Some times you just can't WIN!!!

JD Seller

Well-known Member
My son John called me this afternoon. He was doing chores over at Steve's. He was having an issue with Steve's 1070 Case. We had put it on spare TMR wagon.

John had serviced the tractor Wed. night. Mainly changed the engine oil and filters. He checked the oil yesterday morning and all was well. This morning it was one gallon low???? This was after maybe an hour and a half of running. He searched all over for an external leak. Could not find one. He filled it up with oil. He did the chores Thursday evening and this morning with it. It was another gallon low on oil.

So I went over and checked it out. It is burning the oil. The muffler is half full of oil. So we have a problem. It is not turbo-ed so an easy external problem is out.

So I took over one of our JD 4020s to run the TMR wagon with. I hauled the Case 1070 home.

After chores this evening I tore into it. Number 3 piston has a hole burnt through it. Looks like a bad injector was spraying a stream of fuel and burnt a hole in the piston. So now I have an overhaul to do.

The tractor only has 4600 hours on it. They are correct. Steve's Uncle bought it new and Steve bought it just two years ago. The tractor is clean as a pin.

The issue I have is how deep do we go. The sleeves actually look real good with out any ridges. They have some of the original cross hatch still showing in them. The bearing look great.

I am tempted to just get a set of rings, one new piston, set of rebuilt injectors, rod bearing, main bearings and resurface the valves. Just do an in-frame overhaul. The engine just does not show much wear. I really would not be afraid of running it this way if it was mine.

Plus this would be way less cost than a complete overhaul kit. Also I bet that I could have it done Monday or Tuesday.

What do you guys think??? I usually would say go clear through it and get a complete overhaul kit with new sleeves and pistons but this engine just does not show much wear. I know Steve's Uncle just planted and sprayed with it. Steve does not work it much harder either. He uses it for hay making chores and planting.

I also do not want Steve to have a high cost parts bill right now.(labor is not an issue. I will do the work for zip) I am really leaning toward just doing it like I stated above. Real quick and then just be quite about it. I have a friend that is a Case nut. I would bet that he has most of the stuff I need left out of repairs he has done over the years. He is a worse pack rat than me. LOL. I am going to go see him ASAP in the morning. Can't call him as he does not have any phone. He does not want to be bothered by one. LOL.

So guys lead me to an answer!!!


PS Steve should be coming home next Monday or Tuesday. There is some test that the results did not come back today. They thought that he would get to come home today. The concern is the circulation in his left leg. As soon as the results come back he should be good to come home.

So I am going to try to have the tractor done by then, one way or the other.
 
Do the 'bandaid' thing.Had similar problem(cracked sleeve) on my 706 at around 6000 hrs 26 years ago.Being REAL BROKE,I simply replaced the bad one with a used one.26 years and 4500hrs later (over 10,000 hrs total on that tractor) it is still running strong and has no oil consusmption.The 'guys' all said I "had" to OH it.They were wrong.Good luck ,all will be fine.Glad Steve is doing better.Steve
 
Just do the one hole.Piston,rings,bearings.reuse the old sleeve if it is not hurt.Leave the rest of the engine alone.
 
If it were me:

I would do just what you planned. It sounds like the one piston repair will last him a lot of years and you can have it done and back home quick. He doesn't need to see it gone and hear about that right when he gets home. Take pictures as you do it. When Steve is much better share the pictures with him. If he is financially able and asked to pay for it, let him pay for parts. If he is not able I would just do it. If you are afraid it would make him feel badly about it just say that you did some repairs and save the pics to show him in 5 years. I do that kind of stuff all the time for people who appreciate it or would help me out.

If he isn't able to pay you the good Lord will pay you in the end. This whole debacle is showing those around you the person you are.

I would feel differently if he was still able and was the one using it. This kind of thing is just exactly why us farm folk survive with so much against us. We have to help out and do what we can for each other. It makes us all better.
 
In your shoes I'd do just what your talking about as it clearly doesn't need a complete overhaul. I'm not familiar enough with that engine to know wether it has easily removable liners or press in ones, but if it the liners are easily removed I'd replace both the piston and liner together. If the liners are pressed in them at least run a dingleberry hone through it so the new rings will seat in properly, and as you said just install one new piston.

As far as injectors and having the valves checked that's a really good idea, along with a new set of injectors (given the lack of fuel quality nowdays).As far as the bearings, I'd check and see if there is really even enough wear to bother with them. With no more hours than it has on it, the old ones shouldn't be hurt enough to bother replacing, if it was serviced regularly.
 

JD,

Being a WD for clevite , I can help with the

price if clevite has the piston. Can drop

ship from warehouse.

email me with a phone #

george
 
Get it working and back on that wagon pronto. If he wants to take another course of action later, he still can. I got a feeling he will trust your instincts.

For a young guy that wants to be on his own and independent, he might start felling pushed aside if he sees his yard, full of your equipment.
 
I say the same as everyone else. At those sort of hours the engine is only run in. Hone the bore replace the piston and rings, service the injectors and leave the rest alone. Our MF699 did just that 12 years ago on the diet feeder of course, I don't think they run fast enough driving a feeder. It was as you suspect with this one a bad injector. I just replaced the piston and rings and honed the bore slightly and reconditioned one injector and that tractor had 9000 hrs on it then. Still going strong!.
Good luck to both yourself and Steve.
Sam
 
i would 1 piston it and check bearings, and also check injectors if one bad rest could follow with 5000 hrs, might head off future troubles.
 
Yes, but there are good days, weeks and months too. Life goes on and so should we - and count our blessings that we are still able to accomplish whatever our minds and bodies will allow.

I know that it is standard procedure in the trucking industry to just replace a bad piston and put the engine back in service. Isn't that what they also do with airplane engines? Especially the old rotary aircraft engines?
 
Had a 1066 IH show up for a case of electrollis in #6 sleeve. The other 5 bores still looked new, good cross hatch pat, no wear on pistons. So to save the guy some cash, I was just gonna ring it, rod and mains, with one new sleeve and piston, and a valve job. But the guy said just go all the way through it, didn't cost anymore labor, but more for parts, but it was his tractor.
 
The ideas below are all great BUT - AS you have said Steve is on the mend. I would keep him informed and ask for his imput.
 
Why not tell steve what you just told us.... unless he's loaded up on pain killers and not thinking straight. Discuss it with him and go from there. Mabey he knew something was about to blow on that tractor and had other plans for it...
Normally I probably wouldn't want to do a half job on an engine but if it's as good as you say and a patch will suffice then a sleeve and piston, rings, bearings may be as good as more.

Rod
 
Sounds like Steve is having a run of bad luck. Hope things improve for him. Tell him I wish him well and a speedy recovery when you see him. You may as well overhaul the complete engine as long as you have it apart now. May save future problems with it and you will sleep better at night instead of wondering what will break next. I know I bought a John Deere 5020 that had had one cylinder repaired like that. I spent ten years wondering if it was going to break down. Never did but it would have been a lot less stressful if I had known it had six new liners and pistons in it. Good Luck and from all of us YTers, Thanks for being such a good neighbor, need more like you. I know we could use a few around here.
 
Though I'm a VERY devout follower of the "do it right once" theory, I believe you are right in this case.

So long as the sleeves, bearings and crankshaft look good, I think I would do as you propose.

Dean
 
You may want to ask on Case forum as several of the members have a lot of experience with these engines, maybe they can provide additional information and concerns such as sleeve outer wall pitting and failure of sleeve to block O rings.
 
I would just rework that cylinder and not touch the rest.

What we got by with back in the day, due to lack of knowledge and no money, is pure cobble/half azzed mechanics by todays standards.

BUTTTT it worked and we made our living.
 
While I'm a big believer in complete overhauls as being the only way to go I'd do just as you are thinking under the current circumstances.

Friend called me last year. He was having an issue with an 856 IH. Low compression #1. We pulled the head and the vlaves look real good but there was a small wear mark on the liner on #1. All the ring gaps were like ducks in a row. Now this guy could have afforded a clompete overhaul but the 856 hardly gets used now that he got rid of his cows. So we got the ring turned so the gaps were not all in a line, ran a hone through the liner and put in new gaskets. Darn thing run better than it has in years he claims. I don't worry about it cause I told him how I would do it.

Rick
 

Even with low hours it isn't worth a complete overhaul. I would do just the one hole and mains only if they show out of spec.
 
I see no reason to do more than repair the #3 cylinder, and injectors. If bearings are as good as you say they are, and the other pistons and sleeves ar good, leave a sleeping dog lay.
Be careful to not disturb the #3 sleeve as it is seated to the block. Removing it or rotating it could cause the sleeve to crack at the flange, when the head is torqued down. (big bore/long stroke sleeves are hard to support in an engine with only contact at the top, and O rings at the bottom)
When we did complete overhauls, with sleeve & pistons we always had the block counterbores trued up also to insure propper sleeve protrusion. In late production 70 series engines there were issues in this area, as Case tooling was getting obsolete, thus the Case/Cummins partnership.CDC engine Co was formed.
Loren, the Acg.
 
I am with you on the (Patch Job). The one thing I would request is that you remove another piston to compare it to the new piston you get, not only for correct land spacing but also weight. I caught a major variation on a replacement (OEM) Case piston. On a 40 year old tractor there are definate differences in replacement parts. CYA
 
One thing I'd fear is if ether may of been involved in the damage. It could of broke some rings on the others?
 
Easy answer.
If you would do that with your tractor, in the same cercumstances, then it is the right thing to do.
 

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