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!
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!