284 International
Veteran Member
- Joined
- Jun 28, 2010
- Messages
- 1,464
- Tractor
- International Harvester 284
All I've said is totally relevant to the fix for this problem- as a result of professional knowledge gained from years of successful engine repair.
Come on, Coyote machine. The very FIRST response to the OP's thread suggested a bad head gasket. The next reply suggested re-torquing the head. Other advice followed. When dirtdonkey first responded to the assorted headgasket, radiator, water pump, and fill cap suggestions, he said he had already removed the head, re-inspected everything, etc. His words were "My first thought was the head gasket..." If he had already done that process, again, and verified everything was properly installed, I really don't think it is unreasonable to start looking elsewhere.
As background for you, dirtdonkey's tractor was made, at the latest, in 1981. The variety of grey-market tractors many of us have usually spent the first 20 or 25 years of their life in rice paddies in Japan. It was common practice for those farmers (for reasons I'm not entirely clear about) to fill the radiators with the silty rice paddy water to use as coolant. It is very common to have large amounts of silty crud, and the affiliated rust and other gunk, come out of the block when a thorough flushing is performed. Even new radiators have been blocked by the crud, and generally speaking, most head gasket failures are secondary to the tractor overheating, and this is overwhelmingly due to insufficient cooling. My point is simply this: Having already been told by the OP that the head and block have been trued, and having been replaced twice, it is not an unreasonable leap to start looking elsewhere, especially on machines that are notorious for having unusual problems with the cooling systems.
The way you're talking to Car Doc is totally out of line. He has offered excellent advice to many people here. You said
Logic would dictate to those who actually work on engines that bubbles in the overflow tank are MOST likely related to exhaust gases escaping from an improperly sealed head to block and caused by the gasket between them not doing it's job for any number of reasons. The fact that anti-sieze was used would lead me again toward what was done last- assembly of head to block and torquing of head bolts. Thus, checking actual torque tightness of the bolts after running the engine a few times through it's paces would reveal exactly what was revealed- loose bolts. Tighten bolts and run her again. Problem solved- case closed.
Which is exactly what WAS first suggested, and had been the first thing tried, all of which came after the suggestions to check the headgasket situation, and after the OP had already removed the head and inspected everything. How many times would you have him check or replace the same thing before moving on to other potential issues, especially given the known history of these machines for popping headgaskets from cooling issues? There's no reason to NOT be friendly here, either. You said
It may be plenty friendly, for the most part but not very constructive. I've seen everything under the sun thrown out as possible causes, from cracked blocks to bad caps, radiators, water pumps, head gaskets, hoses, foreign objects, etc.
Car Doc doesn't need me to stand up for him; he likely doesn't really care what you think. However, YOU don't need to be obnoxious or unfriendly. Telling Car Doc to go away is unbelievably rude. If you don't want to interact with him, leave. By post 22, dirtdonkey had fixed the problem, after replacing a headgasket, and re-torquing the fasteners after some run time. Once the guy's tractor is operating properly, I think everything is more or less handled. No one ever questioned your input until you started acting like a jerk; even then there's no question about the quality of the advice, merely the way it's been delivered. Be nice to people. There's no reason to be otherwise. I can see where you might have misunderstood Car Doc's comment about having a friendly conversation; that's still no reason to be unfriendly or impolite. Telling someone to leave a forum where they regularly contribute constructive, friendly posts is both unfriendly and impolite. I'm not the TBN police, but you're out of line for suggesting he leave and not come back, and owe him an apology.