425 oil leak

[coasterez]

I have a mild oil leak somewhere around the left top end of my JD425 AWS. I replaced the valve cover gasket already when I did the scheduled valve adjustments. But, I'm afraid to pull the next part down (cylinder head??) for fear I'll create worse problems than the oil leak. Obviously, I'm no mechanic. But, I do have a detailed shop manual. The tractor has about 600 hours on it and runs perfectly. I change the oil every 30 hours or so, and the hydro fluids every 120 hours. Should I try to fix it, send it to the dealer, or just leave it alone. If I send it to the dealer, I'm afraid of what it will cost.

 

[coasterez]

No one has any input for me??? Surely someone has tackled this problem. Please Help.

 

[gunmaker]

I've encountered 2 oil leaks on my 425 over the years. One was the valve cover gasket, leaking and blowing an oily film over everything, making it difficult to locate.
The second is from a defective gasket on the front of the engine.
On the front of the engine are 2 plates which bolt to the block, they may be water pump adapters or the like, however, at the top of the engine where these 2 plates bolt to the block, the gasket slowly degraded and failed over the years. Pressure within the engine blew out engine oil, mist like, but enough to puddle on the top of the engine at this joint. After locating the bad joint, /forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif I decided to attempt a repair, /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif rather than remove,repair,then replace the engine. What I did was to clean the area well, when the engine was totally cold, force hi-temp rtv sealant down into the joint, and then put a lite 2nd application of rtv over the first. This has worked and held for 3 years now, and has presented no other problems. I will stick with this remedy until some major engine malfunction requires me to pull the engine apart. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
Hope it helps!

 

[coasterez]

Thanks for the reply. I replaced the valve cover gaskets. So, I'm pretty sure my leak is coming from the valve/cylinder head. But, it's not leaking badly, not even enough to effect the oil level. So, for now I'm just going to live with it.

Tom