Water in the oil....

[duroc]

Water in the oil/s could be from being left out in the weather, but there's not too many ways oil can get in the radiator.

I would be checking for a blown head gasket, cracked head and/or engine block before putting any money beyond that. A milkshake looking substance in an oil fill cap is a pretty common occurrence and can sometimes be misleading, so I wouldn't make any decision based on that alone. Does the engine oil look like the inside of the fill cap?

 

[Stokes]

There are three seperate fluid circuits that I checked. The coolant, the engine, and the transaxle (rear axle housing/3Point Assembly/Hydraulics).

All three are a milkshake.

But, the engine runs. The tractor moves, and both the FEL and the 3-Point operate.

Tonight, I disconnected the upper radiator hose and stuffed a garden hose into the radiator, twisting the radiator hose to the side to see what would flush out. It came clean pretty quickly. Tomorrow, I'll drain the crank case and change the engine oil filter. After that, I'll do the same with the rear end. I'm pretty sure I know where all the filters are, and I think I have spares for each of them.

Before I do a diesel flush, I'll want to get all the fluid out of each system and see just how much milkshake there is. Maybe I'll get lucky.

 

[D7E]

Sorry but what kind of auction was that ..? I spend half my life at auctions and make a good part of my living out of it ......You could'nt crack the caps and pull the dipsticks....You may as well buy on the internet unseen ..????

 

[TomSeller]

As mentioned above, I would focus on the engine before getting to the rear end. You can get to that later if there is no big engine problem.

 

[duroc]

Tonight, I disconnected the upper radiator hose and stuffed a garden hose into the radiator, twisting the radiator hose to the side to see what would flush out. It came clean pretty quickly. Tomorrow, I'll drain the crank case and change the engine oil filter. After that, I'll do the same with the rear end. I'm pretty sure I know where all the filters are, and I think I have spares for each of them.

Since you're dealing with a tractor that doesn't have an oil cooler (unlike a car/truck) built into the radiator there is really no way oil can enter the coolant unless it's coming from the engine, that is, unless someone put it in there by mistake. Flushing the radiator and having it come out clean doesn't mean that the problem is solved. If oil is entering the radiator via engine, it could be so minuscule that it could take days/weeks, even months for it to show up in the radiator again. BUT, if coolant is seeping into the crankcase, your engine will eventually pay the price. IMO, I would pressure test the cooling system to see if pressure drops and also, (like Soundguy suggested) check for exhaust gases in the radiator. Do a cold and then hot pressure test, but be careful removing the rad cap when hot. You can buy an exhaust gas test kit from most auto parts stores for around $40-50.

Before I do a diesel flush, I'll want to get all the fluid out of each system and see just how much milkshake there is. Maybe I'll get lucky.

That's a good idea! AND, I hope you do get lucky! Keep us posted!

 

[Stokes]

Well, I ran out of time today, and didn't get very far. All I did was remove the sheet metal (just the hood and rear fenders) so I could get better access to everything with my pressure washer. I'm lucky enough that I have a Landa Hot Water Pressure Washer that is great for taking off years of dirt and grime. Without hitting mating/gasket/seal areas too hard, I cleaned it up quite a bit. I really just wanted to get years of caked on grime and dried out grease off before I tore into it too much.

So, tomorrow, I'll drain the engine and see where I'm at. I did pull open the filler cap to the front axel today, and it's white and milky around there as well. Maybe once I get into it all I'll figure out that my expectations are just too high, and that this isn't too far out of normal. But, I don't like it at all. I had a newer model Kubota that had very few hours on it, and all the fluids looked like they were just poured in. This stuff is driving my OCD crazy. I'm hoping I'm lucky and fluid changes make me feel better (and make my Yanmar last longer!).

 

[Soundguy]

anything?

keeping fingers crossed for simple issue like a head gasket.

 

[Blaneypark]

Just another thought for you. Was this tractor was sitting outside for any amount of time and have a vertical exhaust stack on it? If so, if it wasn't covered that may be how the water got into the oil. I would still go with all of the other ideas posted. Good luck.

 

[TomSeller]

Even sitting outside without a vertical stack is bad. The rain blows sideways at times where I live and the increased temperature extremes makes for more condensation I would think. Certainly for more cracking of boots, hoses.

 

[Stokes]

I'm guessing that you guys are right. This does have a vertical stack, and the condition of the tractor suggest that it spent quite a bit of time outside.

I drained the oil, but taking a picture of it was a bit difficult. I've included a photo.

I also refilled it with water, put on a new filter, put in 2.2L of oil, and fired it back up. I left the radiator cap off, and did not see any pulsing of the water that would suggest exhaust was blowing into it. I only ran it for about 10 minutes, and when I check my dipstick, oil filler, and radiator cap again, it didn't look too bad. Like there isn't much water in there, and the oil still looks like oil.

I think I'll start on the rear tomorrow, draining and refilling it as well. I want to think there is a filter for that hydraulic system, but I've not located it yet. Any ideas?