I have a late model about 1973 Massey 165 with a Perkins 212 gas engine in it. It burns an incredible amount of oil in a very short time, except, and get this, it may be a clue to the problem, sometimes it burns no oil at all.
If I keep the RPM low it seems to not burn oil, if I run it hard, it uses about 2 quarts per hour. I have done a compression check and all cylinders are 130/140 PSI. It is not a calibrated gage, but it seems like great compression.
It also has all the power I could hope for until the plugs foul. It fouls the front three plugs slightly more than the back, but they all foul.
I just got it this spring with the dream of having a real tractor, I own two Fords, but wanted more HP for my little 40 acre farm.
Some history on the tractor: It was probably not run often for some time before I got it (Craigslist) and my first thought is the oil control rings being stuck , but I recently changed oil and filter, involving removing quite a bit of sludge from the filter can and replacing the paper filter.
As soon as I started it after the de-sludge/oil/filter change it burned no oil and ran great. This lasted about half an hour until it started spewing smoke again. I tried a motor flush, cylinder fogging, adding different solutions with the idea of loosening the lower oil control rings. Changing oil until it is as pretty as honey, but if I hit the throttle, it blasts blue smoke, and consumes oil like wild.
It has a red painted head, I am guessing rebuilt, but only guessing. It feels to me like if I can keep the oil pressure lower, it does not burn as much. The oil pressure gage is almost pegged high, it could be that I need to change the filter again after flushing, changing, flushing changing.
Is a filter restriction from moving years of debris a possible cause of high pressure? Could the valve train not being able to drain back cause guides or seals to be flooded and leaking past?
I am about ready to pull the head and inspect the guides and seals for issues. I hope that if I get the head off, the problem will be exposed.
I plan to get it right and own it until I die, if I can find the problem and get replacement parts for it, I will do it.
If anyone has seen anything like what I describe, I would be grateful for any advice on what to look for.
My dream is that someone will tell me to check some minor issue, (like a PCV valve) I will find the problem and not have to dig into this beast blindly. If it sounds like bad news I still need to hear it.
Thanks for any advice you may have.
If I keep the RPM low it seems to not burn oil, if I run it hard, it uses about 2 quarts per hour. I have done a compression check and all cylinders are 130/140 PSI. It is not a calibrated gage, but it seems like great compression.
It also has all the power I could hope for until the plugs foul. It fouls the front three plugs slightly more than the back, but they all foul.
I just got it this spring with the dream of having a real tractor, I own two Fords, but wanted more HP for my little 40 acre farm.
Some history on the tractor: It was probably not run often for some time before I got it (Craigslist) and my first thought is the oil control rings being stuck , but I recently changed oil and filter, involving removing quite a bit of sludge from the filter can and replacing the paper filter.
As soon as I started it after the de-sludge/oil/filter change it burned no oil and ran great. This lasted about half an hour until it started spewing smoke again. I tried a motor flush, cylinder fogging, adding different solutions with the idea of loosening the lower oil control rings. Changing oil until it is as pretty as honey, but if I hit the throttle, it blasts blue smoke, and consumes oil like wild.
It has a red painted head, I am guessing rebuilt, but only guessing. It feels to me like if I can keep the oil pressure lower, it does not burn as much. The oil pressure gage is almost pegged high, it could be that I need to change the filter again after flushing, changing, flushing changing.
Is a filter restriction from moving years of debris a possible cause of high pressure? Could the valve train not being able to drain back cause guides or seals to be flooded and leaking past?
I am about ready to pull the head and inspect the guides and seals for issues. I hope that if I get the head off, the problem will be exposed.
I plan to get it right and own it until I die, if I can find the problem and get replacement parts for it, I will do it.
If anyone has seen anything like what I describe, I would be grateful for any advice on what to look for.
My dream is that someone will tell me to check some minor issue, (like a PCV valve) I will find the problem and not have to dig into this beast blindly. If it sounds like bad news I still need to hear it.
Thanks for any advice you may have.