I have a 58 340 that I have rebuilt and had head work done on it twice, but it still smokes. First round I found that the shop that did the head work did not put on the umbrella seals on the valve, just o-rings. So I pulled the head and took it to a different shop (one that knew about tractors) The guy there told me he could tell that the engine was burning oil but that it was not caused by the head. So while I have the head off I dropped the pan and pulled the pistons to check the rings. All of the rings looked good and where on correctly, I also made sure that the rings were 180% out for the top and second compression rings. Another thing that I discovered during the time that the head was off the second time was that the thermostat was not seating correctly in the housing. The retaining clip had come loose and was letting the coolant past. So the tractor never got to full running temp. My question is what type roll does the temp play in allowing the rings to seat? Also what should the running temp of a 340 be? I have been told 160 to 170
- Thread starter jdbrad1
- Start date
Janicholson
Well-known Member
Were the rings checked for end gap in the cylinder? if not, there is no way (but faith) to tell if they are correct. If wrong they will not have correct tension in the cylinder, and gaps at the end.
Is the oil ring expander spacer butted together holding the scraper rails in place? if not it will over oil the walls.
If the cylinder walls were just honed, and the ridge removed, the oil burning will not be curbed due to taper in the cylinder. JimN
Is the oil ring expander spacer butted together holding the scraper rails in place? if not it will over oil the walls.
If the cylinder walls were just honed, and the ridge removed, the oil burning will not be curbed due to taper in the cylinder. JimN
The sleeves, pistons and rings were part of the rebuild. I did an in frame rebuild with sleeves, pistons, rings, piston pins, pin bushings. Then I had the head rebuilt with new valves, valve guides, valve seats and springs. When I check the rings the oil ring expander spacer was not over lapped or connected it was in the groove loose with the two small rings top and bottom of it loose and moving free. As far as the cylinder walls they were new when I started and the tractor has less than 10 hours total on the rebuild. Could the temp be a problem with the parts not expanding the way they should?
Janicholson
Well-known Member
The problem is the oil rings.
The expander spacer is intended to be butted so that its ends meet together. The rails are then wound into the edges of that spacer. when installed, nothing is loose. In fact it is tough to move them in the ring groove with your fingers.
The rails should be installed such that their gap is 180 degrees opposite, and the but joint of the spacer is 90 degrees to those. Good Luck. JimN
The expander spacer is intended to be butted so that its ends meet together. The rails are then wound into the edges of that spacer. when installed, nothing is loose. In fact it is tough to move them in the ring groove with your fingers.
The rails should be installed such that their gap is 180 degrees opposite, and the but joint of the spacer is 90 degrees to those. Good Luck. JimN
Janicholson
Well-known Member
The expander spacer is a segmented split ring. It is flexible when not in place.
It is put into the oil ring groove of the piston first. The ends of this expander spacer are butted together. At this point the expander Spacer tries to get out of the groove, and is a bit unruley.
A rail is next wound onto the expander, to the top of the groove, carefully assuring that it is sitting on the ledge formed by the expander spacre segments, and its end gap 90 degrees away from the butted ends of the Expander spacer.
Next the lower rail (they are the same, this just refers to its position) is wound into the groove at the bottom of the groove. Again this is resting on the ledge of the expander spacer.
The resulting tension on the rails from the expander spacer fills the groove, and makes the rails pretty hard to move with your fingers when the piston is out of the cylinder. The ring compressor needs to be good to compress the rails evenly as they are pushed into the bores. If the system as is has loose expander spacers and loose rails, it will burn oil. JimN
It is put into the oil ring groove of the piston first. The ends of this expander spacer are butted together. At this point the expander Spacer tries to get out of the groove, and is a bit unruley.
A rail is next wound onto the expander, to the top of the groove, carefully assuring that it is sitting on the ledge formed by the expander spacre segments, and its end gap 90 degrees away from the butted ends of the Expander spacer.
Next the lower rail (they are the same, this just refers to its position) is wound into the groove at the bottom of the groove. Again this is resting on the ledge of the expander spacer.
The resulting tension on the rails from the expander spacer fills the groove, and makes the rails pretty hard to move with your fingers when the piston is out of the cylinder. The ring compressor needs to be good to compress the rails evenly as they are pushed into the bores. If the system as is has loose expander spacers and loose rails, it will burn oil. JimN
Janicholson
Well-known Member
Al L. in Wisc.
Well-known Member
Good ?, I was thinkin' bout having mine checked. I just called Carl F. Statz-Waunakee and was told new 175; 180 with crater pistons. An engine would be 'ok' at 90 if all four cylinders were close in their results. Seems to me acceptable is all cylinders within plus or minus 10 pounds.
First, I would like to say thanks to everyone that gave input. I have fixed the problem of the engine smoking. The problem was the oil rings. When I took the engine apart for the 3rd time I looked at the oil rings and they were so loose that piston would set down into the sleeve with the oil ring on and without any effort. I took the oil rings off each piston and stretched them so that I had to put forth some effort to get them back in the sleeves. Now the engine runs without smoke.
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