Installing sleeves in ford tractors

Hi, Im going to be installing sleeves in my 600 ford 134 cubic inch tractor motor this winter. Ive been searching on line and found many installing tool options.
Just wondering if the hammer in type like the Windy Ridge is better or the style with the big center screws and clamp would be a smoother approach. Any thought
would be greatly appreciated. By chance does anyone have either style for sale. Thanks Mark
 
If you are referring to TOH tools he has a set up to pull them in. I have one of those sets but never used it. I also have a knocker I had made never used it on a 134 but have on a N that's the same set up it worked great. I have drove them in using a thick plate of steel are a piece of broken axle.

What I do now it let the machine shop take care of removal and insulation/fit and pass the labor on to the customer. Normally I am doing major head/valve seat work so let them handle it all : )

I am set up to do this but don't have their precision.
 
It seems to me there is a site or someone who offers tools/these on a lend/lease program; you can rent them in others words, but the name escapes me now. nnalert also sells kits and hammers for different sizes. Doing your own work is commendable, but I agree with Hobo to just take the block to a reliable shop and let them do all the grunt work as they have all the right tools and experienced mechanics. I'm getting too old now to do major work myself with arthritis in just about every bone (hands, knees, ankles) so wrenching all day is out of the question. A good reliable machine shop will boil the block and head, Magn-Flux for cracks, grind crank, precision measure bore for correct size needed and get or recommend the correct engine kit for pistons and bearings. A big mistake some guys make is to go out and buy an engine kit without first knowing which sizes to get and end up with the wrong parts so have to deal with unnecessary delays as they return them to get the correct parts. A good shop will take care of all that.


Tim Daley(MI)
 
I put my own sleeves into a 3 cyl engine.
It was summer so I let the block sit in the hot sun for a couple of hours. I oiled the bores with 10 wt oil.
I bought a large block of dry ice and put it and the sleeves into a large cooler.
Then with welding gloves on I took the sleeves and inserted them into the bores and tapped them in with a block of oak lumber and a 3 lb hammer. Had to slug them a bit the last half inch or so.
Machine shop wanted about $150 to install them. The dry ice cost $25.
 
(quoted from post at 20:10:22 12/10/22) I put my own sleeves into a 3 cyl engine.
It was summer so I let the block sit in the hot sun for a couple of hours. I oiled the bores with 10 wt oil.
I bought a large block of dry ice and put it and the sleeves into a large cooler.
Then with welding gloves on I took the sleeves and inserted them into the bores and tapped them in with a block of oak lumber and a 3 lb hammer. Had to slug them a bit the last half inch or so.
Machine shop wanted about $150 to install them. The dry ice cost $25.

Its always nice to say you did it : )

I think you would understand I can make the money to pay my machine shop while he is doing it and please another customer in the process. Truth be know I will come out way ahead as my time is money. I own the pencil so its just a matter of passing the charge alone. : )

BTW when I get it back the bore is sized, fitted, finished and ready for the magic to happen.

Lord help us as the day will come we are at a loss depending on others to do the work for us. : (
 
Exactly the way i do it with thin sleeves. Dry ice and a clean prep with lubrication in the block. The less force to get them down the better.
 


My 960 they were very loose. I used Permatex sleeve glue to hold them in. Anther one since that one I was just using a block of hardwood to help them in and the last eighth inch was a little tough.
 
I did an 'in-frame' overhaul on a 960 two years ago. I bought a sleeve puller from an eBay seller. They had to adjust the 'puck' to get it to work in #3 cylinder, but did it quickly and without further charge.

All that said, if I had the engine removed and disassembled, I'd have the machine shop do it. Particularly if it were a winter job in a cool/cold shop. A hot block and cold sleeves make for a smooth install.
 
I agree.
I am just a guy working under a shade tree.
If I were like you - doing it for money
and having to warranty my work I would also
have the machine shop install them.
 
If you do install them yourself, you will need mics and a bore gauge to make sure your bore / piston clearance is in spec. There is a very good chance that you will need to take the block to a machine shop anyway, unless you have a boring machine. Not to mention, it is not hard to crack sleeves during installation.
 
I've never put sleeves in a tractor engine but every time I have shrunk a part to be inserted into a whole, I've used a dry ice and denatured alcohol bath to chill the part. Just putting the part in with dry ice doesn't seem to chill the part evenly. Sinking it in a dry ice and denatured bath chills the part evenly.

Just keep it away from the torch in case you decide to warm the block a little. Just my two cents.
 
Thank you all for being so generous with all the great information. It gives me some real insight to proceed with my project. Merry Christmas!! Mark
 

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