245 oil pressure, bearings, questions please.

The engine is the ad3.152. On cold start the engine has 50 psi oil pressure, as it warms up ( takes about 30-45 mins of run time), it gradually goes down to 10 psi, maybe a little less @1700 RPM. I think I need to pull the pan and expect to find worn main bearings but hopefully good journals. I will probably replace the oil pump while I'm in there. Oil pressure was verified and checked with another gauge.

The engine runs strong, cold starts fine, even in near freezing temps, does not use oil, no blow-by, no strange noises and runs smooth. From these things, I believe the engine to be healthy except the oil pressure.

Questions,
1. Can main and rod bearings be replaced without splitting tractor, or simply dropping oil pan?
2. What about the thrust washer/bearing halves, these seem to be problematic or known to fall out, are these serviceable without splitting too?
3. I searched, but did not find a write up, tips or tricks to doing this job, is there anything out there other than using the manual.

A few tips for you. Pull off the oil filter and cut it open. Check for metal filings. This will indicate if there is breakdown in the engine. Your main bearings and more so our rod bearings will cause low oil pressure. However don't neglect thinking top end either. If I remember rightly there is a small pipe connecting the rockershaft assembly to the cylinder head under the valve cover. Make sure your not loosing pressure here either. Pressure is caused by resistance so large flow of oil indicates low resistance

Hello,
It will be necessary to split the tractor and remove the clutch, flywheel and engine backplate in order to get at
the rear crankshaft seal housing and remove it before you can remove the rear main bearing cap. Not the best of
jobs to be done with the engine upright and it would of course have to be supported securely. If you are thinking
of doing that it would be better to remove the axle assembly and then the engine onto a bench where it can be
worked on safely and easily.

Thrust washers can fall out especially if they are very badly worn or turn in the housing if the tangs wear away.
They should be renewed as a precaution.

No publications that I'm aware of. That's why it would be easier to have the engine upside-sown on a bench.

If your tractor has a swept (bent) axle you will be able to drop the sump (oil pan) using a trolley jack after
removing all of the bolts. Don't forget the two long bolts at the rear. You will be able to check the big-end
shells and the two centre mains. A problem often found with older 135s is a broken oil intake pipe. The securing
bracket to the number two main breaks away from the pipe. This will cause low oil pressure. Perkins/MF have now
changed the design to a new pipe held in a rubber grommet. No failures since. Check the strainer. The oil pump can
be removed quite easily without further stripping. Check the condition of the teeth on the idler gear which is
retained by a circlip.

Please let us know what you find.

DavidP, South Wales

Further to the above;
Being a 245 you will probably have a straight front axle. In this case you will need to remove the axle casting before being able to drop the sump. DP

I'm in the same boat 4play except with a 230 that lost oil pressure and partially spun a rod bearing. It didn't completely spin so I think I can clean up the journals. I was just going to replace the bearings because the engine don't have but a couple years on a rebuild. But after I pulled the pan and seen that the oil pump had been broken and brazed back together where it bolts on I think I'm going to go through the whole thing if for noting else to check everything. One of the questions I have is why in the world would you engineer the oil pump to where you have to remove the front main and then remove the oil pump from it? The only thing I can get on one main bolt is an open end wrench because the pump is in the way. Not to good for torqueing. I think that must be why the pump has been brazed. I think the engine shop did that in order to remove that bolt then torque it and braze the pump back on. So after that I'm a little afraid of what else they did. I'm going to take the engine out and put on a stand and rebuild it this winter in my shop. Good luck with yours. Hey David P. I'm probably going to bother you a lot with questions when I start!

Hi Danny,
The oil pump CAN be removed when the sump has been removed. It will be necessary as in my other reply to remove the idler gear from the pump which is held on by a circlip. It will also be necessary to remove the half-round bracket under the crank which forms the front seal for the sump. Remove the inlet pipe and disconnect the support to the main cap. Slacket the two pipe nuts on the outlet pipe. You will need a good fitting 1/2"af ring spanner to undo the shallow headed screws. If you have an old spanner in good condition it is worth grinding off the lead on the lower side so that the bi-hexagon end is a full fit on the screw head.

DavidP

Thanks for the replies everyone, even though its not what I wanted to hear . I'm not intimidated by what I need to do, it's just the wrong time of the year to park it. What worries me the most is "mission creep" I can see this job turning into a much bigger deal.

What kind, and weight of engine oil are you using?

Before the last change it was rotella 15w40, the pressure was about the same as now. It currently has mystik 15w50 with a quart of lucas oil stabilizer stuff which is thick like motor honey.

Do you hear any knocking sounds from the engine when the oil pressure gets low? Also what is the serial number of the tractor?

No odd noises at all, no knocking, ticking, etc cold, hot or any RPM, it runs great other than the low oil pressure. Serial # 9A285972, I think the serial makes it '78. I will add again, on start up the oil pressure is 50-55 psi, it takes at least 30 mins to an hour for the pressure to slowly drop to below 10 or so, its a slow gradual drop.

Your tractor is equipped with a mechanical oil pressure gauge. I would try a different oil pressure gauge to see if you get any different readings (it could be just a bad gauge).

Yep, tried another gauge, same results. I thought about putting another one on since I have one but the two installed were identical in readings.

Since it's not the gauge you can still drop the oil pan, look at all but the rear main bearings, and all the rod bearings. If the main bearings look good but the rod bearings don't you could put a set of new rod bearings in. (you could also change all the main bearings except the ones in the rear main). If all the bearings look good you could put a new oil pump in it.

That's probably the direction I am going to take. Sounds like the front axle will need to be removed to drop pan but it would need to be removed to pull engine too. It's got to be inspected one way or the other. If I see wear on the mains then the engine is coming out. If the bearings look good then I will look into the oil pump for wear.

(quoted from post at 23:33:51 07/09/16) That's probably the direction I am going to take. Sounds like the front axle will need to be removed to drop pan but it would need to be removed to pull engine too. It's got to be inspected one way or the other. If I see wear on the mains then the engine is coming out. If the bearings look good then I will look into the oil pump for wear.

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That's a good plan, it is also possible for the spring for the relief valve in the oil pump to get weak once it gets to operating temp.