3400 locked up

So I bought a beat up old late model 3400 at auction. Knew it had some issues but I "enjoy" doing some work. I have been restoring this thing slowly as I have funds but every time in touch it it develops a new problem. All electronics are new, from the battery to the distributor. I cleaned the tank and all lines and filters. Has the old Holley carb which I was about to replace. It has been stalling after 30 seconds. Today I gave the carb a whack with a rubber mallet and presto- it runs. Ran for 5- 10 minutes and quit. No noise, no bang, no squeeling, no smoke. Just quit. The engine, fan, fly wheel, pto. All locked right. The last owner slightly over filled the oil. Any ideas?
 

Yes, it's in neutral and rear is off the ground. The too much oil has me a little confused. I checked it after getting it home and it was only a little over the line. Now it's way over. I saw one thread that mentioned hydraulic oil or steering fluid getting in but was another tractor. Could it be hydro locked? There is no water in it from what I can tell, just really full. Doesn't smell like gas or anything abnormal. It had a fresh oil change when I bought it so hard to tell if it's mixing hydraulic. ??
 
If it has a factory power steering pump then yes, the front seal of the pump could be leaking fluid into the crankcase.

As to your question "Could it be hydro locked", not likely from a p/s pump leak, but it could be from something else. Easiest way to find out for sure is to pull the spark plugs to see if it will turn then, and see if any kind of fluid comes out when it does.

Another possibility is that it was running on diluted oil too long and the detergents in the p/s fluid washed the oil off of the bearings and it froze up from burnt up bearings.
 

Thanks for the insight Sean.

PS fluid is what I'm guessing since the level went up since I last checked parked in the same spot. It seams pretty thick and slick to wash off the bearings but I wouldn't know. There is no water in the oil so i don't think the head gasket went and I keep it covered plus bucket on the exhaust. It always started real easy and didn't smoke so I can't imagine oil or water getting into upper cylinder. It just seemed to stall out. Perhaps it's just the bearings. Would a spun bearing seize it up? I guess my oil pump could have also quit on me. If it's dry I guess I will PB blaster or marvel oil the plug holes and exhaust and see what happens.

I just got home and we are getting snow so I will pull the plugs tomorrow hopefully. I'm guessing I won't really know unless I tear the engine apart. I would enjoy rebuilding it and having an all "new" tractor but i may just put it up for sale or for parts. I have a 2000 I bought for parts that I can sell too. I need a working tractor by April and work too much at my real job and free weekends are nearly at a close for me.

Just out of curiosity, where are you at in PA? I'm in Perry county. Thanks again.
 
(quoted from post at 19:56:21 03/06/18) I'm just outside of Pottstown, about 20 miles east of Reading.

Ok, so here is what I found. Number one spark plug socket plum full of water. However when i pulled the plugs I found no sign of any liquids in the cylinders. I vacuumed all cylinders just in case. Fly wheel is still stuck solid. I put the tractor in gear and can turn the transmission. I pulled the cover to watch. The trans main shaft turns in all gears however the flywheel doesn't budge. Even though tough to turn rotating the tires the tranny main shaft spins and fly wheel doesnt. Am I looking at a part out?
 
How far can you turn the rear wheels, and what gear is it in? Put it in first, and if the wheels will spin continuously in one direction for several turns and the internals of the transmission spin without the engine turning then there is something broke besides the engine. Possibly the splined hub separated from the center of the clutch when the engine stopped. Have you tried turning the engine by the nut on the crankshaft pulley?
 

In first gear it turns pretty hard. I can move it almost one full rotation before I'm tuckered. I run out of room at that point too. I marked the fly wheel and it has not budged. I have tried turning the nut. Just rolling it in gear and prying the flywheel. I wondered too if a shaft didn't break somewhere given the trans moves and engine doesn't. I think I'm just going to tear it down for parts. If I it frees up after I split it maybe ill change my mind but I already have too much invested in it to do a full engine job on top of it at this time. And I need something running pronto. Long lane and Martin's want as much for parts a new tractor so I'm shopping. Thanks for your input and for keeping up with the posts. I really appreciate it.
 
(quoted from post at 09:57:19 03/10/18)

Ok if anyone has any insight... the engine now turns!! I let it sit a couple days with pb blaster in it. I put thr starter back in to sell as a package and figured id turn the key one last time. It rolled over twice. It turns hard though. - I think the opposite tire was turnig on me before? explaining the trans turning and not the engine???


So my Question now is- is it worth holding onto to have someone rebuild the top end for me. Best price I see on a kit is a little more than $500 I don't have time to do it myself. A weekend job is ok but nothing more and I still need to replace the bearings. I'm selling my wheels tires centers and weights so I will have a little money coming in. work too much during the week and I don't have a garage. For you experienced guys- is it worth it or scrap it?
 

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