Rustmonger
Member
Well that was interesting. Posted this last night and the entirety of the text disappeared. I tried to make this as short as possible, but there is a lot to relate...
Trying again-
I recently purchased a 300u on gasoline that looked to be all original, but supposedly has "A busted block".
Fair enough, I got her under the tree and pulled the head, immediately drove the head over to my favorite machine shop.
Hey, I can dream, can't I?
Well worn valves, and three WILDLY bent pushrods, but no breaks or cracks. When I pulled the oil pan plug, there was about a quart of antifreeze and about a gallon of fairly clean motor oil. After oiling each hole and application of moderately strong language the lower end turned over fine. There are three different (yes really) pistons in the holes, so somebody has been in here before.
So, I decide to dive in and see about the block. I have a c175 handy so no worries if I can't save her, but it would sure be nice if all the casting codes lined up.
The top of the block looks really ugly and of course all of those studs would be inconvenient if the block is crooked so I decide to pull the head studs while the engine is still attached to the tranny for leverage. Every stud not into the water jacket came out without any drama, but every stud in the water jacket has refused to budge. I should mention that this tractor is in West Texas where back in the day a fellow might run ditch water in the radiator if they had to get the cotton in, and that the radiator had around 5/8" of fine sandy silt in the bottom tank. The sheet metal jacket cover on the side of the block had a rust hole I could stick my finger through, so it has been many years since this old soldier would hold any coolant.
So far I have managed to twist off two head studs, and now I am rolling up my sleeves for an extended siege. On the two studs that I broke, I drilled the center with no problem, but when I tried to drill larger than 1/4" (5/16") the stud was file hard. I attempted to anneal the stud by using a torch, but so far even with direct torch heat I can't soften the stud. I am using doubled head stud nuts to turn, and have been able to apply enough torque to twist the studs off. Here is a abbreviated inventory of what I have tried so far, each attempt was punctuated by application of penetrating oil and several hours of pondering:
*Pool penetrating oil at top of stud and tap downwards on TOP of stud/ nut with a hammer to encourage the oil to penetrate.
*Same as above only used an air chisel.
*Same as above only used an air chisel sideways on the stud close to the block working my way around.
*Heated the block with a torch.
*Heated the block A LOT with a torch.
*Heated the block a TRULY FRIGHTENING AMOUNT with a torch.
*Heated the stud directly above the block to a blue black heat.
*Heated the stud above the block to cherry red.
What sort of material would they have used for head studs in 1956 that would fight back like this? I don't have any experience with a case hardened fastener that couldn't be annealed with a torch, that one has me really puzzled.
Any comments or suggestions are welcome, or if you just want to have a good laugh at my expense, well, that is okay too.
Jeff
Trying again-
I recently purchased a 300u on gasoline that looked to be all original, but supposedly has "A busted block".
Fair enough, I got her under the tree and pulled the head, immediately drove the head over to my favorite machine shop.
Hey, I can dream, can't I?
Well worn valves, and three WILDLY bent pushrods, but no breaks or cracks. When I pulled the oil pan plug, there was about a quart of antifreeze and about a gallon of fairly clean motor oil. After oiling each hole and application of moderately strong language the lower end turned over fine. There are three different (yes really) pistons in the holes, so somebody has been in here before.
So, I decide to dive in and see about the block. I have a c175 handy so no worries if I can't save her, but it would sure be nice if all the casting codes lined up.
The top of the block looks really ugly and of course all of those studs would be inconvenient if the block is crooked so I decide to pull the head studs while the engine is still attached to the tranny for leverage. Every stud not into the water jacket came out without any drama, but every stud in the water jacket has refused to budge. I should mention that this tractor is in West Texas where back in the day a fellow might run ditch water in the radiator if they had to get the cotton in, and that the radiator had around 5/8" of fine sandy silt in the bottom tank. The sheet metal jacket cover on the side of the block had a rust hole I could stick my finger through, so it has been many years since this old soldier would hold any coolant.
So far I have managed to twist off two head studs, and now I am rolling up my sleeves for an extended siege. On the two studs that I broke, I drilled the center with no problem, but when I tried to drill larger than 1/4" (5/16") the stud was file hard. I attempted to anneal the stud by using a torch, but so far even with direct torch heat I can't soften the stud. I am using doubled head stud nuts to turn, and have been able to apply enough torque to twist the studs off. Here is a abbreviated inventory of what I have tried so far, each attempt was punctuated by application of penetrating oil and several hours of pondering:
*Pool penetrating oil at top of stud and tap downwards on TOP of stud/ nut with a hammer to encourage the oil to penetrate.
*Same as above only used an air chisel.
*Same as above only used an air chisel sideways on the stud close to the block working my way around.
*Heated the block with a torch.
*Heated the block A LOT with a torch.
*Heated the block a TRULY FRIGHTENING AMOUNT with a torch.
*Heated the stud directly above the block to a blue black heat.
*Heated the stud above the block to cherry red.
What sort of material would they have used for head studs in 1956 that would fight back like this? I don't have any experience with a case hardened fastener that couldn't be annealed with a torch, that one has me really puzzled.
Any comments or suggestions are welcome, or if you just want to have a good laugh at my expense, well, that is okay too.
Jeff