Shade Tree Mechanic nedds help

cartod · Feb 14, 2015

My 1972 820 was just having too much blow by for my liking. I know many say just run it until it goes but I want to fix it. Im hoping its not too complicated because as the title states Im more of a shade tree mechanic. I have never pulled the head on anything.

Anyway I pulled it in the heated basement to work on it. The first thing I did was pull the valve cover, I have not gone any farther as I need some advice on my next move. What I found was a lot of gray sludge packed all over the inside of the cover. It looks milky like moisture of some kind is getting in. Here are the pics of my first ten minutes of work, after I washed it first.

Thanks for any input.

tjcarguy · Feb 14, 2015

Condensation . Does it ever get run hard so it's up to temp ? ---Trevor

leveled · Feb 14, 2015

nice looking tractor.

cartod · Feb 14, 2015

tjcarguy said:
Condensation . Does it ever get run hard so it's up to temp ? ---Trevor

Yes, but not much. Im hoping it just needs a head gasket or rings.

s78wingrider · Feb 14, 2015

If you haven't drained oil, need to, at least some. If oil looks like that, could be head gasket. Aaron

cartod · Feb 14, 2015

s78wingrider said:
If you haven't drained oil, need to, at least some. If oil looks like that, could be head gasket. Aaron

I just drained the oil and it looks cloudy too. It also has a few green bubbles in it like coolant, what would that be?

TomSeller · Feb 14, 2015

Is this tractor stored in a heated location? Always, but particularly if not stored in a heated location, the engine needs to be brought up to operating temperature under load for a lengthy period of time to evaporate off any moisture condensing inside the engine. If not stored in a heated location, and the engine has a block heater, maybe use it to pre-warm the engine in the winter so it gets up to temp faster. Fewer starts with longer usage each time are better than more starts with little usage. Idling doesn't count.

TomSeller · Feb 14, 2015

cartod said:
I just drained the oil and it looks cloudy too. It also has a few green bubbles in it like coolant, what would that be?

Probably coolant, yes.

cartod · Feb 14, 2015

TomSeller said:
Is this tractor stored in a heated location? Always, but particularly if not stored in a heated location, the engine needs to be brought up to operating temperature under load for a lengthy period of time to evaporate off any moisture condensing inside the engine. If not stored in a heated location, and the engine has a block heater, maybe use it to pre-warm the engine in the winter so it gets up to temp faster. Fewer starts with longer usage each time are better than more starts with little usage. Idling doesn't count.

Stored in outdoor unheated shed. If it is a head gasket, should I just take it to the dealer and have it done? How much to replace the head gasket do you think?