L1501DT - Need advice

[benpete08]

I recently purchased an L1501DT that would not crank. It has low compression. I'm thinking its a blown head gasket. There's oil in the radiator and a head bolt has been replaced that is not the right size. My question is when I pull the head is there a way to check the rings without pulling the pistons. It was supposedly rebuilt in 2010 and only ran about 10 hrs since.

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

Simple answer is no, you would have to pull the pistons to check the rings, But you can check and mic bore size and that might tell you if it's got excessive wear, and mic the pistons to tell if they were changed to oversized.

 

[Diydave]

or do the old penny trick: Take a copper penny, and slide it quickly up from the bottom of the Cyl toward the top. Hold the penny like the piston is oriented (flat side parallel to the piston) If the ridge at the top of pistons slices off a bit of the penny, it needs the ridge reamed prior to piston removal. If it's wore that bad chances are, it needs at least new rings...

 

[ShaunBlake]

Simple answer is no, you would have to pull the pistons to check the rings, But you can check and mic bore size and that might tell you if it's got excessive wear, and mic the pistons to tell if they were changed to oversized.

How do you mic the pistons without removing them? Do the skirts protrude below the bore at BDC?

or do the old penny trick: Take a copper penny, and slide it quickly up from the bottom of the Cyl toward the top. Hold the penny like the piston is oriented (flat side parallel to the piston) If the ridge at the top of pistons slices off a bit of the penny, it needs the ridge reamed prior to piston removal. If it's wore that bad chances are, it needs at least new rings...

I wonder if you meant a ridge at the top of the bore? (I don't understand how a piston would have a ridge, and I thought the idea was to try to verify piston fit without having to remove them, so how could the top of the piston be exposed? )

 

[benpete08]

Thanks for the help guys. I just realized this must be an L1801dt. I have another tractor. It's an L1500 and I was comparing motors. The new one has Z851 stamped on the injector pump. I'm I asuuming correctly? Also, how much different are the Z750 and Z851 motors as I've already ordered a head gasket for the Z750 that I thought it had.

 

[benpete08]

Here's a couple of pics. The first one is the L1801dt? the second is the L1500 that I've had for two years now.

 

[Diydave]

How do you mic the pistons without removing them? Do the skirts protrude below the bore at BDC?





I wonder if you meant a ridge at the top of the bore? (I don't understand how a piston would have a ridge, and I thought the idea was to try to verify piston fit without having to remove them, so how could the top of the piston be exposed? )

I meant to say the top of cyl bore, where the top piston ring stops, at TDC.

 

[benpete08]

Re: L1801DT - Need advice

I had a chance to take the head off last night. Is it normal for a diesel to have this much carbon build up?

 

[Alexisferos]

Re: L1801DT - Need advice

i think that it is ok, clean everything and change the head gasket, if you have a machine shop near you you can sent the head for a surface clean, it will mill some mmm.

 

[Diydave]

Re: L1801DT - Need advice

I had a chance to take the head off last night. Is it normal for a diesel to have this much carbon build up?

Depends on how many hours are on it, and how it was used in its past life. Generally dirty engines like that come from short periods of running, not getting it up to operating temperature, or stopping it with the decomp knob...