TW 35 - 2 years later - found it

FordTractorMan · Mar 6, 2014

I bought a TW 35 at an auction in TN 2 yrs ago last month, and ever since I got it home, I thought it had too much blowby. Never seemed to pull the ripper quite hard enough, either. Anyway, I fixed the a.c. in it and a few other things and ran it - don't have big equipment anyway. Last fall, the blowby got worse and I heard a knocking. Finally got it torn apart Sat. and found #6 cylinder was gouged something awful. Piston looks messed up, too. Maybe the pictures will post. Engine appears to have been sleeved already, and I don't think the gouging goes through the sleeve. What do I do now? Can it be re-sleeved, or do I need to find a block?

The black streak at 12 o'clock is the damage to the sleeve.

Larry NCKS · Mar 6, 2014

While I'm not sure, I'd say that anything is possible. I once had a 429 Ford drop a valve in #7. Had that hole sleeved and put it back together.

Is the 401 a parent bore block like the Genesis engine? If it is, and especially if it's already been sleeved, I'd say it can be redone. If it's a sleeved engine to begin with it can certainly be redone.

sunbeam · Mar 6, 2014

Sure it can be resleeved. A lot of motors have been sleeved where the damage went clear to water. Is the damage in line with the pin?

FordTractorMan · Mar 6, 2014

Yes, it's a parent bore engine. Here's another piece of info - from what little I can see on #6, I can't tell that there was ever a lip on the sleeve to keep it from sliding downward in the hole. What do the sleeves look like that are fitted to these 401's?

RodinNS · Mar 6, 2014

Just send it out and have it re-sleeved. It's no big deal for an engine machine shop.

Rod

Fordfarmer · Mar 6, 2014

Some sleeves have a lip at the top; some require the boring to be stopped at a certain point near the bottom of the cylinder to make a step for them to rest on.

Bern · Mar 6, 2014

Most likely, one of two things happened here, assuming it was sleeved in the past: 1) the #6 hole was not sized properly, AND/or 2) pre-sized, thin-wall sleeves were fitted that buckled on install.

Note that Ford wants #6 hole to have a full .002" greater running clearance than the other 5. They later on modified that spec downward by .0005" as per a service bulletin. So, the CURRENT spec from Ford on #6 cylinder on a 401 is .0095" to .0105" piston-to-bore clearance.

No problem on having it re-sleeved. I would find someone to install thick wall sleeves that need to be bored in the ID once installed. This eliminates the buckling issue with thin-wall sleeves. The most important thing is to find a machinist who knows what he's doing.

Old Ford Mechanic · Mar 7, 2014

Bern has given the correct advice. Pay close attention to those clearance specs.

TW 35 - 2 years later - found it

FordTractorMan

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Larry NCKS

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sunbeam

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FordTractorMan

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RodinNS

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Fordfarmer

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Bern

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Old Ford Mechanic

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