Sludge in motor

I have a model 50 John Deere. I drained the oil and flushed twice with diesel. When I put my finger in the drain hole I can feel sludge on the bottom of the inside of the motor. What is the best way and with what to get that out.
 
Here's an idea I've never used but it might work. If someone else thinks this is a bad idea please speak up.

Put about three gallons of mineral spirits parts cleaner in it and let it sit a week, then drain it. Letting diesel fuel sit in there a week might help too but mineral spirits is a better solvent. By all means do not start the engine because mineral spirits is a very poor lubricant and is flammable too.
 
diesel is the most useless thing for flushing... its meant for burning. i would use hyd. oil or even half kerosene. make a see saw and keep rocking it back and forth. drain and repeat.. or take engine apart to clean.
 
Pop the crankcase cover off and squirt everything down good with diesel fuel using an oil can. Use a small scrub brush to break the sludge loose and use the diesel to wash it down. Just keep refilling the oil can, might take a couple gallons of diesel fuel but you can get it nice and clean in there. Be prepared because it's a messy job and it takes time. I did this with a late B (similar to a 50) and I know there's not much room in there.
 
Thanks for the replys. I put a gallon of gas in it
hoping it will break the sludge up. Did I mess up by
doing that y'all think???
 
(quoted from post at 20:30:17 09/07/17) Thanks for the replys. I put a gallon of gas in it
hoping it will break the sludge up. Did I mess up by
doing that y'all think???

The biggest thing to be concerned about (aside from it being explosive) is it can be too harsh on the yellow primer and cause it to flake off. If you look inside you'll see that the the whole main case was sprayed with yellow primer at the factory. I wouldn't let the gas sit in there too long.

The B I worked on had antifreeze in the oil which made a big mess. Just flushing it wasn't getting me anywhere. Using that oil can to squirt it down REALLY helped.
 
I have a air nosal with a long rod and it also has a tube you can put in parts cleaner. And I spray it clean lets the air and cleaner go threw at same time with pressure . Just get real dirty.
 
I have cleaned many of them out with kerosene in a pump up garden sprayer. Kerosene is less stinky than diesel and you can stick the wand in there anywhere you want. I also would reach down in there with brushes. Does a good job.
 
Your post reminds me of when I tore down my 1951 A. The sludge in the bottom of the crankcase was pretty bad. The sludge restricting oil flow through the screen around the oil pump was also pretty bad, too. I had the opportunity to really clean things up at that time and did so. I did take apart the screen and oil pump to really clean it up, too. You may find similar conditions in your tractor.
 

If you look at the OLDER 2=cylinder tractor manuals...

Flushing with Kerosene was recommended and there is even a recommendation to replace the engine oil with Kerosene and OPERATE the engine for a prescribed
number of minutes ( no load)...

Take the top cover off the crankcase and you can really clean the bottom out...
 
No need to remove oil pump. You can get around it pretty good all the junk drains out the drain hole good too.
 
There are 3 oil lines to remove from the top of the pump to get the oil pump out. An extra joint in your arm would be a big help to get them loose through the top cover. I would just take the top cover off and use my siphon gun on the air hose to flush it with parts cleaner.
 
any parts store or harbor freight but you have to have an air compressor gets it clean as a whissel.in no time but very messey. and leave the oil drain plug out while doing this.
 
I would have to agree with ET on this one. Take the top cover off and access the crud from there. Should be a whole lot easier and accomplish mostly the same end result.
 
I have had some bad tractors come in to get running. One method I have found that works well is to use some Hy-Gard in the engine. I usually have some I have drained out of a tractor and I will put a little extra into an engine. I DO NOT start it with this oil in it. I will belt up the tractor to another and engage the clutch and let it "run" for awhile. Afterwards the oil is drained and the sludge goes with it. I have cleaned up several with this method. Apparently the Hy-Gard has solvent properties as it works very well to clean an engine. Mike
 

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