fergie advice

Hello all. My name is Chris, new member from Michigan. I bought a to20 about a year ago knowing not much about them and quickly discovered someone had bars leaked the block so i wouldnt notice it was cracked. I use this tractor mostly for grading my driveway and plowing snow. Since if let loose again and started pouring coolant into the crankcase oil i have been nursing it along knowing one day soon i would remove the brand new tires and rims and scrap the rest. About a week ago a friend of mine showed up with a connie z129 that he found sitting on an engine stand in a barn he cleaned out and was told that it had been rebuilt 10 years ago and never used after. So, i am wondering, is the z129 a "bolt in" trade for the z120? I cant believe my luck finding this thing.
My other question before i begin this job is last year in the winter i kept having one wheel lock up on me. If i hit the wheel brake for the spinning wheel the stuck one would spin and the other would lock up. I have only had this happen in cold weather. Ran it again this spring with no issues. Sorry for the book guys. Any advise would be appreciated.
 
Welcome aboard.. I can't offer any assistance with either problem, but there are lots of folks here who can... give them a bit, and I'm sure they'll be along with all the answers you need...
 
(quoted from post at 11:29:21 08/31/14) Hello all. My name is Chris, new member from Michigan. I bought a to20 about a year ago knowing not much about them and quickly discovered someone had bars leaked the block so i wouldnt notice it was cracked. I use this tractor mostly for grading my driveway and plowing snow. Since if let loose again and started pouring coolant into the crankcase oil i have been nursing it along knowing one day soon i would remove the brand new tires and rims and scrap the rest. About a week ago a friend of mine showed up with a connie z129 that he found sitting on an engine stand in a barn he cleaned out and was told that it had been rebuilt 10 years ago and never used after. So, i am wondering, is the z129 a "bolt in" trade for the z120? I cant believe my luck finding this thing.
My other question before i begin this job is last year in the winter i kept having one wheel lock up on me. If i hit the wheel brake for the spinning wheel the stuck one would spin and the other would lock up. I have only had this happen in cold weather. Ran it again this spring with no issues. Sorry for the book guys. Any advise would be appreciated.

The Z129 will bolt straight in but they are worse for cracking the blocks than Z120's are. A cracked block doesn't hurt anything. The TO-20 that I use for all my plowing,cultivating,raking hay,etc...is split between every cylinder. I put some Bars Leak gold liquid glass formula in it three years ago and it still fine. I pour it in and leave it in. It runs 180 degrees in the summer. Not only is the Z129 more prone to cracking,the differential and axles are smaller and weaker on the TO-20's than they were on the TO-30's. If you increase the power on a TO-20 gets what is next to let go? More than likely your sleeve orings have deteriorated is why your getting coolant into the oil pan.
 
Kinda on the same track as Jason here, hey the nylon O-rings around the sleeves might just be too old. Another 2 month project for a 2 dollar part. But, a bare 129 block getting you engine's guts would more than likely need a line bore of the main bearings, some machine shops can take ya to the cleaners doing this.
Take the 129 block if he offers it to you, take your 120 apart and see what's wrong- my bet is still lousy O-rings. Keep tabs with us. Oh, got a manual??
 
Im trying to post some pics but am not allowed yet. I bought a complete, supposedly ready to run z129 and a pretty rough radiator and fan shroud for $300. Didnt think i could go wrong at that price. :D. The story i got is it was rebuilt some ten to fifteen years ago and the old guy finished it right around the time his health went south. It sat in the barn since. I was darned excited to see it, even has a marvel schebler Tsx 683 with a tag from a shop rebuild On it.
 
Ok - that brings a question to mind, Does the TO20 (Z120) engine have the same size sleeve outer bore as the TO30 (Z129)???
Also, did the TO20 engines all have the timing marks on the front pulley or were some equiped with timing marks on the fly wheel???
 
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That looks like a Z134 in your picture. The engine model is cast into the block below the distributer. The Z134 engine was used in the TO35 F40, MF50 and while it can be made to fit, is not an direct bolt in replacement for a Z120 in a TO20.

As others have said, don't scrap a good TO20 just because there is coolant in the oil. They can be fixed.

Dan
 
(quoted from post at 14:10:31 08/31/14) Im trying to post some pics but am not allowed yet. I bought a complete, supposedly ready to run z129 and a pretty rough radiator and fan shroud for $300. Didnt think i could go wrong at that price. :D. The story i got is it was rebuilt some ten to fifteen years ago and the old guy finished it right around the time his health went south. It sat in the barn since. I was darned excited to see it, even has a marvel schebler Tsx 683 with a tag from a shop rebuild On it.

I was going to say that a TSX 683 is not a TO-30 carb and then you posted a picture. That is indeed a Z134 or Z145 engine. It isn't from a TO-30. As Dan said it will bolt up but you won't be able to use all the bolt holes so it will be a weak point. Remember the engine is part of the frame for the tractor. You are much better off to fix what you have.
 
You are correct. Z134a600m is cast into the block. I wondered about the cast iron oil pan. Didnt look like what i have seen on to30's. Hmmmm..... What to do....
 

I forgot to answer your other question. No they do not share the same sleeve bore. If the cracks really worry you that much you can do a tension rod fix on the block. That consist of drilling a hole on each side of the block in between the sleeves. Then you insert a piece of all thread thru the block. Put an oring on each side and a nut on each side and tighten them down. That was a fix that they started back in the 1950's or earlier I suppose. I bought a spare engine that had the tension rod fix done to it. If you want more information on that we can help.
 
I am deciding if i should sell the z134 i picked up. Would like to hear your opinions on its value. Pretty much untested, i did pull the valve cover and see that one rocker is broken off and its push rod is missing. Doesnt appear to be damage inside head or block. A little rusty, with manifold and tsx carb included. It does appear someone was dong some work on it. So... Let me have it.
Chris
 

Well you could sell it but...it's hard to sell something that you haven't heard run and can't stand behind. Personally I would keep it. The intake and carb will work on a Z129. The distributor will work. You never know if you will end up needing those parts and if your luck is like mine,as soon as you sell it you will be needing one of those parts. Or keep the motor and find a TO-35 that needs a motor at a cheap price.
 

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