Re: Hey, Rad Redrunner

Posted by ScottyHOMEy on July 03, 2008 at 21:28:45 from (71.241.193.213):

In Reply to: Re: Hey, Rad Redrunner posted by Rad Redrunner on July 03, 2008 at 19:52:29:

Yeah, a bad head gasket could do it. If it failed in a way that runs from one or more cylinders to the oil gallery or open crankcase, you'll lose compression (and vacuum) on that cylinder. It's also not uncommon for a head gasket to blow out between adjacent cylinders, causing compression and/or vacuum to fail, but not necessarily blasting out the kind of oil and smoke you're getting.

Have you had any oil in your radiator or coolant in your oil? That'd be another sign.

A compression gauge can be had pretty inexpensively. Check each cylinder with the motor just the way it is. That's the dry check. 75 or 80 psi would be pretty good but, as I said before, you may looking for a problem cylinder or two, and consistency is more important at this point. 50 or 60 psi dry would suggest you might need to be planning a ring job, but you needn't drop everything to do it, unless you're farmin' for a livin'.

But, I digress. Test them dry. If any one of them comes up lower than the others, or they're all low, then you recheck them all wet. (Keep a chart as you go along). Just spoon or squirt a couple tablespoons worth of oil into the cylinder through the plug hole. In the time it takes to thread the compression gauge back into the plug thread, the oil will have settled in on top and over the edges of the pistons, and start to follow any path it can find down through the rings. As soon as the gauge is hooked back up, test the compression again on that cylinder. Run them all that way, then look at your chart.

On any cylinder where the wet compression is considerably higher, it's a safe bet that you're losing compression around the rings. Where it comes up only marginally or not at all, it doesn't eliminate a problem with the rings, but it does tell you that a problem with the head gsket or your valves (out of adjustment, not seating properly, stuck, bent or slipped push rod) is the more immediate problem on that cylinder. Keep in mind that you may find some combination of problems, i.e little if any compression on the bad cylinders, and very low on the "good" ones, which would indicate the need for a top to bottom rebuild.

It's a hard prospect and it's not. I'm back to dollars and donuts, and I'll take that bet that the motor in my SuperC had been stuck, and that they pulled it and popped the clutch to free it up. They shattered three of the four oil rings and one of the compression rings. I was gettin' covered in spattered coked oil just drivin' around on it, never mind workin'. It's the kind of chance you take and the sort of thing you can run into when you buy an unknown tractor.

Myself, I didn't mind. I half expected it anyway, and actually enjoyed the work of getting it back in good order.

One of the tips I'd consider most valuable to offer anybody is to remember to take the time as you go along to sit back, look at the job, and think about what you've done so far, what's left to be done, and how you're going to go about it. The missus may wonder why you seem to be just sittin' there, but ponderin' time is good and actually pretty productive. Never mind the therapeutic value.

Next tip is to not forget to ask for help or advice.

And my opinion of ya (which wasn't at all low to begin with) went up quite a few notches when you mentioned the manuals. The Operator's Manual is basic, but necessary. I don't know if you'll run into the same thing on the SuperA, but I couldn't find the IH Blue Ribbon Maintenance Manual for a SuperC, but the motor is so similar that the book for the As and Bs and U2 power units was plenty good for procedures, if not for specs. I'd also recommend the I&T-8, which covers procedures and specs for all the letter-series Farmalls. It covers all the same stuff as the IH manual (borrows from it quite heavily actually) but each book has just those few tidbits that the other doesn't have that it's well worth having, as well. The Parts Manual is indispensable for it's blow-ups of how things come apart and go back together. You can get one for the SuperA. You might run into some issues relying on it for parts numbers, especially since your motor's been swapped out, but it's good to have, and I can recommend some good parts guys that can help you work around particular parts that may differ on the motor. It will help, though, if you know what they're called.

I find the quality of the IH reprints from binderbooks.com. to be about the best available. They'll have the I&T-8, too, but you might want to consider getting that from this site just as a way of supporting the folks that keep our forum open. They'll be a good source for some of the parts you might need as you go along, as well.

I don't like putting up the direct link to my email on the this site (or any other) but if you want, feel free to ping me at staylor48 AT verizon dot net, with the obvious adjustments. I'll be happy to help ya where I can.

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