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Ford 640 antifreeze leak

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300 Mag

12-10-2007 14:46:10




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While I was blading snow today I noticed some white steam from the engine. I stopped and found the culprit, antifreeze leaking from the head gasket area on the right rear of the engine block. I immediately put it away and shut it down, probably ran less than 3 minutes with the leak. I pulled the engine oil dipstick to see if coolant was leaking into the oil, I didn't see any but am going to check again later, after it cools down. Temp gauge was showed 160 F, oil pressure @40 psi, didn't hear any noises and no smoke coming from exhaust. At this point I am thinking either head gasket blown, or cracked head or block, hopefully not the latter two. I know i will probably have to pull the head to know for sure, any thoughts or suggestions to help me narrow my search?? Should I run a compression check? Will it hurt to run the tractor a little to remove the blade and loader, and load it on a trailer to be taken to a shop?? I have yet to do much work on the Ford 134 cu engine. Should I try to fix this myself, or have the local Ford dealer fix it? Any thoughts on cost to repair?? thanks in advance!

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Old Ford Mechanic

12-11-2007 20:11:16




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 Re: Ford 640 antifreeze leak in reply to 300 Mag, 12-10-2007 14:46:10  
300 Mag,Be sure and use a framing square or some sort of straight edge and a feeler guage to check the flatness of the head surface.



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300 Mag

12-11-2007 15:06:31




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 Re: Ford 640 antifreeze leak UPDATE in reply to 300 Mag, 12-10-2007 14:46:10  
I pulled the valve cover and checked the head bolts, none were loose, everything was tight. However, the one thing I had not checked was the radiator, and there is oil in the coolant. The crankcase dipstick still does not show sings of coolant in the oil. Looks like I will be pulling the head at least to see what has happened. Thanks for all of the replies and information!!



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soundguy

12-11-2007 10:47:32




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 Re: Ford 640 antifreeze leak in reply to 300 Mag, 12-10-2007 14:46:10  
Yep I'd retorque the head first and then check that. If you are worried, fill it with water while running it to check for leaks.. coolant is hard on bearings. ( remember to drain water if it will freeze.. )

Soundguy



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Old Ford Mechanic

12-10-2007 17:56:29




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 Re: Ford 640 antifreeze leak in reply to 300 Mag, 12-10-2007 14:46:10  
Common ocurrence on the 134&172 4 cylinders.Leak at the rear is almost always to outside.No coolant entering cylinder or crankcase.I would retorque head bolts,run it under load (using implement)make sure you get up to and maintain operating temp.Observe and if still leaking add some cooling system sealer to it.Make sure you have the correct radiator cap installed.4# rating required.Also should have 160 degree thermostat.I would also run only a 50/50 coolant mix in it.Not saying you do but,some people run 100% antifreeze and thats not a good thing.From past experience with this problem the maintanance i've described generally alleviates the problem.

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The REAL Hal/WA

12-10-2007 17:33:00




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 Re: Ford 640 antifreeze leak in reply to 300 Mag, 12-10-2007 14:46:10  
If it runs OK and there is no evidence of coolant in the oil AND there are no bubbles in the radiator, I would try a good dose of stop leak. I have had this work for me on other engines. It also wouldn't hurt to check that all of the headbolts are torqued properly, but that is a fair amount of work and you probably need the tractor for snow plowing right now.

Something else that can lessen a coolant leak is to not pressurize the cooling system. If your radiator cap does not have a pressure release lever, one way to make the cap a non-pressure holder is to remove the gasket from where it would contact the bottom of the radiator neck. If you have an old cap that will fit on the neck, that is the one to modify, since it will never work as a pressure cap again.

In my experience, a blown head gasket usually makes the engine run real bad, if at all and it also puts lots of air or exhaust into the cooling system, which fairly fast blows lots of coolant out the radiator overflow. I once had a slant 6 that had coolant leaking into the oil from somewhere, but only a little bit. Stop leak fixed that problem and I drove that car for years afterward with that same engine. Of course I changed the oil as soon as I noticed the excess moisture in it and monitored the oil very closely for awhile. I have had good luck with the stop leak that looks like powdered aluminum.

What you are looking for in the oil is a whitish foam or an excess of moisture coming from your engine oil breather. If you see the oil change color fairly suddenly, you probably need to not run the engine anymore, at least unless you change the oil and filter. Running the engine with the antifreeze contaminated oil can really damage the bearings in the engine fast.

But if there is no change in the oil, and there are not bubbles in the radiator when the engine is running, you are probably OK to run it awhile to give the stop leak a chance to do its job. But check your oil and coolant levels often! Good luck and be careful.

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Dean

12-10-2007 16:43:14




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 Re: Ford 640 antifreeze leak in reply to 300 Mag, 12-10-2007 14:46:10  
300:

It is not uncommon for Ford 4 cylinder OHV gas engines to leak some antifreeze from the head gasket, particularly at the right rear of the engine. Many will do this for years with no apparrent harm.

That said, it would not hurt to retorque the head. Having done so, I would continue to use it while watching for evicence of continued leaking and/or contamination of the oil.

Dean



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300 Mag

12-10-2007 17:27:02




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 Re: Ford 640 antifreeze leak in reply to Dean, 12-10-2007 16:43:14  
Thanks for the info, I plan to pull the valve cover and try torquing the bolts tomorrow.



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trucker40

12-10-2007 16:16:03




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 Re: Ford 640 antifreeze leak in reply to 300 Mag, 12-10-2007 14:46:10  
I read what you wrote again,and for sure I would check those head bolts,but in cold weather antifreeze leaks easier.If its antifreeze leaking there ought to be some under it,it ought to have a green tint to it if thats what kind of antifreeze you have in it. Also most of the time a head gasket blows between 2 cylinders,the motor smokes and misses,or wont hardly run.I have seen a head gasket blow to where water would leak to the outside,but not many times.I think it was caused by a chunk of dirt or something being bolted up with it in there. Somebody that knows a lot about these motors will most likely know. I have seen a lot of things happen,cracked blocks,cracked heads,and usually there is a reason for it like water pump went out and before I noticed it the tempature was hot,radiator plugged with seeds or dirt or both.160 is not hot,just barely warmed up,so that doesnt seem like overheating. I dont think running it at 160,and no water in the oil is going to hurt anything.I think I would check the water,if it doesnt look low,run it some more,maybe consider putting some stop leak in it if the head bolts are tight. Thats just me,I could be,and often am wrong.

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300 Mag

12-10-2007 16:42:20




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 Re: Ford 640 antifreeze leak in reply to trucker40, 12-10-2007 16:16:03  
Thanks for your replies, you have definitely given me some ideas to try out. The leaking coolant is tinted green, as i do have green anitfreeze in the system.



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NC farmer

12-10-2007 16:14:53




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 Re: Ford 640 antifreeze leak in reply to 300 Mag, 12-10-2007 14:46:10  
the fitting for the temp. bulb is in that area check it as well.



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300 Mag

12-10-2007 16:33:07




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 Re: Ford 640 antifreeze leak in reply to NC farmer, 12-10-2007 16:14:53  
I checked that and the area is dry, thanks for reminding me of that!



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old

12-10-2007 15:42:23




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 Re: Ford 640 antifreeze leak in reply to 300 Mag, 12-10-2007 14:46:10  
Seen/had that happen on my 801 before. Some times a simple re torqueing of the head will fix that. Worse case you need a new head gasket. or you have a cracked head but probably just need to check the torque on the head bolts and make sure they are all even and tight



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trucker40

12-10-2007 15:16:39




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 Re: Ford 640 antifreeze leak in reply to 300 Mag, 12-10-2007 14:46:10  
I think if it was me I would try and retorque the head bolts if I couldnt find a fitting or plug that was loose.I was a mechanic for 10 years and lots of times head bolts would be loose,especially if its had a head gasket replaced or been rebuilt.I worked on diesels but its worth trying.If a amatuer replaced the head gasket it might have bolts that need sealer on them,or you need to have the bolt holes clean as well as gasket seal surfaces clean,head bolt threads clean.Some body will know better than me probly,its been a long time since I had a Ford tractor apart.

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