Need the (Farmall) A Team! Cranking Issue...

I short while back Betty *("44 A model) started spitting black oil out of the exhaust stack and chuffing real bad. I managed to get her back to the house and checked out a few things.

No real bad leaks anywhere. Didn"t look like water was in the oil. Compression read about 85-90 pounds in all 4 cylinders. The only thing I had done different up to then was I added some oil, which due to a mixup on bottle color, the weather peeling off my labels and me being an idiot, it"s entirely possible I poured a quart of tranny fluid (Dexron II) into the crankcase instead of good ol" 30wt.

So, I drained the oil and replaced all of it. Still spitting black oil and chuffing. She wouldn"t stay running and got hot real fast. I thought, "Well, that does it, I either blew a gasket in the head or I managed to really break her this time..."

I pulled the cylinder head and there was a bubbled area (a metal gasket, mind you) between cylinders 2-3 and obvious signs of leakages past the head gasket into cylinder 2. I got a new gasket and put it on. Compression checks showed a poor amount of 15 pounds in cyl 2 and the rest were running about 75-80 pounds. Oops, it turns out I didn"t seal the gasket *(new ones need it) and I went back and redid all that. Now it comes time to check compression and I can"t get Betty to crank.

The battery is good, this I know for sure. I was able to crank before all this with no problems, so I am pretty sure the crankshaft is still alright (crosses fingers.) My guess, is that, during the process of replacing the gasket and pulling the head, that I somehow managed to get water into the crankshaft area and now it has lightly rusted stuck in there.

I tried putting it in gear and giving her my all, but all I got from that was exercise. She rolls in neutral. I figured, I"d place the tow hitch on my van and hook the chains I use for pulling tree branches (pecan branches are basically small trees) onto the drawbar, connected to the van"s tow hitch and pull her backwards a few feet with the transmission in reverse to "break it loose."

Tell me, one and all, does this sound like a good idea? Does anyone out there know if I am in really deep trouble with my situation and what it really might be? Have I done decently well under the circumstances so far?

I tried using something on the flywheel to turn it (like I had done to set the timing so long ago) and I couldn"t get it to budge. Then again, I don"t really have anything made to do this and getting something on the flywheel is next to impossible. I couldn"t use the front cranking handle slot as I don"t have the crank handle and couldn"t get anything that would seat in there in order to try that out.

I do require the (Farmall) A Team on this one folks! I really appreciate any tips, advice, warnings and help I can get on this one.

regards,
dunniteowl

A couple of things: The last time, when I placed the head back on the cylinder *(that is the time before this current non-working situation) I had no trouble cranking the engine. This time, I couldn't get it to turn over at all. So I don't think the engine is Dead For Shore.

I will check the starter motor and see if it is caught in the ring as some of you suggested. If that allows me to move the flywheel, then all is fine with the world.

The plugs were pulled and cleaned since the first head pull, though I will repull and regap them just to be sure. I left no tools, of this I am sure. One of my few good traits is a very thorough tool search process based on my Air Force Technician training. Couldn't leave the plane until all the tools were accounted for.

I will also repull the head if the starter motor doesn't allow me to continue on. I did have to pull all the push rods to remove the cylinder head, so there is that as a real possibility: That I didn't seat them all as well as they should have been.

My 'garage' is the good old outdoors and I don't have anything but the tractor and some boards at the moment to set things on. I am pretty good about inventorying parts and making sure everything is laid out really well-- I just like to work that way regardless if it's an old clock, my computer, the tractor or a simple door hinge.

I will get at it tomorrow and see what's what. You guys have been real time savers and sanity proofers for me in the past and I cannot thank you all enough for the advice and tips. They have really made a difference over the time I have had to work on the tractor.

By the way, would I have to torque the new head/gasket combo with the 80ft pounds instead of the original 65ft pounds as I read in another post regarding head gaskets? Of course, this may be a bit early to ask under the circumstances. I will also use a steel straightedge to check the head's warpage (or not) if and when I pull the cylinder head again.

Thanks again, all. Betty thanks you as well.

regards,
dunniteowl
(living in TX, from CA)

Check the oil level and smell it to assure it is nor mostly gasoline. If it looks thin, it may be necessary to drain the oil and refill. Remove the sparkplugs. That assures that there is no hydraulic lock (water in the cylinder/s)
Then, with the ignition off, try to crank it.

If it now cranks, and stuff blows out of the holes, find out what it is, and repair.

Let us know how things proceed. If this is more than two pages old, please restart a new thread so we stay with it. JimN

There are two ways you can approach this problem. You can continue to try to figure out exactly why the engine won't turn over and fix that problem, hoping when you put everything back together there will be no other serious problems and you can go back to work.

This is potentially the most efficient way to attack this problem in terms of time and money, but there are no guarantees.

However, this is an engine that blew a head gasket, and then was run until it overheated. Now it is frozen up.

Many people would at this point consider writing this motor off and rebuilding it or having an expert rebuild it for them. Or maybe they might look for another tractor with a good engine and swap them.

This is especially true if when the tractor was overheated, it was overheated to the point where any grease or oil that might have been on the side of the engine started to bubble.

This is, of course, the more expensive path, in terms of money and time. It is also the most inconvenient. But it is the most likely to ensure a tractor that operates reliably for the long term.