Farmall Super C Coolant In Oil

Duane WI · May 4, 2019

My tractor has milky looking oil with a green tint. That tells me antifreeze in oil. I checked the head bolt torque and it is fine. I pressurized each cylinder with 100 psi of air looking for bubbles in radiator, none found. I have the oil pan off looking for any green drops, none. When it runs there is no white smoke or bubbles in radiator. I have the radiator under a few psi of air pressure right now. I am looking up into the crank case and can't find anything wrong. Nothing around the piston sleeve O-rings. Nothing in the pushrod oil return passages. No antifreeze drops anywhere.

What am I missing? Next step is pull the head but I would like to have a sound diagnosis first if possible. Otherwise replacing the head gasket may not do anything.

Bob · May 4, 2019

I agree with you, I contrast to many on here, I don't believe in tearing the cylinder head off, just for the heck of it, before a reasonable diagnosis is made.

More than one tractor has been "left for dead" with the head off, when someone loses the ambition to put it back together!

I'd let it sit a few days, or even a week over some clean cardboard and wait for drips to appear.

If a slow leak into a cylinder, it can take a while for the coolant to work it's way past the piston rings and find it's way to the floor.

It also wouldn't hurt to look through the sparkplug holes with a borescope for any evidence of coolant on a piston.

If nothing, turn it over a half-turn or so and give it a little more time, on the ODD chance there's a pinhole in a sleeve that may leak worse depending upon piston position.

old · May 4, 2019

Sometime a problem like that is heat related and because of that hard to figure out. As in it leaks when it has gotten up to running temps and you cannot make that happen with the pan off so doing as Bob say is a good idea to help figure it out

petehall · May 4, 2019

ILL bet its one of the o rings on a piston sleeve
Been there done that more than once !!!!

showcrop · May 4, 2019

Even though you say that the oil has a green tint, it is possible that all you have is condensation in your oil. There are guys that think that it is taking good care of their tractor to start it up and run it for ten minutes every week. Ten minutes is not long enough to drive the condensation out so it mixes with the oil.

Duane WI · May 4, 2019

I thought it might be condensate. I mainly use this tractor for snow plowing. It runs 30 minutes to an hour per snow fall. I would think that is enough to get in warm but maybe not.
The tractor is stored inside year around.

dzc3 · May 4, 2019

You did not mention if the radiator is low. Take a dowel pin and stick the radiator. Mark the antifreeze level. Bob also has some very good ideas

pete 23 · May 4, 2019

Also, the o rings on sleeves on that engine will leak when really cold and quit when weather warms up. The Neuss engines were bad that way also but not so much the 400 series engines.

Farmall Super C Coolant In Oil

Duane WI

Member

Bob

Well-known Member

old

Well-known Member

petehall

Member

showcrop

Well-known Member

Duane WI

Member

dzc3

Member

pete 23

Well-known Member

Similar threads