Riddle me this? my tractor has half the power it did?

[Hotpot]

1974 International harvester 354 Gas

I was doing great with my new FEL. Finally got it attached and i was getting some much needed digging done. It made quick work of most of it. I still hand shoveled a lot of the dirt but having the tractor move it and dump it was a back saver. The hand shovel and the wheel barrel days?. I don稚 want to go back to though days. So I was sad'in when I heard a loud pop sound and blue smoke from the exhaust pipe. then the exhaust cleared up some but the tractor lacks power under load. starts fine, idles fine, throttles up slow and inconstantly, then under load ( climbing a hill, using a box blade) it kind of whines down gradually in power till I engage the clutch. God Why? I was having fun with that little guy, getting all kinds things done

I Checked the spark plugs and the number three plug was much different than the others. The other three were normal wear blackish in color as a rich Air/ fuel mix not bad at all. (I leave the choke out, as a bad habit). The number three plug was moderate to heavy with oil'ish black deposits, Yep! gunk on it.
Points and other components look to be in order. Generally looked everything over. All looks ok. Motor oil looks dirty but fine. coolant I never really could see in the radiator, looks like no change.
Do have water vapor in the breather on the valve cover. Noticeable pressure from the crank case. ( palm of the hand over the breather tube test, if there is one? ha ha )
Hole in the piston? Rings? I would appreciate any ideas about how to find out what to fix. plan to put a compression test on each cyclinder soon.

 

[Rocky J]

Sounds like head gasket has let go from cylinder to one of the oil gallery's . That would explain low power ,pressure in the valve cover and oil on the plug . The last two I did on older machines it looked like they decayed or had termites , chemical reaction between the two metals .

 

[Egon]

Do a compression test.

 

[Hotpot]

1974 International Harvester 354 Gas


I think your right Rocky J, I told my girlfriend to get a compression check on each cylinder today while I was at work. This is what she came up with.( see pic )

I would bet that the head gasket blew between the inner the two inner cylinders.

The spark plugs( see pic) had antifreeze on them this time since the motor wasn't firing while turning over during testing, thus not burning off the moisture.

Now the important question,
1.Where would a guy get parts for this tractor in Ohio?
2.Wonder what the torqon the head bolts are suppose to be?
3.What else should i watch out for when removing the head?
Any help would be much appreciated!

 

[hawkeye08]

steiner tractor parts, inc. (not in Ohio, but has parts).

 

[Quebecguy]

1.Where would a guy get parts for this tractor in Ohio?
2.Wonder what the torqon the head bolts are suppose to be?

Although not located in Ohio I would still recommend Messick's Case Parts | Buy Online & Save for your parts needs. My I&T Shop Service IH-201 Manual gives cylinder head bolt torque as 75-80 ft/lbs.

 

[Hotpot]

Hawkeye08 and Quebecguy, Thanks for the info.
Both parts store's look good. Messicks has a great looking website. Parts diagrams and all.

Ill post some pics of the repair soon.

Thanks everyone.

 

[DJ54]

Evolution Ag. is only 20-25 minutes away in Circleville, on U.S. 23 North of town. Evolution Ag, LLC, Circleville, Authorized Dealer | Case IH

I wouldn't expect them to have the head gasket in stock, but, could probably have in stock, within 2-3 days. They are just a phone call away. If you don't have time to pick it up, a credit card account will let you order parts, and they can send it to you UPS. Shipping is usually less, than it costs in gas to drive there. JD Equipment, West of town, is also an A&I dealer in aftermarket parts.

Case/IH also has a pretty decent online parts store. You can look up your tractor model, and find virtually every part that's on your tractor. You can also find the price of that part, by checking through your nearest dealer. 99.9% of the time, parts are the same price at any IH dealer in the continental U.S. So, you can order your parts through Evolution, and pay the same price, and either go pick it up, or ship, which would definitely be less, than ordering through Messicks.

Here is a link to the Case/IH online parts store, and already have it set for your 354. Just select a function group, and find the part you need. Official Case IH Online Parts Store and Case IH Catalog for Best Parts Search and Best Parts Look Up. Case IH Parts for Case IH Tractors, Case IH Combines, Case IH Tractors, Case IH Manuals, Case IH Parts