Perkins 236 for 248 swap MF188?

Hi all,

I'm new here but have lurked around the site for awhile. I'm looking for some comments on a dilemma I have. Here is the situation.

A few months ago the 248 engine in my MF 188 blew up. I now have the engine out and the local engine machine shop says the crack between 1 & 2 cylinders is repairable so the the engine can be rebuilt. Considering the cost of a rebuild kit and the shop's labour I'm looking at about $2500 to $3000 not including my time stripping the engine to the bare block.

Now, there may be a newer 236 motor out of a Landini with a crapped trans coming up for about $3000 complete - basically everything from the clutch to the radiator hoses.

The idea of just bolting and engine into the tractor and hitting the paddocks is appealling. My question is, would there be any noticeable loss in power? Considering the 248 was running on probably the equivalent of 3 1/2 cylinders before it lunched maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised.

Any thoughts?

Thanks for your time.

Herman

You would loose about 7 hp, and 35 ft/lb of torque. As far as the block goes the 248 is a 236 block with a bigger bore. What would interchange between engines is another story, you may have to use the 248 flywheel. I never tried the swap, but it would be interesting to see if someone has attempted the swap. The engine could have been made different in some ways for a newer Landini.

Thanks for your reply.

What would 7hp and 35ftlbs of torque translate to in operation? Would it substantially reduce the lifting capacity of the FEL? Right now I can lift one heavy bale of baleage or two hay bales. If it wouldn't lift a baleage bale with the 236 then that could be a problem.

There is also the conversion to an alternator on the Landini motor which would be good thing. I expect there will be a few plumbing issues as well.

It shouldn't effect the lift capacity of your fel, or your 3 point. You may (or may not) notice a little loss in pulling power if you work it hard (like pulling a plow). The newer 236 may have more power than the old 236, do you know the model number of the Landini that the 236 is in?

That's good to know.

I use it mainly for moving feed around, mowing with a PZ165 mower, tedding with a PZ Hay Bob and running an 8" throat wood chipper on the PTO. So likely the lower power won't be an issue, especially considering that the old engine probably wasn't developing the full power of a new 248 engine anyway.

I don't yet know the model of Landini that the donor motor will come from but I should soon.

If anyone is intetested I'd be happy to document either the rebuild or the replacement and post it here.

I would like to see how it goes, the 236 has more power than what is required for what you are running off of it.

So, after much deliberation and investigation I ended up rebuilding my 248 engine in my MF188. It took awhile and it cost a bit but it started on the third crank over. I now need to break it in.

I handed the engine over to the rebuilders pretty much as a short block and they did the guts and handed it back to me to finish off. The engine crack in the block was handled by milling some of the top of the block down, then re-cutting the liner rebates and taking a bit off the top of the pistons to make it all fit nicely together.

I went for four ring pistons, the originals were three ring, cost was the same. I put all new seals in the CAV injection pump and the power steering pump. Rebuilt the clutch with new plates, new release bearing, release bearing carrier, pivot pins and bushes. The guys that did the engine also did the head and the injectors got reconditioned by the pros. New water pump, radiator hoses, thermostat, every filter, new battery, new oil and temp gauges.

I figure it's good for another 30 years or more and I certainly know everything forward of the shift levers on an MF188 intimately now. I'm no diesel mechanic but at times I certainly smelled like one and learned a lot. If anyone has any questions about the job, feel free to ask.