Case IH 255 with overheated motor.

[BrokeRichard]

Picked this tractor as a project to work on this winter. Severely overheated engine and missing radiator. 273 hours 4x4 and turf tires. Most of the parts I have found are from china. Anyone have any luck rebuilding Mitsubishi K3E diesels that have been run hot. Center piston is trashed. Will have to pull the motor to see how bad the cylinder looks. The tractor still ran before the head was removed but the it was filling the crankcase with coolant. Owner and the mechanic decided they didn't want to invest the time or money to try to fix it. I have found some running pull out K3E motors for $1500. Going to tear this one down to see if it is salvageable.

 

[bnjleouf]

I'm rebuilding a K3H out of a mistubishi MT250D actually.

I also own a international 254, all those tractors are so similar in conception.

I already took my engine appart, it is very easy. and I am in the process of splitting it now to change the clutch.

Look in the Mitsubishi forum, I started a thread there, with pictures. If you happen to have any questions, let me know !

I think my Mitsubishi has the same loader as yours !

 

[bnjleouf]

the radiator might be hard to find, but I would look in salvage yards for a 244 / 254 / 255 international.

 

[BrokeRichard]

I have found a Mitsubishi parts Tractor that has a radiator and some other pieces I could use. I believe it has the K3H motor. It had the same issue but the pistons are stuck in the block. It actually has a belly mower that would work nicely on my 255.

 

[bnjleouf]

nice ! that must be the Mt250 if it had the k3h.

Does it have a 4x4 ?

I'm actively looking for the transmission shaft for the front wheels, my tractor had it removed because it was in the way when they installed the loader.

For the k3e, I think you can find all the parts at weaver compact tractor for cheaper than a rebuilt engine.

It'll be also easier to rebuild the engine on the tractor than splitting it to put the new engine.

 

[BrokeRichard]

The donor tractor is a 2wd. Have not decided to buy it yet. Going to see how bad mine is before getting anything else for it. Probably wont get to tear it down till next week.

 

[BrokeRichard]

Considered buying one of these kits off ebay if it needs a complete overhaul.
K3E K3E-DI overhual rebuild kit repair part gasket piston For Mitsubishi engine | eBay

 

[bnjleouf]

those little mitsubishi blocs are very well made. Cylinders are cast iron, even the head is. pistons are aluminium, so anything should happen, they'll take it.

I'm sure you can just change the pistons, hone the cylinders and put new gaskets on it, and it'll run.

Just make sure your engine oil pump works, it might be the reason this tractor failed.

 

[bnjleouf]

those little mitsubishi blocs are very well made. Cylinders are cast iron, even the head is. pistons are aluminium, so anything should happen, they'll take it.

I'm sure you can just change the pistons, hone the cylinders and put new gaskets on it, and it'll run.

Just make sure your engine oil pump works, it might be the reason this tractor failed.

 

[BrokeRichard]

Got a chance to pull the head today. Only the center cylinder has aluminum stuck to the cylinder walls. one and three look decent but two has stuck rings. Will have to pull the pistons to really know how bad the pistons are mucked up. The cylinders look good with no ring ridge. Just some aluminum in #2.

 

[BrokeRichard]

Got the pistons out. Cylinders one and three show no signs of damage. #2 is scuffed up up pretty good. I found some parts for the repair from a company in Las Vegas. NCW Tractor Parts, LLC Anyone ever had any dealings with them? They have a much better parts selection for the K3E than Weaver. Not sure if they drop ship from china or have an actual US warehouse. Will find out next week I guess.

 

[bnjleouf]

I bought some parts from them, and they shipped fast. That's the best I can tell. But I never ordered engine parts from them.

Your pistons looks waaaay better than mine did for darn sure. You should be able to get it back together rather easily.

 

[bnjleouf]

Another thing while you're at it, I learned it on mine : save yourself some trouble, and change the water pump. Mine was failed, and I realized it after putting the bloc back together.

But on an overheated bloc, you can almost be sure the seals of the water pump are out (over pressure of water boiling, seals cooked...)


It was frustrating to wait another week for this thing to hit my door, and putting the front appart to get to it afterwards.

 

[BrokeRichard]

Thanks I am waiting on the piston to get here before I order any more parts. I am thinking the #2 cylinder may have an injector stuck open. Going to test them once I get it put back together. I still have to pick up the other tractor to get the radiator. Still not convinced it was run hot. 1 and three show no damage. all the damage was in the #2 cylinder. It did spring a leak in the radiator but it was gone before I got the tractor.

 

[bnjleouf]

If you do pick up that Mitsubishi tractor for the radiator, let me know.

If it is a MT250, I'll be highly interested in some parts (sheet metal, hood, handles, etc ... )

Thanks !

 

[bnjleouf]

From the view of it, the injectors of my 254 international and Mitsubishi are the same. I bet you you can pick the injectors from the Mitsubishi k3h engine and put it in your 255. The injection pump does the dosing job anyway..

 

[BrokeRichard]

Got the cylinder honed today and the gasket surfaces cleaned. Parts from NCW Tractor Parts, LLC were sitting on the porch when I got home. Four business days from placing my order is not bad. Tomorrow I am picking up the donor tractor for the radiator. I hope to get the piston in it and get it put back together tomorrow afternoon. Need to test the injectors also. Will try to get some shots of the donor tractor tomorrow and post my progress tomorrow evening.

 

[bnjleouf]

did you notice any ridges on top of your cylinders ? Just curious...

Did you end up buying new pistons for it ?

 

[BrokeRichard]

I only bought one piston. The other two were not damaged. There was no ring ridge. The motor has less than 250 hours on it. Only honed the damaged cylinder. The damaged cylinder is the only one getting new rings. The replacement piston does not have the valve reliefs like the factory pistons. It will be interesting to see if there is any difference in static compression. I also want to get a weight comparison between the two pistons.

 

[BrokeRichard]

Got the engine back together enough to test fire it. Still have to get the radiator mounted. Forgot to get a shot of the donor tractor when I dropped it off at my farm.
K3E test fire - YouTube