F-12...sleeve leaking antifreeze...any advice??

Seth Boyer · Sep 23, 2015

A year after a complete rebuild of the motor on my F-12 one of the sleeves decides it's no longer going to seal up. I've run the tractor a lot. Check the oil frequently. There's a few small oil leaks here and there and last week I noticed how milky it was. Dropped the pan and see #3 is seeping at a few different places.

Any of you guys have a suggestion on a quick temporary fix to slow it down? I will for sure tear it down soon and do this right but I was really planning to use the tractor in a couple weeks for a hayride.

I know the old egg white trick. Black pepper. With this bring a non-pressurized thermosiphon system will either of those old school methods work? I thought about draining the system. Unhooking the radiator and finding a way to circulate some sort of stop leak through the motor.

Russ from MN · Sep 23, 2015

Bar's stop leak, has worked good for me.

BushogPapa · Sep 23, 2015

Clean and dry the inside of the water jacket and coat the entire floor of it, around all the sleeves (assuming it has Wet Sleeves) with Non-Hardening Permatex...

This is common procedure on AC engines, as they can crack at the web between sleeves..

Ron..

rustred · Sep 23, 2015

an o ring on bottom of sleeve must have let go. have you had the sleeves out on o/h ? dont think anything will seal that other
than new o rings.

teddy52food · Sep 23, 2015

Mendtite will do it.

ohiojim · Sep 24, 2015

rrlund · Sep 24, 2015

A trick I learned from my son,if you do have to tear it back down and find any pits,when you put it back together,instead of lubricating the O-rings with soap,use pipe dope paste. Let it harden up a few days before you add coolant.

Seth Boyer · Sep 24, 2015

I went ahead and tore down the engine tonight so I could pull the sleeve. Has me baffled. Everything looks perfect.

A little history on the motor. Complete overhaul that's been running for a little over a year. The engine has been highly modified though. I cut down 3 1/4" bore sleeves to fit and had the lower part of the block where the o-ring seals are bored out. Not able to use the stock 1/4" thick o-rings because the groove isn't deep enough. Stacking two 1/8" thick o-rings the same OD as original was the perfect fit.

Pulled the sleeve tonight. No pits. Block is clean. O-rings look perfect. I have spare new ones I'm prepared to install. I like the idea of using some pipe dope. My thought too would be dry out the block and seal just above the sealing area in the water jacket with something. Non-hardening permatex was mentioned. Maybe some hi temp RTV if I get everything dried out really well.

F-12...sleeve leaking antifreeze...any advice??

Seth Boyer

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Russ from MN

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BushogPapa

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rustred

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teddy52food

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ohiojim

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rrlund

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Seth Boyer

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