855 head gasket leak

AGR538 · Nov 9, 2019

I have an 856 International with a leaking head gasket in the left side. However, it is oil seeping out and not antifreeze. Also, it is seeping all along the head. Worse in some spots, going all the way down the block. There does seem to be steam in the exhaust as it get hotter. Just a little confused. I know I have to pull the head but looking for advice.

the tractor vet · Nov 9, 2019

If you have head gskt leakage then yep the head needs to come off and be sent out and checked , also ya need to check how the sleeves set if they are not setting as per spec.'s you willl not get it to seal. Next ya want to take a long hard look at the head bolts and look for signs of pitting and stretching in the thread area , next you want to chase the head bolt holes in the block with a BOTTOMING tap and flush them out with brake kleen and blow them dry . Then when you install the head you want to lightly lube the threads of the bolts and torque them down in three steps then go back over them all as you may find that the center bolts will need a retorque . Next set your valves according to the BOOK Do this with the engine NOT running . Then ya fire it up and warm it up to operating temp and let everything get nice and hot then go back over everything once again . Run fifty hours and do a recheck on the head bolts .

AGR538 · Nov 9, 2019

But why would there be oil coming out of the head gasket and not in just one place?

caterpillar guy · Nov 10, 2019

Bolt stretch,sleeves set to high, bad gasket,been hot a few times. You pick the answer, maybe even the fact that it is almost 50 years old.

Janicholson · Nov 10, 2019

Oil can creep along a gasket interface. Also possible is a faild gasket along the whole seam from some of the above reasons. Jim

the tractor vet · Nov 12, 2019

Well it could be that at one time that engine was down and someone used and after market Head gskt. or did not get it pulled down correctly and do a retorque HOT and a follow up retorque after fifty hours, or that someone turned up the wick and was pushen more pony's out of it and working the snot out of it for years , there are many reasons for leakage , like i said earlier a head not flat, sleeves not setting correctly in hight , head bolts to loose bad gakt . I can't say as i am not the one looking into this and not the one who is going to tear it down and se how the head bolts come out or the one that will be the one checking the head and sleeve stand out .

Bob 7337 · Nov 12, 2019

Them are good running engines, but extremely expensive to work on. If it were me I wouldn't worry about head gasket weeping little oil. The motor probably has a lot of hours on it. If you pull the head where do you stop? About everything is gonna hare wear on it. Before you know it you gonna have thousands of dollars spent. If it runs good and don't leak bad I would run it the way it is. Just my way of thinking.

855 head gasket leak

AGR538

Member

the tractor vet

Well-known Member

AGR538

Member

caterpillar guy

Well-known Member

Janicholson

Well-known Member

the tractor vet

Well-known Member

Bob 7337

Member

Similar threads