I think the 50 is circling the drain

My 50 is my loader tractor, I?ve had it for a few years now and it?s always smoked a bit. It started running pretty rough the other day so I thought I?d replace plugs, points, and condenser. Then I noticed this, probably head gasket?

I wouldn't see that as necessarily a reason for pulling the plug on the old working girl especially if she's still keeping the coolant and oil separate, off the ground and not too much is going up the stack.

I guess I should of mentioned that I wanna fix it cause I need my loader tractor, it?s been raining oil droplets on the hood for quite some time now. I wonder if it?s a mater of pulling the head and installing a new gasket or if it?s more involved? There is a well respected machinists in town, I?d probably take the head to him before I put it back on. I figured oil droplets on the hood meant the rings are shot but I guess I?m not that sharp on this stuff. Mechanically the rest of the tractor is in good shape, tins a little banged up. If I put the time and money in fixing it I should probably give it a paint job as well. I know I don?t have time for a full restoration so if I tore it completely down it would probably be the end for sure!

My 60 head gasket weeps when working the tractor one day it hit me turn the radiator cap back to the first stop so it cannot build pressure problem solved. These engines do not have valve seals more than likely the guides are getting worn. Without tearing into it you wont know. To check the condition of the cylinders do a compression test.

Your plug wires look pretty dried out, if changing things I would change those, will probably leak when wet.

I would try putting some stop-leak in the cooling system.

In full agreement with David G, you need new wires to fix any ignition missing that you may not be noticing and that may be a contributor to your oil spots on the hood and/or your head gasket "leak". Ten years is about all I can get out of my spark plug wires before hard starting under damp conditions set in as well as rough running overall. And only new wires fixes it here, they simply have a time limit on them and by the picture of that sun bleached and cracked boot alone, these are well overdue.

Oil spots on hood might be coming from another source though. Too much transmission fluid which might be happening because rain water will run down transmission shifter lever and fill the transmission. Excess oil then leaves the machine by being spun off the inside portion of the clutch drum and it drops back down onto the hood very noticeably.

It could be oil in the picture shown but in this region of head/block joinery is coolant not oil. So the oil might be dribbling down the inside of the exhaust manifold and weeping into the area shown primarily because the right side isn't firing due to bad spark plug wires. Change them and apply lots of work to see if the issue continues with weeping of whatever it is.

I ordered plugs, wires, points, condenser, cap, rotor, and dust cover. I?m all in!