Leakdown Test Results

[MarentetteService]

If you have the shop manual, drop it off with the head so they can measure all the clearances properly. Such as spring uninstalled height, installed height, stem length, stem diameter. Don't want bad or undersized parts installed. Don't forget to have them pressure test the head. I have replaced 5 this year due to cracks around the valve guides due to bad fuel. If you still have the head, flip it over so you can pour water into the combustion chamber area. You can see which ones hold water lol.

 

[MarentetteService]

One more thing, oil the cylinder bores so they don't rust. Take a lint free towel and soak it in oil. Wipe the bores. Also before reassembly, clean the head bolt holes with spray cleaner and compressed air. You don't want any liquid in them.

 

[MarentetteService]

Last thing, if your liquid cooled, drain the oil and change the filter before starting. Any coolant that got in the lower end will be at the bottom of your oil pan after a few days and drain out with the oil. Water in the oil will ruin those bearings fast if you don't.

 

[jrdepew]

Update...as promised.

Just got a call from the machine shop. The valve seats were in rough shape (was pretty easy to see when I got the head off). He machined the seats and valves and ended up with a valve recession number a little off from spec. He is taking a little off the head to compensate. Also, the valve spring pressure was about 5% low, so he is going to add a shim to bring them up to spec. He commented that the exhaust ports had a lot of carbon buildup, and asked the condition of the rings based on the amount of carbon. I am thinking the rings are okay based on the compression test and the lack of wear in the bores, but maybe the oil control rings aren't performing well....

What would cause excessive carbon build up in the exhaust ports? I am wondering if because the exhaust valve wasn't sealing, the air/fuel ratio was off a little and was causing my smoking and my carbon build up...at least I hope that is what was occurring.

Another question, the head gasket thickness that I took off the engine, based on the PN, was 1.4 (I am assuming this is in mm). This gasket was superseded by a part with 1.3 or 1.2 thickness. I ordered the 1.3 thickness gasket, am I okay here?

Valve seals are 8 dollars EACH!!!! Good lord give me small block chevy prices back, this tractor stuff has to have gold somewhere in it for these prices

Thanks for all the info and tips...oiled the bores down well and will do an oil change when it is back together as well.

Joe

 

[jrdepew]

Another thought, this is one of the most cold-blooded engines I have ever witnessed. I wonder if, because it has been ran cold for so long, the carbon buildup is partially caused by that as well. The mechanical fan on this thing moves so much air it is no surprise that it never seems to get hot.

I am seriously considering removing the mechanical fan and going with an electric fan with a thermostatic switch to come on at a certain temperature.

I know these tractors are known for being cold blooded, but I have check the thermostat ball and there is no interference, and the coolant drain line that allows circulation has been clamped off before. The only thing that seemed to help a little was cardboard on the radiator...

Thanks,
Joe

 

[MarentetteService]

The thickness will increase the compression ratio, due to the decrease in combustion chamber size ( milling head, thinner gasket ). You may have a bad thermostat, stuck open. Clamp off the lower radiator hose and see if it heats up. Just don't over heat it...

Poor quality of fuel, particulates in fuel, running excessively rich, all kinds of things, blow by ect.

How many hours are on the engine?

 

[jrdepew]

There are 1200 hours on the engine.

I got the head back from the machine shop, 145 for fixing all the valve seats, grinding the valves, resurfacing the head to bring the valve recession numbers back up to spec, and shimming up the springs slightly so they are back to spec. He also magnafluxed and bead blasted the whole thing...looked brand new.

Got the head on last night, everything went smooth. If I was thinking ahead I would have removed the loader before doing this job, but I never expected it to get this far, so everything is being done reaching over the loader. Got the head torqued down, then went inside to eat dinner and watch some TV, came back out and re-torqued. Should be good until I can strip it down and re-torque again after putting some hours on it (the manual doesn't suggest this, but I always did it on the cars I played with).

Cleaned the injectors, painted the exhaust manifold with some high-heat paint (side note...I love this high heat engine paint and use it on everything. One of my favorite tricks after a good cleaning is to take a propane torch and heat the part to drive all the moisture out. You can see the part get glossy and then go dry as it heats up. This makes the paint stick MUCH better), got the intake cleaned up, etc.

All back together as of last night at 12:30. I go to start it and...dead battery. No surprise there as I had been cranking it good doing compression tests and all that, then sitting for a couple weeks. I should have checked that first and got a battery charger on it. I tried jumping it with my truck but needed two sets of jumper cables and it just didn't have the guts to start the diesel up.

I did run out and start it this morning, definitely air in the injector lines, but it fired right up! I will have it running right and all the panels and stuff back on Saturday.

Hopefully I will be able to come back on here and tell you the problem is solved...because I have 7 yards of topsoil that needs moving to the dam on my pond ASAP.

Thanks for all the help!
Joe

 

[MarentetteService]

Still going strong?

 

[jrdepew]

Still going strong?

Thanks for reminding me to do an update!

It runs great. The tractor still does smoke some, but it is definitely better than before. The smoking is very minimal once the tractor gets up to temperature. However, this thing is so cold blooded it takes forever! I have read about these being cold blooded, and have replaced the thermostat, making sure that the ball wasn't holding the thermostat open like I have seen on this forum. I also installed a ball valve in the coolant drain line, which is the other reason I hear these are cold blooded. That didn't fix it either, but it is better. With cardboard cover about 80% of the radiator, I can get it up to 170 degrees while working it hard in summer (tested with an infrared thermometer). I would like to see it run closer to 190-200 though. It is okay to block the whole front of the radiator?

I really think that this setup would benefit from an electric fan, but I haven't tested it yet. The mechanical fan moves so much air it is almost like just the airflow across the engine from the fan is keeping it cool!

Still planning what I am going to do to get this thing up to temp faster...

Thanks,
Joe