Missing coolant, blowby, fixes?

I recently purchased an international 434 that was running poorly until it was parked for the past 2 years. Had to pull start it, and it was leaking oil from engine housing, dipstick tube. Oil was cloudy grey. Lubricated rings thinking they were likely stuck. Sent a can of blue devil to repair head gasket. Changed oil. After leaving it for 24 hours and running again for an hour, it lost a good amount of coolant. Oil on the dipstick was 1/2 quart low but it didn’t look like it gained any additional coolant. It was slightly milky, but there was lots of lousy oil still remaining on the sidewalls of the oil reservoir. And level didn’t go up at all. So I think the coolant no longer is entering the oil reservoir, but blowby is still leaking out of the engine housing which is still very grey. Trying to avoid a full tear down until I know it needs to be done. My questions are as follows. If the head gasket is good but cylinder head or block is cracked, would this explain lost coolant that isn’t entering the oil reservoir? And would buggered rings be the most likely culprit for excessive blowby, or damaged cylinders/walls be more likely?

I suspect those who could advise you will want to know what you intend to use this for. Working tractor on a farm, kiddie rides, hayrack rides, shows and parades? Yard art? Prolly matters.

If in doubt, fix it right.

If it sat for 2 years with coolant in the cylinders, good chance the rings are stuck.

Will they free up? Maybe, probably not. But running for any length of time will do additional cylinder wall damage. Chances are they are already rust pitted.

Did the stop leak fix the head gasket or cracked head? Probably not.

It's impossible to tell the difference in a cracked head or a head gasket without tearing it down. Typical head gasket/cracked head symptoms are mystery coolant loss, blowing coolant out the radiator, overheating, exhaust steam even when warmed up, loss of power, missing, hard starting, as in a liquid locked cylinder, and coolant in the oil.

It's unusual for a block to crack from overheating, but letting one freeze will. If it sat with water and was exposed to sub freezing temps, good chance it did crack the block. Usually cracked blocks show from the outside, but not always.

What you might want to do, keep babying it along, watch the temperature closely, keep the settled water drained out of the oil by cracking the drain plug before starting it. Drive it around a bit, if you have any attachments, put them on, put it to some light work. Keep a journal of every problem you find. That way you can make a decision on what you want to accomplish, if it's feasible and in the budget.

What you don't want to do is spend a bunch of money on the engine only to find there are more problems, or put the engine back in and find it has to come right back out because there are other problems that could have been addressed while it was apart.

Before getting too deep into this, a shop manual will be a very wise investment. It will more than pay for itself in mistakes not made! If this is a diesel, be very meticulous with your repairs. Diesels are extremely unforgiving of shortcuts, they are money devouring monsters if disrespected!

Keep going though, you can do this! Ask all the questions you need, we're here to help!

I just have a small block of land that I’m starting with as a hobby farm.
Crops, not animals. I’m going to work 3-5 acres which has been deep
tilled already. Discs, cultivator, and general light yardwork. I would
tear it down to inspect and replace what’s needed. Head, block,
cylinders, whatever. But finding a motor/parts tractor may be difficult.
It’s a international 434 diesel, 1968 I believe (SN 2333). Would a
similar year 414, 444, or whatever be interchangeable in some
capacity whether it be a full swap of the engine or just swap
cracked/buggered parts.

1968 international 434. For finding a parts tractor/motor, I’m wondering what may have an interchangeable 2.5L diesel in part/full capacity. 414, 444, or ??? Thanks for the detailed reply. I was just a bit puzzled when the gasket sealer seemingly repaired something to prevent water entering the reservoir but other problems remained the same.

I believe the 434 uses the same BD154 as any of several other models including the B-414 and the 444. The problem is finding one. They usually come in a tractor-shaped "shipping container," and the shipping container is in at least as good of shape as the tractor you already have.

Things sound pretty bad for your engine. Definitely nothing that you're going to fix or even mitigate with some potion from a bottle.

I was quite certain $50 blue devil wasn’t going to fix it. There’s a local
guy with a tractor graveyard that I plan to go see. I know he doesn’t
have a 434 but he does have other internationals. So I’m hoping to
find which ones would have compatible parts to replace or fix my
abused ol girl.