Impossible to buy engine parts!

[bruce1966us]

The closest one to me is Cumberland Machine in Winchester, TN. Also, there is Standard Motor Parts in Nashville, TN. I'm sure you can find a competent machine shop closer to you. If not, both of these receive and ship UPS daily.

Bruce

 

[normde2001]

Have you personally inspected your engine and seen the condition of the cylinder walls? It seems to me that any dealer, (and that could be anyone with a couple of tractors for sale), who would say it takes $3,000 to swap an engine would certainly exaggerate, or mis-diagnose the condition of an engine. Are there, in fact, deep gouges in the walls, as claimed by "the dealer" or do the cylinders just need to be honed, cleaned up and re-ringed. In any case, from reading your profile, I would certainly think you should be fully capable of doing the work yourself.

 

[kayssupply]

You have every right to be upset. However, I would think it would help others to report who the dealer is that has done the wrong rather than blaiming Yanmar in general. I am pretty sure that block is used on many other Yanmar pieces of equipment. From what I have read, there are a few differences between excavator ,marine,and tractor engines. Mostly their bellhousing conections and throttle linkage.

 

[LMTC]

Reed,
Don't be so quick to condemn the dealer. 1. we've heard one side of the story from a consumer who has so far rejected several remedies suggested in this forum and who has used this thread to attempt to harm dealers in general </font><font color="blue" class="small">( If I sold used Yanmars I wouldn't want to see postings like mine! It might hurt my sales! Well, boo hoo! Find me the parts (at ANY price) or a rebuilder and I'll shut up. Ernie even posted flat out lies about me, in TBY public forum, in an attempt to shut me up. )</font> ; 2. the consumer himself acknowledged a 30 day warranty, with the breakdown occurring on day 32, after he let the tractor sit since delivery. We've been told he could find no one locally to pull the old engine and drop in another he was directed to by this forum for less than $3,000. I had said in a post on 11/1 that the owner came across as reasonable and credible. I no longer think that is a given, and would be cautious about pre-slamming a dealer who hasn't been identified or documented to have done anything illegal or unethical so far.

 

[Inspector507]

Just keep in mind........a warranty is good for a certain time frame. If my Craftsman(or whatever brand) mower/tiller/weed eater/drill has a one year warranty and it crapped out at 367 days with me using it 3 times, would Sears fix it? Probably not. Now in the interest of good customer relations, it would make good sense for them to fix it. But as a dealer, he has to set a time limit, he can't warrant it forever. If 30 days is it, that's his limit. Come back to him in 32 days, and he may not even talk to you. I'm sure there are a few dealers on this forum that would help out a customer in some way or another, but this guy may have been abused before and has taken a hard stance by now. Maybe Wayne would realize that the tractor only had a few hours use on it and help the poor fellow out in some manner (I suspect he would). Others would too. Until we hear from the dealer, we'll never know the other side of the story.

 

[vetteman]

Hello I think at one time Yanmar made John Deere tractors it was 10- 15 yrs ago maybe that is an option Wayne

 

[Inspector507]

They still do to some extent vetteman

 

[Tractors4u]

I had to go back and read how a tractor's 30 warranty could be no good after 1 hours use?!?!?! Supposedly he got the tractor home, drove around and parked in the garage until he finished with the dozer work and then pulled the tractor out for some finish work. I don't know how most people operate but I know with anything that I have I give my equipment, or car or truck a good thorough going over just before a warranty expires to make sure that there isn't a problem that needs free repair. Yeah the dealer could do some public relations work and give him a couple more days, but by no means is he obligated to do so.

 

[Wichita_Dennis]

Thanks everyone for the good advice! Finally I may be able to get something done.

To address a couple of readers comments:

I haven't posted the dealer's name because I don't think he meant to cheat me or give me a bad deal. I didn't report the problem until 2 days after the 30 day guarantee. In all fairness, he was in a corner - he didn't know how to fix this problem any more than I did. Some readers want me to hang the guy, others suggest it's all my fault. That's why I haven't named him. I'm not sure he knew what to do. He may have sold hundreds of Yanmars without any problems. When mine went bad he was unprepared.

I'm sure a lot of used Yanmar dealers have a shop, mechanics and years of experience. Although, I see that there are more and more part-timers who have figured out how to import tractors but cannot offer mechanical support should something go wrong. Their "Guarantee" is only good as long as nothing goes wrong. It's hard to know who is who when buying.

The engine swap would have been the best choice had I known earlier what I know now. The engine Ernie had is now sold so it's no longer an option.

I've spent a lot of time trying to match up my engine with another Yanmar - such as marine engines, without success.

The best and simplest choice seems to be to bore and sleeve this engine so I can go back to stock size parts - which probably are available.

The cylinder walls are deeply chewed up. I saw them myself.

Does anyone out there know if an engine that was not originally sleeved can be bored out enough (safely) to get sleeves in? I wonder if there is enough wall there to bore out that far?

Second, are the cylinder walls I have made of some sort of exotic alloy? Or are they just aluminum or steel? Will the new rings seat into the new sleeves? The rings I buy will be made to mate to the original cylinder wall material - not the new non-original steel sleeves. Am I overlooking something?


Thanks again. Dennis

 

[Soundguy]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Where is this shop you are talking about that can (1) bore & sleeve a non sleved engine )</font>

Sorry about your problems.. but I almost spilt my drink when I read this line.

For any good machineist, it should be ~NO~ problem to bore and sleave an engine. Ford N series tractors from 1939 to 1952 used 2 different sleaves.. .040 'thin' steel sleaves, and .090 cast iron sleaves. The thin walled ones are virtually NLA.. and when you rebuild one of the old models, standard procedure is to rebore the block to accept the still available thick walled cast iron sleave. Another common practice is to pull the sleave from a block using the cast iron sleaves.. and then run '39 mercury pistons in the bare block. This results in a few more CI.. and eventually damaging the block.. the trick is then to again.. rebore the engine for a standard or oversized sleave. Sleaves in these engines are dry..sometimes this overbore from the bare block gets into the water jacket. For a good machinest.. this is still not a problem, and many a block has been salvaged by a good machinist getting the sleaves back in and sealed up. You should be able to use a standard piston.. etc. Anothe rissue is cam.. on the flat head fords.. the cam ran bare in the block.. no replaceable bearings. It is very common to have the block custom machined, and custom bearing shells added to fit the cam.. is some cases.. this is the ONLY way to restore oil pressure to the engine ( short of a new block ) once the cam bearing clearances open up significantly...

So far this has all been based on a 'good' machinist.. now if you are dealing with a 'great' machinist.. then if it is made of metal.. and you have the money.. it can be repaired. The machinist I use for my antique work completely fabricates items for people that are NLA. He's made a replacement piston even.. machined it from an aluminum billet. MAde a 'like original' hydraulic manifold that went on the 53/54 ford NAA that lets you use a remote cylinder by tapping into the hyd top cover.. these parts are NLA since the 60's, unless you luck up and find some NOS parts. My steering shaft broke in my 8n.. the shaft , worm gear,and recirculating ballnut come as an assembly, with no individual parts available, and the assembly costs an arm and a leg when you do locate one. He machined me a new shaft to identical dimensions to the old broken one. Mated fine to the ballnut and bearing housing.. Has been working great in my 8n for a couple years now. Same with gear hobbing.. though it may be expensive.. if you have a custom gear need.. there are people out there that can do it.

I'd wager that if you fought hard enough, you could even repower that chassie with a perkins industrial engine... might take some bellhousing magic, but repowering for antiques using non standard engines was done very commonly.

Good luck on your quest. I hope you can locate the parts.. or a competent machinist to handle the critical issues.. like getting you sleaves to match your pistons, and getting your crank and cam journals to standard, or to an available oversize that you can match up.. even if it isn't a yanmar part.. etc.

Soundguy