Water in the oil

Hi y'all,
I have been working my way through some issues with a TO30 that I have had about a year now. I thought I had it pretty much in close quarters until yesterday. I just got the RPM's set on the high end day before at 2050. It had been topping out at 1500 and I suspect that it had been that way for quite a while. Anyway, I graded out a driveway yesterday with a scrape blade for a friend who lives a couple miles down the road.I went full throttle to his house and back on the highway.
I checked the oil last night and noticed that it was milky and about 1 inch higher on the dipstick.
I don't know if it is possible, but could the increase in the engine speed after being run at 1500 max for years cause the head gasket to blow.
I changed the oil about 4 months ago and have put less than 20 hours on the tractor since then and have checked it periodically and it was clean and at the right level.
I know the Z129 engine has a problem with the block cracking but I am sure hoping that it the head gasket. Anybody had this issue?

I did with a TO-20 and a TO-35. both had cracked blocks. hope you have better luck.

KN Block seal.
Read the directions.
Cardboard to block the rad to get it to temp.
Non contact temp gun to make sure your at temp for the required time.
Dry it out for two or three days.
Can says 24 hours.

What was your fix? Repair or replace

I tried "bar-leaks" or some sort of sealer and it worked until I put anti freeze in it for the winter. I bought the tractor with no anti freeze in it. the AF went right through the sealer. wound up scrapping the tractor. bought a used 134 block for the 35.

Water in oil means the bottom webs cracked and need to be repaired. Oil in the water means bad head gasket.

I have three TO30's and all three have cracked blocks. Two have been repaired and one to go.

Drain your oil and remove the pan. Use a bright light and look at the area directly between each cylinder, the cracks will be hairline but leaking anti freeze.

There are multiple ways to fix, bolt or pin the block (I have had this done), try JB Weld, get it furnace welded or of course junk it and try to find another block or tractor. The pinning I had done was $250 plus full gasket set. Might as well do the bearings and or full rebuild for an engine that will last another 50 or so years.

Good luck and keep us posted

I will get started on this next week. Any thoughts as to why this just happened. I am in NC and the temps have been in the 70's. I was thinking that this was usually caused by no antifreeze during winter months. Thanks

overheating of the engine is another cause.

I'm in east tn here. I have a TO-20 that has a cracked block. I used the Bars Leak liquid glass formula. It's the copper colored one. You can leave it in the cooling system. I used it on mine three years ago and i have yet to get water in the oil again. Keep in mind that I use mine several hundred hours a year. I do my plowing,discing,cultivating,raking hay,and I even picked corn with it last year. The temp stays right at 180. I've had no problems. As Bruce suggested I have used the K&W Block Seal before too on other stuff and it worked,but I used the Bars Leaks liquid glass because it works with antifreeze and you can leave it in the cooling system. You can't do that with the K&W. The blocks crack for a couple of reasons. Everybody assumes its always from freezing or overheating but it's not always the case. There are examples of well maintained engines cracking. The casting methods were not as good back then as they are now. Notice where the blocks crack at? The casting seams on the inside. I used to be into drag racing and from building drag engines I can tell you that anywhere there is a casting or forging seam it can cause stress risers that cause the parts to crack and eventually fail. Ever hear of someone polishing the sides of their connecting rods? That's why. To get rid of the casting or forging lines to reduce the chances of them cracking. Then magnify the poorer casting methods and the everyday heating and cooling cycles of those blocks with the added stress of the block being used as part of the frame for the tractor. Really it's no wonder they crack when you really think about it.

I have to ask. would it not have made sense for the people who designed the continental engines to correct any design flaw that would cause the blocks to crack? the problem continued through at least three ferguson models. (TO's 20, 30, 35) if it was a design flaw and once the word got out potential buyers would have shied away from buying ferguson tractors.

I think they did try to correct it somewhat with the Z134 engines. They added more reinforcement to the casting outside and they switched to a cast oil pan to strengthen it up,but inside where the sleeves are they were pretty much the same. I have a Z134 engine here that was always maintained and it split thru the main webbing. I guess it was a cost thing is why Continental didn't seem to get it corrected for a long time. They knew they had a problem with the Z120 blocks cracking,why they would have used the same casting but bored it even thinner to use the Z129 sleeves makes absolutely no sense to me except for it just being a cost thing. I do think that the reinforcements to the Z134 block helped because they don't have the cracking rate that the Z120 and especially the Z129 have but it is still there with the Z134's. It could be that casting methods had gotten better by the time the Z134 blocks were being cast. You have to remember that when Z120 blocks were being cast Ford was having problems with the smooth axles in the 9N's breaking from porosity issues in the castings. So it wasn't just a Continental problem with poor casting methods.

nugh said ! thanks.

That's why I used the non contact temp gun and cardboard. Made sure it got to temp, stayed at temp for 20 minutes to open the crack.
Did you do the same? Or just ran the engine?

A drag racing farmer, I like it. Thanks for your info. I think I will follow your lead. I will flush out the radiator and cooling system several times and then use your liquid glass product, change the oil and filter and see how it goes. If it still leaks, I will go with a more intensive fix.I hope that I have the same results that you have had. The timing of the whole thing leads me to believe that when I upped the RPM's, I upped the operating temperature and that caused this whole mess. That should not have made any difference unless there was a blockage in the cooling system ,which caused an overheat, which I hope I can resolve by flushing out the system real well.Wish me luck, either way, I'll let you know how it goes, Rick

did not use/have a temp gun but did use cardboard for heat.

Iron Tight from NAPA WORKS