Head gasket repacement on MF 135 4 cylinder

I'm mot much of a mechanic but am willing to learn. I have a head gasket blown on my 1963 MF 135 I have the parts but due to my lack of knowledge I am a little apprehensive on starting. I have it broken down to the valve cover and head, wondering if any one has any advise for a excited beginner. The tractor was purchased in 1963 new and has been in my family ever since. I hate to put it out to pasture so to speak, there are a lot of memories of family with this tractor. Any advise will be greatly appreciated.

Vital tips. Get the engine repair manual. Don't use youtube unless it is for that engine. Organize bolts by using a selection of cardboard sheets and a magic marker Punch holes for every bolt and which hole they came out of, and keep them going back in that same hole. Scrape away all old gasket material. Jim

It may not be just the gasket, those Continental ZXXX engines were prone the block cracking between cylinders. A service manual is vital to your getting a good repair, "close enough" is NOT good enough.

MF SERVICE MANUAL 1448 811 M1

Contains required info on 4 cylinder Gas Engine...Perkins 3 cylinder diesels..both direct and indirect fuel injections:

The best investment you shall ever invest your hard earned dollars into:

Bob...Owner operator Several different colored Tractors:

steven1961, I have no experience with the MF 135, but have taken heads off of and replaced head gaskets on others, so this is general knowledge. Since it seems everyone has a camera at their finger tips (phone) take pictures as you disassemble. Have plenty of jiploc storage bags and as you remove bolts bag and label the bag with a paint pen identifying from where they came. When removing the rocker arm(tappets) assembly mark the orientation of it so you do not attempt to put it in backwards. (probably not possible!!but!!). The push rods should be labeled or marked so the are returned to the same hole, sometimes a shoe box is used with holes punched for each push rod keeping them in order front to back or back to front and up from down. Exhaust and intake manifolds may pose the greatest challenge for removing bolts. Slow and gentle, heat and penetrating oil and patience. Just some general reminders of things you may have not thought about. Good luck with you project gobble

What Ianc said. Those engines cracked like crazy, although some would continue to run with the cracks in the block on top, they can also crack between the cylinders on bottom for no reason. Get your head off and clean the top of the block and inspect it carefully.

Is that engine a Continental Z134, if it is I hauled off a block last Monday and would have hauled off the head but there was on room, If the head is good, I would take scrap price. Salvage yard was not interested in either part at scrap price.

Get you an I&T (Implement and Tractor) Repair book. Available at most tractor farm stores. It will give you step by step instructions on repairing it. YOU CAN DO IT!
No Problem. The Continentals are easy to service.

Most has already been covered, one thing not mentioned, the cylinder sleeves just sit down in the block, held down by the head. You must not turn the engine or disturb the liners in any way. If any ride up,the seal will be broken and coolant will leak under the liners into the crankcase. To replace the liner orings is a major job. The pistons will have to come out, the sealing surface thoroughly cleaned. You can bolt the liners down with a short head bolt and washers to prevent them from coming up.

The block cracking was more a problem with the earlier Z engines. By the late 50 it was not as bad, but still worth a look while you are in there. Look at the webs between the cylinders.

Were there obvious head problems? Like overheating, steam out the exhaust, mystery coolant loss, loss of power/misfire? Those are typical blown head gasket symptoms.

Coolant in the oil is also a symptom, but the cylinder orings or a cracked block can also cause coolant in the oil, typically without the other symptoms.

One other concern, how long ago was it parked? If it has sat with water in the engine for more than a few months, it may have stuck rings. If the engine is stuck best get it loose before removing the head. Any time an engine sticks there is always a possibility the rings will be damaged or soon fail.

Once it is back together the head bolts will need to be retorqued and the valves adjusted once up to temperature. A temporary fuel supply will be necessary to allow it to run without the tank in place.

Service manuals are cheap and readily available. It will more than pay for itself in mistakes not made!

Yes, that I&T shop manual is a good one. I have mine for the MF Super 90 with Perkins 300 diesel. I'd heard these engines had a weakness for head gaskets and sure enough, a few years ago mine blew between a couple of cylinders. No leakage but it was missing. I got it done mostly by myself but had help with some of the heavier stuff like removing the fuel tank. I had the head into a machine shop to get it planed good and straight and I'd recommend it. It seemed to make the engine better starting ever since I had that done. I've got some video of the job on youtube but it might not apply to your smaller Massey.
One extra step I took and it was a bit more work, but run the engine to warm it up when you first have it back together. Then re-torque the head bolts to the recommended setting. I set up a small portable fuel tank for this job because as you probably know, you can't do much work on the top of those engines without having the fuel tank off.