembly then keeping the axle assembly upright wheel it away ,well out of the work area and then let it rest down on a box or something safe and strong .
Now you can see what you are doing,make sure the connecting rods are match marked BEFORE you remove them thus guaranteeing the correct position when rebuilding if they are not marked this can be done carefully using a centre punch .
happy Days
Hutch.

 

[Rford]

Thanks. It's odd that you have to remove the oil pan, but its not really an oil pan, well, it is, but it also a structural heavy iron part of the tractor....so yes, you have to remove the 24mm nuts and bolts and like it is noted above, the front axle has to be removed to accomplish this task. But I've been pleasantly surprised how easily everything comes apart and how accessible the bolts are...

 

[Rford]

The next big challenge will be finding or having made a sleeve removal tool....I'd like to do an "in frame" rebuild.

 

[shona13]

G,Day Rford.
When you buy the new parts to overhaul the engine use one of the liners to get some measurements .
The first size you will need is the lenght of the liner You will want a length of 3/4 " screwed rod twice as long as the liner and add 3 inches for luck.
Next you will need two pieces of 1/2" or 5/8" plate one will have to be machined to 1/16" less than the OUTSIDE Diameter of the linerand have a 1/8 " step to keep it central in the inside of the liner and a clearance hole for the rod to go through.
The top plate can be any size so long as it is larger than the diameter of the liner again with a clearance hole.
Next you will need a piece of fairly heavy wall pipe say 1/8" thick wall should do, the liners are not usually that tight, the pipe will need to be say 1" longer than the liner.
Remove the head studs from the engine block and away you go ,this job is a lot easier with two people one underneath,Usually your best FRIEND his job will be to locate the machined DISC the right way up that is with the step facing UP to keep the DISC in the centre,this job can be made easier by carefully turning the crankshaft to the best position for access KEEP FINGERS OUT OF THE WAY next carefully lower the rod down through the hole ,not to far and get your FRIEND to screw the nut onto the rod making sure it is all held up in there then lower the pipe spacer over the top and fit the top plate and nut ,at this stage be very careful check the position of evertything making sure you will not hit the old liner on the way out .
When fitting the new liners make sure that all residue on the engine block has been removed the slightest bit of dirt in there can cause the liner to stick and could cost you another liner,if you are going to use a cylinder hone DO NOT REMOVE ANY MORE THAN IS ABSOLUTELY NECCESSARY otherwise the liner could fail when the engine warms up, put the new liners in the freezer for an hour and remove them one at a time coat the outside with Brake fluid and give the block a coating as well using a pice of 1/2" plywood with gaffer tape covering it and usung the SHAFT of a four pound hammer tap the liner ALL THE WAY IN DONT STOP TO CHECK.
That should get the liners in the rest is easy Ha Ha :thumbsup:.
Happy Days
Hutch.

 

[Rford]

Thanks...I've got my neighbor making the disk on his lathe. I think I'll use a 5 inch square pipe on the top. I'm pretty confident I will get them out...not so confident I'll get the new ones in...but I've decided to by genuine Perkins parts so that might make it easier....I saw a YouTube video where they used liquid nitrogen to cool the liners and they literally fell into place...I'll have to use dry ice....I wish I had electricity so I could heat the bore too.

 

[shona13]

G,Day Rford
Genuine parts are always the prefered way to go.
the liners are not very thick so if like you say you are going to use dry ice a word of caution dont get them to cold you could make them brittle and they could fail when being installed,I would not recommend heating the block ,this will only heat the liners up before they are all the way in.
Whether genuine or aftermarket parts they all measure exactly the same the quality of the genuine parts may be a little bit better