JD 2510 Diesel Engine problem (continued)

Dromunds

Member
Several months ago, I posted a question concerning our JD 2510 diesel that has antifreeze disappearing. No leaks, drips, just disappears. Several folks thought perhaps there was a hole in a cylinder liner allowing AF to get into cylinder and burn up, or cavitation of the block, etc. I was also asked to check if there was one ring on the sleeves or three. Our neighbor is a mechanic and he has now had a chance to start to tear down the engine. Here's what he's found:

He took out two of the cylinder sleeves. There are three rings in sleeves. There is no obvious cavitation of the block. The head gasket appears to be okay. Head does not appear to be cracked. One valve appears to be bad, but the sleeve associated with that valve was removed and everything appeared okay.

Anybody have any ideas what could be causing the AF to disappear at a goodly rate when running the tractor for even a few hours, given the above? Also, should we keep going and look for anything else?

There's another thing. Every since this tractor was new, my Dad had to drain a bit of AF from the oil before using. I think it was not so much an issue in hot weather. He said JD didn't stand behind this tractor. He was told that JD misaligned the bore of one cylinder in some of the early 2510's. Others say they never heard of that. In any event, the AF started disappearing at a goodly rate just earlier this year, the draining issue was just a little bit before using the tractor until this year. But he's had the tractor since new and said it always had a minor issue with the AF in the oil that he had to drain.

Now, if you were to run it for a few hours in the field, you may have to add a quarter gallon of AF.
However, the oil level does not rise that I can tell, although there is still some AF in oil, and it was noticeable when drain pan removed. Radiator now has oil in it also..

Any thoughts on this would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.
 
That engine probably had one seal per sleeve when it was new. They were prone to leaks. When it got its first rebuilt - it would of gotten the "upgrade" sleeve kit that uses special three-seal sleeves in an old one-seal block. What condition are the old sleeve seals and mating areas in?
 
I worked at the local JD dealer back in the 80's, there was a problem with the top ring or flange of the sleeve where it seats in the block cracking allowing water to inter the cylinder, the only way I know to check is to pull sleeve and slide a hammer up sleeve to hit ring, if it is cracked it will pop off when struck, you will see where the water has rusted the sleeve in crack, you will defiantly have to replace sleeves as hitting the ring will damage sleeves that are not cracked, that is the only way to test back in the 80's, there may be another way now. I hope this at least finds your problem. If I remember correctly there was a water treatment kit to prevent this from happening again
 
The two sleeves that he took out appear to look decent. We were also very surprised there does not appear to be cavitation of the block either. There's a lot of gunk everywhere, though.. Would you recommend he immediately remove the other two sleeves? Would photos of any/all the sleeves/rings be preferable? He was thinking about taking the head in to have it tested to assure there are no cracks there. I did not think to ask him if the rings on the sleeves appeared to be in good shape or not, but I will. I have no experience myself with sleeves and O-rings. I appreciate your help.
 
With the History of trouble I would think seriously about upgrading to a newer 219 engine before pouring money into that engine..yours is a 202,, there are plenty of 219's out there...the newer blocks were improved in the liner area..
 
I would absolutely pull all four sleeves out and at least - put new seals on them. The upgrade kits work very well and the engine can be made to be very reliable. If the sleeves had been leaking coolant - you ought to see some stains on the main-bearing webs and caps.

By the way - the orange seals used on the sleeves are designed to soften and swell up when they contact antifreeze-mix or petroleum. So when used ones are removed - they almost always look bad. It is also why you should never put oil on new seals when installing. Just soap.
 
I think replacing the entire engine is a bit silly unless it has a crank, block, or balancing-shaft problem. But to "each his own."
Just one person's opinion.

If you go on an engine hunt- keep in mind you need a "heavy-weight" engine and not some of the newer Deere engines with light-weight blocks. Your tractor uses the engine block for overall structural integrity and must have a heavy-block engine. Light-weight engines are used in tractors with separate steel frames or power-units.
 
I don't know where your at, but here in Ohio Anderson's in Bluffton is a good place..You will gain some power with a 219 and it will look the same..
 
Have you ever heard what my father was told about some early 2510s having one cylinder bored at a slightly incorrect angle? Not even sure how that could happen but he claims he was told that during the times early on.
 
Tim. knowing the constraints involved could a person put a 4276 turbo in an agricultural tractor application?
 
Ooh yes we use to do it years back,, made a 2510 embarrass a 3020...and on the earlier blocks on these there were some issues with the sealing rings, I never heard of one cylinder being bored wrong, but they needed improved from the start...
 

I can not imagine how not pulling two sleeves is going to save time and money?
If the oil and coolant I' rings were swapped during the rebuild she maybe a seaper.
With the long history of AF in the lube oil. The condition of the crank and bearings is highly suspect.
The 2510 and the 2520 tractors in particular are still functional and highly sought after by collectors.
 
Thank you very much to all who responded. I will keep you apprised. We'll pull the last two sleeves and see if we can figure out why so much AF is disappearing recently. Maybe the last two sleeves will show some clue. Like I said, most recently we have to add quite a bit of AF before each use. That just started. Again, thanks to all you guys who responded. Much appreciated.
 
If the coolant was going into the pan it would stay there, and add to the oil level,,if it was going through a pin hole in a liner it would go out the stack,,and be gone...
 
I worked at three John Deere dealerships, from 1969 to 1992. Never heard that story. If an engine has a sleeve hole bored at something other then a right-angle to the block - the sleeve flange on top would not sit right in the machined recess on top of the block. I have never seen a Deere block with that problem
 
Thanks. I always wondered how it was possible. Would you mind if we moved to email for another question related to this? My email address should be in my profile, if you wouldn't mind emailing me. Thanks again.
 

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