Freeing up fordson engine

Earlybird

Member
Hi, I was given some great advice on here regarding my frozen fordson engine and today got round to removing the injectors and adding a little atf fluid to each cylinder before putting everything back together again . I was going to leave at least a week and before trying to do anything take out the injectors to reduce compression and have a go at turning the engine. My question st this point is whats best point to try, crank pulley or starter ring gear with a long crow bar? The crank pulley is a very slim bolt with no starter dog attached so ring gear would be good but I don't want to break anything.
If this doesn't work next plan is to remove the head and start tapping the piston s to see what's stuck. This is definitely the last time I leave a tractor outside again tho. Thanks in advance
 
I suggest taking valve cover off to survey the valve stems condition . That way you free them up with engine oil and you can see which cylinders might
be the froze up . If they are all rusty Id take the head off .
Also that greatly reduce the stress and strain on all the engine components .
Change oil , prime oil pump to hydraulic force oil into clearances to ease the stress and strain. Also , if that possible !
I use diesel fuel and two cycle oil slurry to soak the cylinder walls and pistons. Or just diesel fuel it creeps into most anything.
I dont like using anything with more leverage than tractor crank . That your dont bust anything
Good luck my thoughts
 
Thankyou for your reply. I've had the rocker cover off and the valves seem to be fine no rust whatsoever. I removed the rocker assembly to gain good access to the injectors bolts. The injectors were tight but no rust at all . I was going to try rocking the engine on the crank or flywheel but fairly gently but I do think the head may have to come off unfortunately. However I guess this will st least give me a good look at what's going on and allow the piston s to have another good soak
 
Put it in high gear and rock it back and forth by the rear wheels....less chance of
breaking anything and easier on the starter.

Ben
 
Ok. Not thought of that but good idea thanks. Unfortunately the back wheels are quite sunk into the ground but I'm guessing I'd need to jack and raise the wheels to be able to rock it so good place to start
 
After removing my rocker cover again and checking the valves I removed the rocker shaft again and despite everything looking clear of rust and corrosion a couple of valves were stuck fully down and didn't spring up at all after removing the shaft. Clearly there are more problems here than I'd first hoped but if these valves are stuck open then I can assume these cylinders will have taken most water.
Is there a way to free the valves with the head on? I've started adding fluid around them but wondered if light taps with a rubber hammer is in order.
Worst case I could remove head, send it away for complete rebuild but then I'm going to have to restore the whole engine or it seems a waste to half do the job wheras at present I just wanted to get it running
 
Your can try tapping
Personally I would go to remove head and check out head for cracks ,block inspection cracks. Looks for price and availability of gasket sets.
Dont get discouraged this this going to take restoration resources.
Id say your in for the 7 course rebuild , Dont skip the amount of money will be wasted if you overlook any of the major issues.
Project like this takes three times the length of time and three times the expenses. Be prepared
Your asking the right questions .
 
Ok thanks . I'm curious as to what the 7 course rebuild is exactly but it does look as tho it's the direction I'm going to be taking. I'm already removing more than anticipated and thinking while lift pumps off and filter housing etc may as well clean the tank then hey why not paint it and while I'm there seal the inside .
Luckily I did have the sense to drain the block of water so other than what may have got in while standing I hope I'm ok but obviously there is the years of corrosion to consider .
I'll try tapping the valves first but if this proves fruitless I'll bite the bullet and dismantle further
 
If wheels have sank in ground, it means tractor has
been there for at least 10 years, which probably
means clutch is well and truely stuck.. I would say
internal oil ways are sludged up.. a complete engine
dismantle looks a distinct possibility
Major man's opinion is needed !!
also look into the possibility of obtaining parts from
uk might be good idea
 
Thankyou for your response. I hadn't considered the clutch in all this and it's a good point. I'm in the UK and parts are readily available. Time and somewhere undercover are more of an issue and increasingly it appears money as a complete overhaul seems on the cards. I'm wondering if anyone has removed the engine completely from a major and found an engine stand that will take this size lump. Being able to rotate it etc would make life much easier I think than crawling underneath to remove the sump
 
Heres so photo of an f reassemble. To give you ideas .
cvphoto101954.jpg

Use engine crane to engine maneuver it . Used a v notch 10 inch tree for jack stand under the bell housing cut with chain saw to level it out . Nothing to complicate.
Please use two people to install cause more eye will save a lot of frustration
 
Thankyou. That's good advice. The cylinder head looks nicely finished in the photo. I shall source a company in the UK who specialise in reconditioning and who are familiar with working on the older tractors. Although there are a few task I can do such as disassembly the important stuff can be done by an expert leaving me the bottom end stuff to sort. It's surprising how many different ways people approach this from very basic and simple replacement to more intricate approach paying attention to every little detail
 
Do as much as you can but take many photos , rods are numbered unless one was reconditioned.
My engine was reboredc over size .08 put custom weisco pistons with .08 Hastings rings from a check v8 . Chevy rings were 40 dollars cheaper.
I could not find pistons had to make them .
 

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