XR4150H Engine Failure

[TexasRust]

This engine uses oil jets instead of throwing oil from the rod to lubricate the cylinder walls, but clearance issues in the rod bearing certainly could have increased the amount of oil reaching the cylinder wall. Because of the hard cranking, I suspect the bearing started to fail a couple of weeks before it started knocking. Unfortunately, I didn't notice any changes in power output, vibration, or temperature. These tractors don't show oil pressure, which might have interesting to know. The idiot light doesn't trigger until less than 7PSI. After the short block is out of warranty, I plan to add an oil pressure gauge. Thank you or your input.

 

[90cummins]

Have you ever cut open your oil filters?
I have an oil filter cutter for the sole reason of keeping tabs on impending issues because I don’t do oil analysis.
I would not wait for the engine to get out of warranty before adding an oil pressure gauge. That should have no impact on warranty!
90cummins

 

[garry1p]

JCoastie​

I think its normal for the gauge to reset immediately after starting on the LS240.
Mine has done this since day 1.

 

[Avenger]

JCoastie​

I think its normal for the gauge to reset immediately after starting on the LS240.
Mine has done this since day 1.

Well, not exactly.
I did a video on this a while back. As the engine cranks, the battery's voltage drops causing the dash to lose power. It comes back on a second or two later. This is "normal" for stock batteries or batteries with similar CCA. Its not a huge issue, and can be lived with. But might also be an indicator of a dying battery.

This video shows the issue:

And this video was filmed a few weeks later when the battery actually died. Near the end of this video, around the 28:07 mark, I show how the new battery does not shut off the dash during startup.

 

[JCoastie]

I think its normal for the gauge to reset immediately after starting on the LS240.
Mine has done this since day 1.

Definitely not normal, mine only does that once in a while. I put it on the charger last night, we'll see if that makes a difference. It is still the original battery, purchased in 2020, haven't looked for a sticker on the battery to see the actual age.

 

[TexasRust]

The shop pulled the other two rod bearing and the main bearings. All surfaces appeared normal. There was no wear marks in the thrust bearing surfaces. I think I mentioned earlier that the cylinder walls don’t show excessive wear. The original cross hatching is clearly visible. So there are no indications of excessive wear or oil starvation. Maybe an assembly issue. This engine had 1140 hours on it. At my current rate of usage, this would be a little less than a year and a half. Well within the original warranty coverage period. Unfortunately, my maintenance records indicate the tractor had 514 hours on it when the warranty expired October 2021.

I’m no longer going to rely on the oil pressure switch for oil pressure. The lightly comes on when the pressure drops below 7 PSI. I’ll also start cutting open the filter canisters to look for flakes. In the past, I looked at the used lubricants with a magnet. I’m considering oil analysis for the engine and hydro-static transmission. A couple hundred bucks a year for oil analysis seems pretty cheap right now. I’m not sure that I would have had enough oil analysis data to have a feel for a trend, but if the previous oil change had shown a lot of bearing wear components, I might have had a heads up.

I appreciate all your inputs. Hopefully, no one else has to experience this on their tractor.

 

[JCoastie]

damn, but thanks for the update

 

[TexasRust]

In reference to the "battery issue", a failing battery was my first thought. My dash normally doesn't reset. So I took the 800CCA battery back to Walmart and their tester claimed it was good. Granted, I take battery tester info. from a high school student working at Walmart with a grain of salt, but it was still taking charge and the resting voltage level did not indicate a dead/dying cell even after sitting for a couple of weeks.
I agree that initial voltage drop in more indicative of a worn out battery, but previous batteries usually died soon after the dash reset started. This went on for weeks before the rod bearing spun. So I'm looking forward to seeing what happens after the engine is rebuilt with a new short block. If the dash reset continues, I'm back to battery or starter. I previously verified the alternator voltage output at the battery terminals and it matches the 14.5V that the dash shows. If the dash reset is gone, maybe the extra friction caused by the bearing going bad was the cause. Maybe not.

 

[TexasRust]

Anyone know what happened to the lstractorusa.con/parts/ website. I haven't been in there for a week or so and it's not what it use to be. No access to parts AGAIN. I guess I have to go back to the New Holland site to find part numbers again.

 

[TimberFarm]

Anyone know what happened to the lstractorusa.con/parts/ website. I haven't been in there for a week or so and it's not what it use to be. No access to parts AGAIN. I guess I have to go back to the New Holland site to find part numbers again.

Anytime I tried to look up parts from LS I got a page with my model on it, but then just blank. No actual parts or numbers ever listed.

What kind of warranty are they going to give you on that short block?