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Harry Ferguson Tractors Discussion Forum
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Cracked block - I guess?

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Rick Whitworth

12-29-2004 10:59:43




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Okay what are my options? I replaced the head gasket twice on my 1953 TO-30. Fixed corroded hole in bottom of head bolt hole with high temp sealer. Still getting lots of water in crankcase. I don't know where the crack is. Sell as is, try something else or rebuild?




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Fred Martin

01-05-2005 13:16:24




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 Re: Cracked block - I guess? in reply to Rick Whitworth, 12-29-2004 10:59:43  
Rick...the sleeves are held in by a flange at the top and are sealed by a couple of o-rings at the bottom. The Continental engines were prone to cracking between the cylinders at the top and in the webbing at the bottom. If theres no evidence (eyeball) at the top...then it's probably down below. I've welded up blocks with two or three webs cracked before, just vee them out and use a good nickel rod and take a day or two to COLD weld them up...never letting them get hot enough to burn your hand. Then after welding, take a die grinder and a finer grit stone and go to it...you use your eyes and fingers running back and forth over the welds as you grind them down. (This is where the sleeve goes) until they are flush with the parent metal. Put in sleeves with new o-rings on them, button things up and put a couple of containers of radiator stop leak in the radiator and if you welded them all right and ground them down right...you won't have any further problems with it. This is the cheapest method that I know of and I've never had any problems with any I've done this to. I do consider myself a good welder though...your mileage may vary. Fred OH

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J. Schwiebert

12-29-2004 14:06:10




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 Re: Cracked block - I guess? in reply to Rick Whitworth, 12-29-2004 10:59:43  
You have gotten some good advice. The one suggestion I would have is. Take the pan off and see if you can borrow a radiator pressure tester. Put about 4 psi on the radiator with the cooling system full. Look around the bottom of the sleeves for leaking O-Rings. Also and this is more common lately I have seen holes go clear through the sleeves. I was as a Deere dealer and when they turned the engine over and the piston was above the hole in the sleeve coolant would squirt out and then it would have gone in the pan. Mu oldest one does the farming and the IH he purchased was traded in because of the very same problem. You need to check the PH of your coolant at least once a year. Questions? find me on the Cockshutt site. If you do not have a crack between the sleeves on the bottom you probably will not need a block.

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gshadel

12-29-2004 13:26:28




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 Re: Cracked block - I guess? in reply to Rick Whitworth, 12-29-2004 10:59:43  
Rick, A couple ideas for you - run your engine and look in the radiator to see if you see bubbling (compression vapors from the engine) then check compression. If you have one or two cylinders giving you significantly lower compression, that might be an indicator of where your leak is in your head. If all that checks out OK, it might be worth your time to drop the oil pan, wipe down the bottom of the block the best you can around the crankshaft and sleeves, let it sit a while (overnight) and look for antifreeze dripping from the bottom of the block. Might not be the head gasket at all. Might be a bad O-ring on a cylinder, or... hope this ain't it... a crack between the cylinders on the bottom of the block.

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Jerry/MT

12-29-2004 11:42:23




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 Re: Cracked block - I guess? in reply to Rick Whitworth, 12-29-2004 10:59:43  
Have you checked the head for flatness and cracks? If it has cracks of leaks on the side where the push rods come down, it's a direct shot to the cranckcase.
If you find that the block is cracked, it can be furnaced brazed and then aligned bored or you can find a used block or a remanufactured one for around $500 + shpg. After you've gone that far, you may want to consider putting in new sleeves and rings and bearings and rebuilding the oil pump, etc etc etc ($, $, $).

Can't help you with the rest of the decisions but how do you know if you buy another one, it won't have some other problems or even the same problems this one has? It all depends on what you want the tractor for. If you really have to have a 27 HP tractor, do you want a newer model that will cost more?

I replaced my engine (it was plumb wore out) with a remanufactured short block ($1485 exchg)because mine is a working machine. (Coulda' redone the old one myself but not as cheaply as buying a remanufactured one and not as quickly either.) It was easy to put in and I needed it on the ranch to supplement the main tractor (a Ford 4610). I would not get as much for the machine as I had into it. Nor could I find something similar for the ammount of money I had to spend.
Do some home work First. Find out what is really wrong with your engine. Hire a mechanic if you can't do it yourself or keep coming back here and asking questions, depending upon your time line. Find out what remanufactured engines costs, check the machine shops to see what they charge for fixing a Continental Z129. Check the ads to see what you can get for a machine in the shape yours is in and how many $'s it takes to buy a machine in good shape. The put pencil to paper and figure out what is best for your situation. Good Luck!

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Rick Whitworth

12-29-2004 12:42:18




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 Re: Cracked block - I guess? in reply to Jerry/MT, 12-29-2004 11:42:23  
Thanks Jerry for the quick response. I have checked for warpage on both the head and the block and both seem fine. I have never seen a "crack" in a block before so I am not sure how obvious they are. I only see what appears to be a minor blemish for lack of a better term between cylinders 3 and 4.



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Jerry/MT

12-30-2004 09:16:21




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 Re: Cracked block - I guess? in reply to Rick Whitworth, 12-29-2004 12:42:18  
By minor blemish, you mean some sort of discoloration, I presume? That could be a leaky head gasket. A crack in the block will look just like a crack;an irregular line, usually between in the cylinders in these Continentals. Head cracks, in my experience, are hard to see. When I worked in a shop (many, many years ago) we had a guy come in and Magnaflux our heads if we suspected them of being cracked. The other guys replies are right on and maybe you could do some of these checks also. Dropping the pan isn't hard especialy if you have a place out of the weather to do it in. I don't know if can rent a radiator testor to pressurize the system, but that assumes you have the engine together and I'm guessing you have it apart.
Keep coming back to this forum. Collectively, there are centuries of experience here and we are all willing to help. Good Luck.

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