Suggestions while I have head removed?

First post here with several more to come. I have removed the head from the engine. Before I put everything back together, I thought I would see if anyone had any suggestions of maintenance, other things to check/replace, etc.

Here's the situation: Long story short, I just purchased a 2009 BX1850 with a lot of question marks, but the price absolutely couldn't be beat. I have questions for another post, but I want to focus on the engine here. The tractor sat for a number of years before now. Previous owner did start it up a couple times over the past 2 years. Obviously the fuel was/is super old. Before I tore it down, the tractor started okay, but blew white smoke. The oil was also whitish colored, but still thick and very oily. The coolant was nearly empty when I arrived to check out the tractor, but was filled before starting. After starting the tractor, I quickly realized the temp gauge was rising quickly. I took a chance and bought the tractor anyway, knowing there was a good chance there was a head gasket issue or a possible cracked head. After getting the tractor home, I realized the water pump was not moving any coolant, which explains the overheating issue.

Today I decided to tear into the engine and see what the damage was so I could start looking for parts (if the head wasn't toast). Well, everything looks great. I can't see any signs that a previous owner had any severe overheating issues. The piston heads look fine, cylinder walls are smooth, no cracking on the head anywhere I can find. The head gasket (metal) doesn't appear to have any warping, cracks, deformation, etc. The only bad I can find is that the water pump impeller was very rusty.

So at this point, I'm debating what parts to order/replace given that everything looks pretty good. There's a slight chance that the bad signs could be explained by other things...smoke could have been from ancient fuel, oil could have years of condensation causing the white color, etc. I plan on replacing some parts because they're cheap enough and I'm already this far in.

Does anyone have any suggestions for other maintenance or parts to check/replace while I have the tractor torn down to this extent? I'm also open for other suggestions on what's causing the symptoms of the smoke, etc that I may be overlooking.

Lastly, I filled the radiator, but the water pump wasn't pumping any water. Is it possible that the pump is actually okay and I just needed to somehow prime the pump?

Thanks in advance guys!

JeffL said:

LanceM, good job of inspecting and outlining your progress and suspicions. The only thing I noticed was no mention of the thermostat. A stuck thermostat will cause overheat and will show no coolant circulation in the radiator.
The smoke and oil condition are a possibility due to age as you suspected. Also, replace the water pump as the seal would be damaged from sitting dry for so long, might not leak today; but will very soon.

Click to expand...

As soon as I walked away I realized I forgot to mention the thermostat. In my final testing, I completely removed it to make sure it wasn't stuck completely closed.

D2Cat said:

I'd be inclined to take the head to a machine shop and have it magnafluxed. Then you'd know for sure it's condition.

Click to expand...

I've never heard of that, but did a quick google search. I may look into that. It looks like you're relatively close to me. Do you know of anywhere in SW MO that does this? Any idea what it costs? Would I take it in disassembled? or put everything back together first?

Since nobody sounds too concerned about my suspicions/results, here's my main action items moving forward:

1. Replace water pump and gasket.

2. Replace valve cover gasket (looked okay, but might as well).

3. Replace coolant.

4. Drain all the junk oil. Planning to do this by opening the oil fill cap and pouring diesel through until it comes out clean, then running about a quart of oil through to flush the diesel before installing the drain plug and filling to proper level. On this topic, I noticed there were several recommended oils... SAE30, 10w30, or 10w40... any suggestions?

5. Drain old fuel and refill with fresh.

6. Replace the belt while I have everything apart.

Questions:

1. Should I replace the head gasket or reuse the existing?

2. I don't know what really causes a tractor water pump to fail. I don't see any red flags, but I'm more familiar with rubber outboard boat motor water pumps than these. What should I be looking for? I'd hate to replace it if that's not the issue.

3. Is there anything else you would recommend cleaning, inspecting, or replacing while this thing is torn apart? Seems like a prime opportunity, but nothing else comes to mind.

4. I'll be creating another post/researching shortly about locating a few parts for this tractor. Specifically, I'll be looking for both pieces of the hood/cowling, the plastic piece to the rear of the battery compartment, and a front end loader/controls/subframe. I've found new hoods around the $4-500 range, but I'd really like to source a used one if possible. Same for the rest of it if possible. If anyone has any suggestions for these things, feel free to let me know here and I might catch it before making another post.

Thanks for the quick replies guys!

JeffL said:

Parts for Magnaflux should be completely dissembled, clean and dry. Personally, I would solve the lack of water circulation issue before I spend money elsewhere.
Common failure for water pumps with plastic impellers is for the impeller to crack releasing itself from the shaft. Yours is rusted so probably metal, would still check to see if impeller can be rotated on shaft.
Also, is the thermostat a conventional car type or a bypass type. Removing these will allow all the coolant to "bypass" the radiator.

Click to expand...

I agree. The thermostat appears to be the automotive type. I don't see how this setup could flow any alternative way to bypass the radiator. The metal impeller blades were rusty, but still there (appears to be 100% there). Everything turned easily. I'm at a loss for any explanation on the lack of circulation. Given that it turns freely and the blades are still there, I would at least expect SOME circulation, even it it wasn't up to spec. That's why I asked about the possibility of needing to prime the pump or anything like that. I've blown air through the plumbing when it was put together and nothing appears to be clogged... at least not 100% anyway.

JeffL said:

You can reuse the gasket for a test. I would not expect any life in the gasket. If time or money is not extremely tight I would just replace it now. You will need to in short order anyway.

Click to expand...

I'll just plan on replacing it.

200mph said:

I haven't seen it mentioned yet, but I might have missed it.

1. Install new valve seals
2. Inspect valve guides
3. Inspect valve/seat face. Do they need machined, lapped, etc. or OK?

If you elect to disassemble the valves, mark which cylinder they came from.

Clean any threaded holes in the head.

Thermostat - Looking at a thermostat will not yield much information. Use a candy thermometer and watch what temperature it begins to open and fully opens. I'd replace with new even if functioning ok.

Someone might want to verify the head bolts can be reused.

Good luck!

Click to expand...

Thanks for the advice. I had never worked with valves before, but after reading your comment I watched some YouTube videos and it didn't look too bad. From what I can tell, the valves look really good. I didn't test with a liquid to see if it leaked, but I did cut all lights and stick a flashlight in the intake/exhaust and wasn't able to see any light coming out around any of the valves. I worked the valves with my fingers and nothing looked disformed, worn, or otherwise. Everything was nice and round with crisp edges. Given this, I don't think I'm going to do any lapping.

I may go ahead and replace the seals. I didn't take the valves apart to be able to see them, but they're only about $35 for all 6.

For those of you who like pictures, here's a few. If there's anything else you'd like to see, let me know.

North Idaho Wolfman said:

Take closer higher resolution pictures of between the valves.

Click to expand...

Here you go!