Nice tw -15 with oil in radiator

Found a nice tw-15 today been in mans shop for about 3 years he has decided to sell it but has hood and fuel tank off of it says it needs a radiator because by pass valve on oil pump stuck and blew out oil cooler in bottom of radiator Any one heard of this before and what else could cause oil in the radiator - oil cooler ,head gasket, no water in the oil checked that he said it dint get hot just pushed water out of radiator and he found some oil mixed with coolant He said it seem to only do it when it first started up and then would quit he has been diagnosed with cancer and has decided to quit and has offered to sell it also wondering what it was worth. 2 wheel drive open station good tires excellent orig pant no dents or scratches around 5500 hours even still has original top link with it and factory canopy no rust anywhere orignal seat has small tear on corner

I can certainly believe that the relief valve in the oil pump stuck, as that has always been a big problem with those engines. Having said that, I doubt it's the reason that the oil cooler sprung a leak, which is the most likely reason for oil in the water. I would, however, not rule out the possibility of a pinhole in the cylinder wall, for two reasons: 1) This is an even bigger issue with that era of Ford 401, and 2) I have seen a pinhole put oil in the water. It's rare, but it can happen if it's in the right spot.

I suppose the first thing I would do if it were mine would be to pressure test the oil cooler. If that turns up OK, I would then pressure test the block and look for a pinhole, since head gasket failures are very rare on those engines.

Lastly, disassemble the oil pump and take a CLOSE look at the relief valve, especially the bore that it rides in. I can almost bet you'll find a groove in there if you run an angled pick inside of the bore. If you find a groove, replace the pump, preferably with a pump smaller than the one the parts book calls for. The main reason those pump relief valves have issues is because the pumps are way oversized to begin with. I once put a smaller pump for a TW5 into a TW35, and could still peg a 100 PSI gauge. Suffice it to say that Ford did not have any hydraulic experts on hand when they designed the lube system for that engine.

I have heard of several of those engines with a crack or pinhole between an oil gallery and water jacket which will cause the problem you are describing.
I have a friend that has successfully repaired several with that problem. email me if you need more info.

Cavitation of the engine (pinhole that wears by vibration/ chemical process) in a cylinder wall is common on Ford engines.

I'd be concerned about one that is apart and you can't test.

Paul

Being that it has sat for 3 years and has oil in coolant, I would buy it with the intent to go into the engine. So keep that in mind when making an offer.

Do the 401 ford engines have cylinder liners or sleeves? Have a hard time believeing that cavitation will put oil in the radiator and blow the oil cooler apart in the bottom of the radiator but that's why I am asking questions cause I know there are people on here that know these engines like the back of their hand. This thing has actually blown the oil cooler apart at the bottom of radiator could I put new radiator in and plumb the oil lines together and check for compression in radiator to rule out cavitation owner said that it started pushin coolant out the radiator and progressively got worse over about a 5 hour period He started adding coolant to keep it from over heating he thought it was cavitation also so he started toward home on trip home it got worse and he noticed oil psi gauge pegged checked oil and it was 2 quarts low so he called son to bring oil started home again made it a little further and pushed more water out this time with lots oil that's when it blew oil cooler in radiator apart he finally hauled it home said it took him half a day by the time he got it home said even with all the failures it did not get overheated at anytime Really would like to hear about prices what you guys would think it would be worth like it is and me fix it. If it was assembled and working on a scale of 1 to 10 this tractor woud be an8 or 9 it is that good

There's no way that cavitation would blow the oil cooler, nor did I imply that in my prior post. Having said that, I don't think I've ever seen a "blown" oil cooler in one of those tractors. I've seen them leak internally, but not blow. Are you sure this thing didn't simply break the bottom tank off due to vibration or freeze damage?

I really doubt that high oil pressure would cause your cooler to blow given the bypass design of that unit. Also, with regards to oil pressure, don't rely on what the factory gauge tells you. Get a real gauge plumbed into the system and test it, remembering the issues I mentioned about TW oil pumps in my prior post.

The 401 does not have liners or sleeves - it uses a "parent bore", or automotive style block. An early TW15 will pinhole on you if you even so much as look at it cross-eyed. Ford had a rash, and I mean rash, of pinhole block issues in the early to mid-1980s. I've plugged more pinholes on more of those 401s than I care to count.

If this thing is really pushing coolant out of the radiator, I'd bet pinhole before head gasket. Head gasket failures are rare on those engines.

Strip down the block completely bare, and have a competent machinist install sleeves in all 6 holes. Myself, I have thick-wall sleeves installed, which are then bored back down to standard size. Prior to that I had him install thin-wall, pre-sized sleeves that were supposed to be finished size once they were pressed in, but I found too many issues with them not being round afterwards.

Best suggestion I would make to you is to find a tractor in similar (but working condition) in your area, value it... then deduct about 6
grand off that for an engine (if you're being charitable). Really, a crate engine is probably worth a good deal more than that, but you can
probably rebuild this one for that and not get hurt...
So deduct 6g from what a good one is worth and go from there, and offer him that. As a WAG, around here... you'd be offering 2-3... Unless he
can prove the engine isn't in need of major work I don't see much reason for me or you to take a gamble on it. Open station 2 wheelers aren't
worth much here to start with. If it was a generation or two older that's all it's be worth running.... with a cab.

Rod