My 560 Farmall…can it live again?

I’ve not posted here in ages…too busy building a new shop and other stuff. Anyway, #5 piston grenaded a few days ago…pulled head and dropped oilpan. Pieces in pan and sparkplug was flattened, but NO damage to the head itself. Light scratches to cylinder wall…but surprisingly little real damage.
I don’t farm, but use my baby for maintaining my quarter-mile lane and some landscaping and mowing around the 50 acre homeplace. My questions…
1. Can I simply buy one new piston/rings, pin & rod/bearings, slap her back together and go?
2. If so…do I need to do anything to the cylinder? Hone out 2-3 scratches.
3. Assuming new head, valve cover, exhaust manifold and pan gaskets. Anything else I’m forgetting?
4. Any particularly good place on the net to buy these parts that you’d recommend?
I appreciate any words of wisdom here. I need to get her back running, but I really can’t afford or justify a total rebuild. I’ve spend several years reading all the stuff you folks post. I’m no mechanic (but a good wood-butcher) but I’ve got just enough skills to tear this thing apart. Hopefully, I’ve enough to get her back together. I’ll wait to see what you with infinitely more knowledge have to say about this. Thanks in advance for any advice.

(quoted from post at 05:17:55 04/05/10) I’ve not posted here in ages…too busy building a new shop and other stuff. Anyway, #5 piston grenaded a few days ago…pulled head and dropped oilpan. Pieces in pan and sparkplug was flattened, but NO damage to the head itself. Light scratches to cylinder wall…but surprisingly little real damage.
I don’t farm, but use my baby for maintaining my quarter-mile lane and some landscaping and mowing around the 50 acre homeplace. My questions…
1. Can I simply buy one new piston/rings, pin & rod/bearings, slap her back together and go?
2. If so…do I need to do anything to the cylinder? Hone out 2-3 scratches.
3. Assuming new head, valve cover, exhaust manifold and pan gaskets. Anything else I’m forgetting?
4. Any particularly good place on the net to buy these parts that you’d recommend?
I appreciate any words of wisdom here. I need to get her back running, but I really can’t afford or justify a total rebuild. I’ve spend several years reading all the stuff you folks post. I’m no mechanic (but a good wood-butcher) but I’ve got just enough skills to tear this thing apart. Hopefully, I’ve enough to get her back together. I’ll wait to see what you with infinitely more knowledge have to say about this. Thanks in advance for any advice.

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Yes, you can buy just one piston and set of rings. You can also buy just one set of rod bearings, but you need to do some measuring first to ensure you get the correct piston and the correct size rod bearings.

Thanks Rusty. I've got the (original) shop manual for this old gal. I was reading last night and figured I'd have to mic the crank to get the right bearing. The book says "no oversize pistons available". I assume that was true in the day...not now?

(quoted from post at 05:26:14 04/05/10) Thanks Rusty. I've got the (original) shop manual for this old gal. I was reading last night and figured I'd have to mic the crank to get the right bearing. The book says "no oversize pistons available". I assume that was true in the day...not now?

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Unless you have owned the tractor since new, it's kind of hard to know what previous owners might have done.

No oversize pistons... Of course not. It's a sleeved engine.

You would always use standard size pistons because when you replace the piston, you also replace the sleeve. The sleeve is always standard size, so the piston will also be standard size.

No Rusty, I've only owned this tractor for about 10 years...not even 1/4 of it's life.

I pulled the rod off the crank and expected to see some indication of the size bearing (old buddy tractor mechanic said it should be stamped w/STD, +20, or -.0010, etc.) I found no such markings only FMJ 2420, I believe. I've no idea what this means.

He also said I MIGHT be able to drive the sleeve out using my long brass drift. No go on that. Just kept chipping off pieces of brass. Can one rent a sleeve puller? Autozone?

I'm stalled until I get the sleeve pulled and figure out what size bearings to order. Then...it's only money...and time.

Got sleeve out last night...easy as pie, actually. Now I'm looking at the rod bearing and can't tell what size it is. The only marking is
2420 CP
Fm
UJ

Can anyone tell from these letters/numbers exactly what size bearing I need to order?

Need to order Rod w/bearing, wrist pin, piston & rings and sleeve. At the local implement dealer, he's asked me the serial number (it's one kit for up to SN XXXXX and a different for beyond that). I can't find a number on the block, and don't really know where it might be on the frame. Any help here?

Can I call the Antique Tractor Store here for help? I'd like to order from them, if possible.

(reply to post at 05:13:24 04/08/10)

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If the bearing isn't marked as to size it is time to break out the micrometer... You should measure each journal diameter anyway, regardless.

(quoted from post at 05:13:24 04/08/10) Got sleeve out last night...easy as pie, actually. Now I'm looking at the rod bearing and can't tell what size it is. The only marking is
2420 CP
Fm
UJ

Can anyone tell from these letters/numbers exactly what size bearing I need to order?

Need to order Rod w/bearing, wrist pin, piston & rings and sleeve. At the local implement dealer, he's asked me the serial number (it's one kit for up to SN XXXXX and a different for beyond that). I can't find a number on the block, and don't really know where it might be on the frame. Any help here?

Can I call the Antique Tractor Store here for help? I'd like to order from them, if possible.

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Matt, he is asking for the serial number of the tractor, it will be on the serial number/I.D. plate, most likely riveted to the clutch housing on the left hand side of the tractor.

The complete connecting rod will have to come from either a salvage yard or from a Case-IH dealer. There are no aftermarket suppliers that I know of who sell the complete rod.

The engine serial number is on the pad by the distributor along with engine size.

If you have a replacement block there will be no serial number or engines size number since the same block was used for both the C221 and the C263 engines.

Got both SN's...

Block is Model C263, SN 8610.

Tractor SN is 10745 SY with a triangle stamped after that (I assume that indicates update installed to the rear-end?)

Anybody know what the SY means?

I mic'd the crank and it's right there at the factory spec...looks like standard rod bearings for me. And piston is standard as well, as 3 9/16.

You are correct on the stamped in triangle. Not sure about the S and Y, but I think it has to do with options such as TA and maybe fasthitch?

Thanks Rusty...just need to get parts ordered now.

If you need any help, just give a shout.

I may just have to do that.

Right now, my local implement dealer is looking to see what he can do me for on the parts...the parts guy is a kid I've known since he was little. Gotta give him a chance.

Waiting on folks from several sites to let me know they can or can't supply all parts. I'd rather not buy gaskets from one source...sleeve somewhere else...piston, etc. elsewhere. Nobody'd called back with a magic list, yet.

Will spend some time this weekend getting all parts cleaned and ready to reassemble regardless. Traveling on business next Tues thru Thurs. so I won't get much accomplished til at least next weekend...when hopefully, I'll have all the parts.

Send me an email. [email protected]

Message sent...

YT parts guy (Jeff) quotes about $250 for all parts, but local dealer is $340. I think I'll stay local for the difference, especially as that includes all gaskets, and not sure if Jeff's quote does this.

Sometimes...it just pays to be able to talk to somebody, and this kid's a pretty good mechanic, from what I'm told.

I remember once somebody said they were pretty disappointed that more folks didn't give them any feedback on stuff they'd ask for for help on...I'm a bit late, but here it is.

Put the old 560 back together about 3 weeks ago on a Sunday. Amazingly enough, I'd no extra parts...not even bolts for sheet metal. Started her up and let it idle for a bit. Throttled it up to maybe 1/3, and let her go till the thermostat opened (never had one in her when I tore her apart). Idled back down to cool a bit and shut it off...

Came back after work next day and took her out to move a bit of gravel for the driveway. Been running her pretty steady since, a few hours each evening moving dirt, disking around buildings getting ready to reseed what all was torn up from geothermal and shop projects.

She's running as good or better than she has since I got her 10 years ago. I DO regret not redoing at least 2 more cylinders...the other 3 had been rebuilt sometime (little to no ring groove). Oh well, at least now I know how to do this and it wouldn't take me much time time to tear her apart and rebuild it for mea, if I decide to do so in the future. Thanks for all the help and advice...especially to Rustyfarmall.

I learned a bunch on this...if I decide to get a different tractor, I might just keep this one. Maybe a years in the future FFA project for my now 3 year old grandson...or one of the granddaughters.