Re: Engine Overhaul or Replacement

Update:I have bought another engine for my H. I have discovered 2 pistons are in pieces in the engine that is still in my H. Also discovered the vent outlet was plugged off at the back of the head. Could that contributed to the Piston failure? (outlet plugged).Also I don't know if the oil used in in my replacement engine was detergent or non detergent,Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

well no idea what your intention is about the engines. pistons can be replaced. another engine...? how do you know what shape it is in? did it run? did you check compression? did you look at spark plugs? that is the things you would check on a used engine. but the other engine can be fixed also. so i have no idea what you are trying to do with this tractor.work it or play with it? as to the pistons in pieces , who knows? plugged vent will have no effect on broken pistons. and the oil is here nor there, because these tractors are not worked long hrs. in the field anymore running at operating temp and hotter. so as long as it has good clean engine oil that is good enough. pull the valve cover look at the inside that will tell you what you want to know about what oil was used, and how the engine was looked after.

But you want to use a Detergent oil, like 15W-40 diesel is ok too, Non detergent went out with the model A!

GOOD GRIEF!

I see you are new to this forum, so welcome. When responding to questions on a forum such as this it is very difficult to determine the level of mechanical knowledge or experience with such items a poster possesses. So if folks hit you with all types of "you should have x and definitely don't do that..." well all this has to be taken with a grain of salt. So please don't get discouraged, there are a lot of good folks here that want nothing more then to help you enjoy your tractor. Generally a piston breaking is caused by a valve or piece of valve breaking off and getting smashed into the piston. Then pieces of that destruction pass through the valve and into another cylinder causing more damage there. The piston can also break apart on its own usually starting in the ring groove area with a section breaking out between the rings. Cylinder wall galling or scoring take place and eventually the piece gets caught between the cylinder wall and piston. All the momentum and force of the rotating assembly acting on the failed section trying to stop the engine causes great amount distruction. The engine could have been run hot or it could have been stuck and someone pulled the head beat on the pistons to get it loose damaging them but put it back together anyway. Just rusty sections in the cylinder can cause the ring groove damage I talked about to occur. If you don't know any history ot the engine you are putting in I wouid recommend pulling the oil pan, they can develop sludge that can plug the oil pump pickup screen. That's enough for now good luck and enjoy.

I would also have a hard time trusting a used engine for one of these old tractors, you can rebuild them fairly cheap and the only items that need to go to a machine shop are the crank (if it needs ground) and the head if the valves need replaced. You may end up having to buy the same parts for a used engine as you would for your old one. As longs as the block and head aren't damaged I usually try and rebuild the original engine unless I am swapping for something bigger in the case of a pulling tractor.

Thanks for the reply, to answer your questions I'm undecided what to do with the engine that is currently in my H. Priced the overhaul kit then found the engine I bought, was able to hear it run and it runs great,no smoke and no oil leaks . I did check the plugs they looked good,have gotten a lot of different opinions on what oil to use some say non-detergent and some say detergent, that's why when I found this forum I figured you guys could put me on the right path. Oh yeah the replacement engine saved me some money over the overhaul kit also. When I was a boy the first tractor I ever rode and drove was my grandfather's super C so the hardest work my H will do is tractor rides and taking me back to simpler time LOL and just the fun of working on it. Thanks again for any advice.

Thanks for explaining that and Thanks for all the information

I use detergent oil in my Model A.