[Farmall] Super A engine trouble...

[Mike Sloane]

 From my experience, I would vote for stuck/broken rings in that 
cylinder. And, unless there is some other hidden damage, it should not 
cost all that much to repair. Of course, the head and the pan will have 
to be pulled to remove the piston, but that isn't major surgery. Just my 
opinion from 40,000 feet. Since rings come in sets, it is probably worth 
the time to change all of them, but that isn't a big deal either. 
Unfortunately, the average home shop doesn't have the bore gauge, torque 
wrench, ring compressor, etc. that you need to do the work properly. But 
a LOT of similar engine repairs have been done successfully to old 
tractor engines using a bare minimum of tools over the years. A copy of 
Spencer's book will go a long way towards helping you understand what 
needs to be done, even if you don't do the work yourself.

Mike

John Hall wrote:
> For $2500 the only thing that will be the same is the block and timing 
> gears. EVERYTHING else should be new or re-machined (although you may have 
> to use some aftermarket parts to keep the cost down). It is very rare to 
> find anyone wanting to pour that much cash into an A these days. If you are 
> only going to "play" with your tractor or merely raise a garden, you should 
> be able to get by much cheaper. Obviously he'll need to pull  the valve 
> cover to see if it is something simple like a sticking/sluggish valve. If 
> not then you have broken or stuck rings on that one cylinder. If the rings 
> haven't broken and scored the bore, you may be able to get by with just 
> rings. If you had decent oil pressure and the engine wasn't knocking, you 
> probably won't need to turn the crank. Unfortunately he'll have to measure 
> the bore and the crank to tell you the severity of the problem. The good 
> news is it doesn't take long tear it down so if you decide to junk it, the 
> labor bill shouldn't be that bad.
> 
> Keep us posted on what you decide to do.
> 
> John Hall
> 
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Greg Holmes" <nycsfan at yahoo.com>
> To: <farmall at lists.antique-tractor.com>
> Sent: Friday, September 18, 2009 8:52 AM
> Subject: [Farmall] Super A engine trouble...
> 
> 
>> This may be a tough question to diagnose online, but my Super A has been 
>> running very poorly (as in, barely running) and this is beyond my level of 
>> expertise.
>>
>> A tractor repair guy now tells me that the #1 cylinder has about 15lb 
>> pressure (the plug was very oil- and carbon-fouled on that cylinder) and 
>> that he needs to open the engine up to determine if it's a valve or worse. 
>> I have a worst-case scenario of a $2500 rebuild or a valve, or a head 
>> gasket problem (the engine does seep a little oil from the head gasket 
>> area).
>>
>> Any shared experiences are welcome. Ultimately, this will be a decision of 
>> would one scrap a vintage tractor vs. fully restore it to tip top 
>> condition for probably another 50-100 years of service (given how it's no 
>> longer working daily on the farm).
>>
>> Many thanks in advance.
>>
>> Greg